Another Witness

ANOTHER WITNESS

We read on the fly-leaf of the Book of Mormon, the reason for its coming forth: “To show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for unto all their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever; and also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting Himself unto all nations.”

That last phrase is perhaps the meat of the message and carries to us an understanding of the great love that God has for all of His children, not only for a chosen few known as the chosen people. The men, women and children of the Western Hemisphere were just as dear to Him as the men and women in the little town of Bethlehem, or in the great city of the temple, Jerusalem.

The fascinating story of the Book of Mormon tells us of that great nation known as the Jaredites, descendants of a group that fled to the Western Hemisphere two thousand years before Christ, of the Malekites who were brought out of Jerusalem by their princely leader, of the followers of Lehi who became divided into two great nations, the Nephites and the Lamenites. One of the Book of Mormon prophets says: “The Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word in wisdom all that he seeth fit that they should have. Therefore, we see that he doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.”

Recently in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, a minister of one of the leading churches in that beautiful city, preached a sermon in which he gave a very scholarly explanation of the fact that the Bible is the writings of Moses preserved by the Jewish nation, that it gives to the world the wonderful teachings of the Master through the four Gospels, but that it centres its attention to a great extent upon the house of Judah known to the world as the Jewish nation. He then explained that Judah was only one of the twelve sons of Jacob, known as Israel, and that the blessings given by God to Abraham, “and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed,” were continued down through Isaac, his son, and to Jacob, his grandson, and were to be continued through that lineage. He then made this very interesting declaration: “No doubt other scriptures will be brought forth in due time that will tell of God’s dealings with others Of the House of Israel, such as the House of Joseph, the House of Reuben, of Benjamin, etc.”

And why not? God is no respecter of persons. Joseph was the favourite son of his father and became practically the salvation of his father’s house when he brought his ageing father and his repentant brothers from their famine-stricken homes to his adopted land of plenty, Egypt, where he had found favour in the sight of the Pharoah. Jacob’s blessing upon Joseph reads: “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall separate from his brethren.” The Book of Mormon shows how this prophecy was fulfilled when the Lord led certain descendants of this same Joseph from Jerusalem to the western continent, where they became a great nation.

So in face of the cry: “A bible, a bible,.we have a bible,” the Latter-day Saints solemnly declare to the world that the Book Of Mormon is a second witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ and that He is concerned with all mankind. For Christ Himself said to His disciples: “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.”

What comfort this should bring to the hearts of all mankind. Whether we are in Africa, or America, in China, or in England, God is concerned with our welfare and Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting Himself unto all nations.”

Truly the words of Ezekiel: “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 my hand” have been fulfilled. The Book of Mormon, the history of the House of Joseph, and the Holy Bible, God’s message to the House of Judah, is now used as one to convince the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, and that He does and will manifest Himself unto all nations.

—Le Grande P. Backman,

President, South African Mission.