The Book of Mormon (8 September 1938)

The Book of Mormon

By Elder Thornton Y. Booth

“A BIBLE! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.” (II Nephi 29:3)

These are the words which the inspired Seer, Nephi, foretold would come from the mouths of the Gentiles upon their being offered the Book of Mormon. This prophecy not only has been fulfilled many times in the past, but is continually being fulfilled now, every day.

For centuries the Bible has stood as a solitary witness to the divinity of Christ and the actuality of His atoning sacrifice. Though solitary it has by no means been ineffective, but has continually convinced many of the truth contained in its pages. Despite the many bitter criticisms made against it, it today remains the most powerful scriptural writing in existence. Upon its teachings the laws of nations and the personal conduct of millions are based. It is the great guide which points the path to salvation.

And yet, despite its greatness, and it is great; despite its magnificent teachings, which millions testify are of divine origin; is it sufficient, alone, to convince men that Christ is the Saviour? Every day more and more people reject the Bible as the word of God. They deny its accounts of miracles, they scorn the idea of a literal son of God being born to this earth, they jeer at the possibility of a resurrection of the physical body. Is not an additional witness to these facts necessary?

“No, an additional witness is not necessary,” say some of those who believe the Bible, “The Bible is a complete witness in and of itself, and is the only witness which we need.” Yet there are existing today hundreds of differing Christian sects simply because there are hundreds of differing interpretations of the Bible.

The Bible is the first and most important group of scriptures today. It cannot, however, claim to be the only scripture ever written. Its own pages mention nearly a score of other “books,” among them some letters from Paul, and another epistle of Jude. It has been edited, translated, and re-translated, and has come down to us still mighty, but with mistakes and vague passages too much in evidence to be ignored. With men denying its message, or quarreling over the interpretation thereof, another scripture certainly is needed.

Moreover, the satisfying of this need was foreseen and predicted. The Prophet Ezekiel writes: “The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 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: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.” (Ezekiel 37:15-17)

The writers of the Book of Mormon were of the seed of Joseph, and they record the history of a people who crossed the waters and built a great civilization upon the American Continent. This civilization had its prophets and its inspired writers. The word of the Lord came to its people as it came to the Jews. In the record it left is found the Gospel of Christ, pure and unchanged. It does not contradict the Bible, nor does it claim to displace or even stand above that book in the scriptures. It merely bears an additional testimony to it.

If the Bible is the stick of Judah, then certainly the Book of Mormon fits the description of the stick of Joseph, and its believers testify that it does fulfil the prophecy.

The Book of Mormon solves many problems: it corresponds with Ezekiel’s prophecy, it answers the question of who the “lost sheep” were, and it clears up many bitter doctrinal controversies. But its first and greatest mission is this: It is a new witness to the authenticity of the Bible, and the actuality of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, the Saviour of the world.