ARTICLE OF FAITH #8 - "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God."
ARTICLE OF FAITH #9 - "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God."
Throughout the ages, Prophets diligently have recorded the revelations and teachings in which they were commanded to teach during their day. The beautiful thing about all these teachings from these many Prophets throughout all of history is that their many messages have never conflicted with the writings of another Prophet. This unity of their teachings provides a wonderful testament to the true divinity of their inspiration and their work.
The Bible is a record of prophets and other prominent religious characters who have recorded their story regarding the workings and dealings of God as it impacted their life and those around them. We know that God loved these people referenced throughout the Bible, because there are many instances where they are told that they are loved, not to mention the repeated efforts by a loving Lord and his humble and obedient prophets to teach them and bring them into conformity with the commandments of God.
Everything discussed so far is common knowledge among pretty much all Christians. So what are the bounds of the love of an Omnipotent and all powerful God? Well the simple answer to this Sunday School question is that there are no bounds to his love. He loves all man equally. So does he love those that were and are located in other parts of the world that were not geographically within the borders of the Holy Lands? Of course he does. We know this because he tells us that he is a just and impartial God and no respecter of persons and that he loves all man equally. He wants all mankind to know his gospel and obey his commandments. We find additional evidence of this in Acts 17:30; "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:"
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we not only know and agree with this, but we also have written evidence that God does in fact love those other people who live outside of the realm of what we call the Holy Land. This written evidence is called "The Book of Mormon". This record simply put is "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" (as the subtitle reads) and was recorded by those prophets who lived here on the American continent and taught the same principals of righteousness and obedience as well as the same doctrines as those we find in the Bible. Just like each of the books of the bible complement each other and build on the foundation of the gospel message without conflict, so does the Book of Mormon. The teachings contained therein, even though they are from a people that lived half a world away the teachings and principals are the same.
 These prophets and the people that they taught are the ancestors of the modern day group of people we refer to as Native Americans, including the people of central and South America.
This book contains the records of two primary groups of People. The first group of people is referred to as the Jaredites, who by direction of the Lord came to this land following the confusion-of-languages incident of the Tower of Babel (see Genesis 11:9) to escape the wickedness of the people in that area. Though they were first to arrive in the land chronologically, they aren't mentioned until later in the Book of Mormon. They flourished for nearly twenty-five hundred years before they became wicked and completely destroyed themselves.
The second group of people came from Jerusalem and were headed by a prophet by the name of Lehi who fled Jerusalem with his family because the wicked people there were going to kill him for preaching the word of God to them and calling them to repentance. This group left Jerusalem around 600 years B.C. By divine guidance they were led to the Americas. As they landed on the shores, the contention between the brothers became so severe, that they separated, forming two groups, the Nephites and the Lamanites.
This record also records the Lord Jesus Christ descending out of Heaven following his crucifixion and resurrection in the east to show himself (see 3 Nephi 11), letting the people touch the wounds from his crucifixion and teaching them the same principals and doctrines that were taught by him prior to his crucifixion.
The beautiful thing about the Book of Mormon is that teachings of Jesus Christ completely support and add strength and most importantly, add additional clarity, to those teachings and doctrines taught in the Bible. It needs to be understood and is furthermore expected that anyone who humbly and prayerfully studies the Book of Mormon and its teachings, is also expected to humbly and prayerfully study those teachings found in the Bible. The prophesy of the coming forth of The Book of Mormon is recorded in Ezekiel 37:16-22:
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
The sticks referred to in these verses are records, or scrolls as they used for such documents in ancient time. The Stick of Judah is the record from the descendants of Judah, or the Jews. The Stick of Joseph is the record from the descendants of Joseph. As recorded in the Book of Mormon, in the book of 1 Nephi 5:14 Lehi and his family are of the Tribe of Joseph.
14 And it came to pass that my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers; wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea, even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt, and who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve his father, Jacob, and all his household from perishing with famine.
Discovering the Truth:
As I've mentioned in other places throughout this website, this information that I've provided here is simply presenting to you what it is that we believe and why. I don't want you to take my word for it, or just trust me or anybody else that these things are true. Nor should you just trust someone if they tell you it's not true. If you want to find out if the Book of Mormon is really the word of God and another record of scripture, another Testament of Jesus Christ, there is only one way to discover the real truth. You must offer up sincere and humble prayer to your Father in Heaven, and ask him if this book was really written by Prophets of God in ancient times and if those teachings therein are really those teachings from the Lord. And in your prayer, ask if this book is really scripture. And immediately after your sincere prayer, pick up the book (request a free copy, if you don't already have one) and with an open heart, listening to the promptings of God, begin reading through The Book of Mormon. You may not get an answer the first time you sit down to read and pray, or the second or third time. But if you're sincere and really want to find out if it's true or not, he will answer your prayers. If this book is a fraud and isn't really scripture, I promise he will let you know, but if it is scripture, I promise he will let you know that too.
I have personally taken on this challenge several times and each time I do, I have always been given the same answer. It is true, and it is the word of God through his prophets here on the American continent.
Christ - The Judge of All Men:
John 12:31-32 reads; "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."
How can Christ judge the world save he should teach them the things whereby they will be judged?
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