Introduction
1) The Book of Mormon
contains, as
does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting
gospel.
The term, "fulness of the
everlasting gospel," deserves some explanation.
The Book of Mormon does not deal with many crucial doctrinal topics
including:
A) The pre-mortal
life.
B) The council in heaven, the war in
heaven, the third of the hosts of heaven that were cast
down.
C) The three degrees of
glory.
D) Baptism for the dead or any other
vicarious ordinances.
E) Celestial
Marriage
The conclusion that must
be drawn is that these doctrines are not a necessary component of the ¡°fullness
of the everlasting gospel." The fullness
of the everlasting gospel contains all the principles, doctrines, and
commandments required to "gain peace in this life
and eternal salvation in the world to come." No other scripture teaches about the power of
the atonement of Jesus Christ as completely and clearly as does the Book of
Mormon. This is the essence of the "good
news" of the gospel. The message is best
described in the words of the Savior, ¡°I bear record that the Father commandeth all men,
everywhere, to repent and believe in me. And whoso believeth in me, and is
baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the
kingdom of God." (3 Ne 11:32-33)
2) Moroni, then a glorified, resurrected
being
One might wonder about the
resurrection of Moroni, as he died well after the first resurrection associated
with the resurrection of Christ when many bodies of
the saints which slept arose (Matt 27:52). The term, "first resurrection" is used to
describe two events, the resurrection associated with the resurrection of Christ
(Mosiah15:21-23), and the resurrection associated with the Second Coming of the
Lord (DC 76:64). Some have defined the
"first resurrection" as the resurrection which begins at the resurrection of
Christ and continues until the "first" resurrection associated with his Second
Coming. That definition raises the
possibility that some saints are being resurrected in the interval between those
two great events. However, the only
individuals known to have been resurrected during that time period are Moroni,
Peter, and James. Each of these men "had
special labors to perform in this day which necessitated tangible resurrected
bodies." (Mormon Doctrine,
p.639)
3) A new and additional witness that Jesus Christ is the Son
of the living God
Paul records, in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be
established. (2 Cor 13:1) This
principle is taught in the ancient Law of Moses (Deut 17:6), is repeated by the
Savior (Matt 18:16), and is taught again by Paul. It becomes the standard by which a defendant
is accused or a fact is established.
Therefore, the Lord provides a second witness of the divinity of Jesus
Christ by giving us the Book of Mormon; know ye not
that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God...
(2 Ne 29:8). A careful study of almost
any important doctrinal principle will reveal that the doctrine is taught in two
or three different sources, usually the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the
Doctrine & Covenants. Thus we see
that the Lord abides the law that he gave to Moses. This principle also condemns those who reject
the message having had more than one witness. (Alma 30:45)
4) The most correct of any
book
Detractors of the Book of
Mormon have often quoted this phrase as they point to changes in different
editions of the Book of Mormon, punctuation or grammatical problems. The context of Joseph Smith's statement in
this regard is that a man can grow nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than
by any other book. Therefore, it is
doctrinally the most correct book on the earth.
The spirit of revelation which emanates from its pages declares to all
that Jesus is the Christ and that salvation comes through his name. In Book of Mormon Symposium Series, George
A. Horton, Jr. explains:
"When Joseph Smith said ¡®the Book of Mormon was the
most correct of any book on earth,¡¯ it seems evident that he was not talking
about grammar, punctuation, or spelling.
He was referring to the clarity and depth of doctrine, to the mission and
message of the book, to the spirit of inspiration that it fosters, to the divine
desire that it sparks in the soul to make the ¡®mighty change,¡¯ and to the
abiding love of the Lord that it brings into our hearts.¡±
President Benson has
declared:
¡°I have a vision of homes alerted, of classes alive,
and of pulpits aflame with the spirit of Book of Mormon messages. I have a vision of home teachers and visiting
teachers, ward and branch officers, and stake and mission leaders counseling our
people out of the most correct of any book on earth - the Book of Mormon. I have a vision of artists putting into film,
drama, literature, music, and paintings great themes and great characters from
the Book of Mormon. I have a vision of
thousands of missionaries going into the mission field with hundreds of passages
memorized from the Book of Mormon so that they might feed the needs of a
spiritually famished world. I have a
vision of the whole Church getting nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of
the Book of Mormon. Indeed, I have a
vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon.¡± (Church News,
06/04/94)