DOCTRINES AND PRINCIPLES IN THIS LESSON:

•The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.

•The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion.

•Many witnesses have testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

•We draw closer to the Lord as we prayerfully study the Book of Mormon.

Chapter 1 "The Keystone of Our Religion"

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.

Why is another witness of Jesus Christ valuable?

Doctrine and Covenants 6:28 And now, behold, I give unto you, and also unto my servant Joseph, the keys of this gift, which shall bring to light this ministry; and in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

Matthew 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

President Ezra Taft Benson explained the meaning of the word testament: “‘Do we remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon?’ [see D&C 84:57]. In the Bible we have the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word testament is the English rendering of a Greek word that can also be translated as covenant. Is this what the Lord meant when He called the Book of Mormon the ‘new covenant’? It is indeed another testament or witness of Jesus. This is one of the reasons why we have recently added the words ‘Another Testament of Jesus Christ’ to the title of the Book of Mormon” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 4; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 4).

Title Page

The Prophet Joseph Smith explained that “the title-page of the Book of Mormon is a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the collection or book of plates, which contained the record which has been translated, the language of the whole running the same as all Hebrew writing in general [that is, from right to left]; and that said title page is not by any means a modern composition, either of mine or of any other man who has lived or does live in this generation” (History of the Church, 1:71).

Joseph Smith translated this page from the gold plates.

“UPON PLATES TAKEN FROM THE PLATES OF NEPHI”

The golden plates which Joseph Smith received from Moroni contained several different sets of plates, including:

1. the small plates of Nephi (Nephi's unabridged record which constitutes 1 Ne, 2 Ne, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni),

2. Mormon's abridgment of the large plates of Nephi which included the history of the people from Lehi to Mormon's day (the 116 pages contained Mormon's abridged record from the days of Lehi to the days of king Benjamin),

3. Moroni's continuation of Mormon's record (Mormon 8:1) which includes Moroni's abridgment of the record of the Jaredites and his own history, and

4. the sealed portion which contains the writings of the brother of Jared, see Ether 3:25-27.

In this instance the plates of Nephi referred to are the large plates.

(see Student Manual, p. 407)

gospeldoctrine.com

What can you learn from the first paragraph of the title page?

The Book of Mormon:

• is an account written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi

• is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites

• was written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile

• was written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation

• was witten and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed

• will come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof

• sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile

What are some purposes of The Book of Mormon?

“to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations”

The word Christ means “anointed one” in Greek. In Hebrew, Messiah means “anointed one.” The prophet Lehi once referred to Jesus Christ as “a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world” (1 Nephi 10:4). Therefore, when we say that Jesus is the Christ, we are testifying that He was the One who was anointed to save us.

“to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever”

“The Lord gave the name Israel to Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham in the Old Testament (Gen. 32:28; 35:10). The name Israel can refer to Jacob himself, his descendants, or to the kingdom those descendants once possessed in Old Testament times. …

The twelve tribes of Israel

Abraham’s grandson Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, had twelve sons. Their

descendants have become known as the twelve tribes of Israel or the children of Israel

The scattering of Israel The Lord scattered and afflicted

the twelve tribes of Israel because of their unrighteousness and

rebellion. However, the Lord also used this scattering of his chosen people among the nations of the

world to bless those nations

The gathering of Israel

The house of Israel shall be gathered together in the last

days before the coming of Christ (A of F 1:10). The Lord gathers

his people Israel when they accept him and keep his

commandments

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the portion of the house of Israel that has been gathered to the knowledge of their fathers and to the covenants of the Lord. The Lord has declared, “For ye are the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham” (D&C 103:17)

“And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.”

What does this warning suggest about those who condemn the Book of Mormon?

• Moroni was concerned that the Gentiles would find fault with the Book of Mormon. Writing in reformed Egyptian, which was not his native language, he felt his writings were not powerful like the brother of Jared's. It should be noted that the brother of Jared had the advantage of writing in his native language which originated from the perfect, Adamic language. See Mormon 8:12, Mormon 9:31-33, and Ether 12:23-26.

• Doctrinally, the Book of Mormon is "the most correct of any book on earth," but occasionally one can find problems with syntax, grammar, etc. In one case, the awkwardness of Mormon's engraving on plates becomes clear, thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace. (Alma 24:19) These small imperfections are of no doctrinal consequence and their occurrence does not detract from the correctness of the book.

In poking fun of this great work, readers need to remember the reply of the Lord to Moroni's concern as recorded in Ether 12:26, Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and in Mormon 8:12, And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these. gospeldoctrine.com

The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion.

What is the significance of a keystone?

A keystone is the central stone in an arch. It holds all the other stones in place, and if removed, the arch crumbles.

There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion: • It is the keystone in our witness of Christ. • It is the keystone of our doctrine. • It is the keystone of testimony.

President Ezra Taft Benson, October 1986 General Conference, The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion

…the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

“The Book of Mormon is the keystone in our witness of Jesus Christ, who is Himself the cornerstone of everything we do. It bears witness of His reality with power and clarity. Unlike the Bible, which passed through generations of copyists, translators, and corrupt religionists who tampered with the text, the Book of Mormon came from writer to reader in just one inspired step of translation. Therefore, its testimony of the Master is clear, undiluted, and full of power. But it does even more. Much of the Christian world today rejects the divinity of the Savior. They question His miraculous birth, His perfect life, and the reality of His glorious resurrection. The Book of Mormon teaches in plain and unmistakable terms about the truth of all of those. It also provides the most complete explanation of the doctrine of the Atonement. Truly, this divinely inspired book is a keystone in bearing witness to the world that Jesus is the Christ (see title page of the Book of Mormon).

“The Book of Mormon is also the keystone of the doctrine of the Resurrection. As mentioned before, the Lord Himself has stated that the Book of Mormon contains the “fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ” (D&C 20:9). That does not mean it contains every teaching, every doctrine ever revealed. Rather, it means that in the Book of Mormon we will find the fulness of those doctrines required for our salvation. And they are taught plainly and simply so that even children can learn the ways of salvation and exaltation. The Book of Mormon offers so much that broadens our understandings of the doctrines of salvation. Without it, much of what is taught in other scriptures would not be nearly so plain and precious.

“Finally, the Book of Mormon is the keystone of testimony. Just as the arch crumbles if the keystone is removed, so does all the Church stand or fall with the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The enemies of the Church understand this clearly. This is why they go to such great lengths to try to disprove the Book of Mormon, for if it can be discredited, the Prophet Joseph Smith goes with it. So does our claim to priesthood keys, and revelation, and the restored Church. But in like manner, if the Book of Mormon be true—and millions have now testified that they have the witness of the Spirit that it is indeed true—then one must accept the claims of the Restoration and all that accompanies it.”

Many witnesses have testified the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

2 Nephi 27:12-1412 Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein.

13 And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead.

14 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth him good will he establish his word; and wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of God!

Ether 5:2-42 And behold, ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto those who shall assist to bring forth this work;

3 And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall bknow of a surety that these things are true.

4 And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established; and the testimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record—and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day.

The Three Witnesses

Oliver Cowdery David Whitmer Martin Harris

”…we four, viz., Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and myself, agreed to retire into the woods, and try to obtain, by fervent and humble prayer, the fulfillment of the promises given in the above revelation-that they should have a view of the plates. We accordingly made choice of a piece of woods convenient to Mr. Whitmer's house, to which we retired, and having knelt down, we began to pray in much faith to Almighty God to bestow upon us a realization of these promises.

"According to previous arrangement, I commenced vocal prayer to our Heavenly Father, and was followed by each of the others in succession. We did not at the first trial, however, obtain any answer or manifestation of divine favor in our behalf. We again observed the same order of prayer, each calling on and praying fervently to God in rotation, but with the same result as before.

"Upon this, our second failure, Martin Harris proposed that he should withdraw himself from us, believing, as he expressed himself, that his presence was the cause of our not obtaining what we wished for. He accordingly withdrew from us, and we knelt down again, and had not been many minutes engaged in prayer, when presently we beheld a light above us in the air, of exceeding brightness; and behold, an angel stood before us. In his hands he held the plates which we had been praying for these to have a view of. He turned over the leaves one by one, so that we could see them, and discern the engravings thereon distinctly. He then addressed himself to David Whitmer, and said, 'David, blessed is the Lord, and he that keeps His commandments;' when, immediately afterwards, we heard a voice from out of the bright light above us, saying, 'These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear.'

"I now left David and Oliver, and went in pursuit of Martin Harris, whom I found at a considerable distance, fervently engaged in prayer. He soon told me, however, that he had not yet prevailed with the Lord, and earnestly requested me to join him in prayer, that he also might realize the same blessings which we had just received. We accordingly joined in prayer, and ultimately obtained our desires, for before we had yet finished, the same vision was opened to our view, at least it was again opened to me, and I once more beheld and heard the same things; whilst at the same moment, Martin Harris cried out, apparently in an ecstasy of joy, "'Tis enough; 'tis enough; mine eyes have beheld; mine eyes have beheld;" and jumping up, he shouted, 'Hosanna,' blessing God, and otherwise rejoiced exceedingly.

"Having thus, through the mercy of God, obtained these glorious manifestations, it now remained for these three individuals to fulfill the commandment which they had received, viz., to bear record of these things; in order to accomplish which, they drew up and subscribed5 the following document:" (He then records the Testimony of the Three Witnesses, see History of the Church, vol. 1, pp. 52-56)

Ttestimony of David Whitmer:

“It was in June, 1829—the latter part of the month. … We not only saw the plates of the Book of Mormon but also the brass plates, the plates of the Book of Ether, the plates containing the records of the wickedness and secret combinations of the people of the world down to the time of their being engraved, and many other plates. … There appeared as it were, a table with many records or plates upon it, besides the plates of the Book of Mormon, also the sword of Laban, the directors—i.e., the ball which Lehi had, and the Interpreters [Urim and Thummim]. I saw them … , and I heard the voice of the Lord, as distinctly as I ever heard anything in my life, declaring that the records of the plates of the Book of Mormon were translated by the gift and power of God” (in George Reynolds, “History of the Book of Mormon,” Contributor, Aug. 1884, 403).

The Eight Witnesses

Like the three witnesses, the Book of Mormon prophecies that there will be others which will testify of this work, And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead. Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth him good will he establish his word; and wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of God. (2 Ne 27:13-4)

How many people actually saw the plates?

Whenever Joseph carried the plates around the house, he kept them covered by a cloth of some type. Therefore, all of his family members saw the plates while bundled up but only Joseph Sr., Hyrum, and Samuel saw the plates uncovered. This they did as part of the group of eight witnesses. The total number of those who saw the actual plates is twelve, excluding Joseph Smith. These include the three witnesses, the eight witnesses, and Mary Whitmer.

Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris were shown the plates, the sword of Laban, the breastplate, the Liahona, and the Urim and Thummim by Moroni. They did not handle the plates but saw an angel who spoke with them and commanded them to testify of what they saw. They also heard the voice of the Lord declaring the truth of these things.

The eight witnesses saw no angel. They heard no voices. They were shown the plates by Joseph Smith. There testimony was to be that they had seen and handled the plates-to prove to the world that Joseph Smith actually had possession of an ancient record. gospeldoctrine.com

What is the difference between what the 3 witnesses saw and what the 8 witnesses saw?

What is the value of including these testimonies in the front of the Book of Mormon?

We draw closer to the Lord as we prayerfully study

the Book of Mormon.

What stories, themes, or teachings can you think of?

In what ways do these stories, themes, or teachings help you draw closer to God?

What can we learn from the example of the people in this story?

Where else have you seen this theme in the Book of Mormon? Why do you think this theme is repeated so often in the book?

How can this teaching help us live a Christ-centered life?

Elder Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, November 1979, Reading the Scriptures

Reading habits vary widely. There are rapid readers and slow readers, some who read only small snatches at a time and others who persist without stopping until the book is finished. Those who delve into the scriptural library, however, find that to understand requires more than casual reading or perusal—there must be concentrated study. It is certain that one who studies the scriptures every day accomplishes far more than one who devotes considerable time one day and then lets days go by before continuing. Not only should we study each day, but there should be a regular time set aside when we can concentrate without interference.

There is nothing more helpful than prayer to open our understanding of the scriptures. Through prayer we can attune our minds to seek the answers to our searchings. The Lord said: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Luke 11:9). Herein is Christ’s reassurance that if we will ask, seek, and knock, the Holy Spirit will guide our understanding if we are ready and eager to receive.

Many find that the best time to study is in the morning after a night’s rest has cleared the mind of the many cares that interrupt thought. Others prefer to study in the quiet hours after the work and worries of the day are over and brushed aside, thus ending the day with a peace and tranquillity that comes by communion with the scriptures.

Perhaps what is more important than the hour of the day is that a regular time be set aside for study. It would be ideal if an hour could be spent each day; but if that much cannot be had, a half hour on a regular basis would result in substantial accomplishment. A quarter of an hour is little time, but it is surprising how much enlightenment and knowledge can be acquired in a subject so meaningful. The important thing is to allow nothing else to ever interfere with our study.

We should not be haphazard in our reading but rather develop a systematic plan for study. There are some who read to a schedule of a number of pages or a set number of chapters each day or week. This may be perfectly justifiable and may be enjoyable if one is reading for pleasure, but it does not constitute meaningful study. It is better to have a set amount of time to give scriptural study each day than to have a set amount of chapters to read. Sometimes we find that the study of a single verse will occupy the whole time.