what i believe: The Book of Mormon

In the New Testament, Jesus says,

"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" John 10:16.

Have you ever wondered who those "other sheep" are? In our church, we believe that some of those other sheep were the people living on the American continent--the Native Americans, or to us, the Lamanites and Nephites. Joseph Smith was visited by an angel named Moroni on September 21, 1823. You can read the full account here, beginning in verse 27. Moroni told Joseph about plates of gold that were buried in a hill, and on these plates was a record of these people.

The book starts with a prophet in Jerusalem named Lehi around 600 B.C. The people in Jerusalem had become wicked and Lehi was warned in a dream to take his family and leave because Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. Lehi took his family: his wife Sariah, his sons Nephi, Sam, Laman, and Lemuel, his daughters, and a family friend (Ishmael) and his children, and departed into the wilderness. Through a series of miracles they were led to the sea, where Nephi was commanded to build a ship and the family sailed to the Americas with the Lord's guidance. Nephi and his brother Sam were good men but his brothers Laman and Lemuel were wicked. Once the family arrived here, the Nephites became the followers of Nephi, generally the more righteous and God-fearing people, while the Lamanites became the followers of Laman and Lemuel, and they were mostly wicked.

Joseph was able to dig up these plates, which were buried in a hill in upstate New York. He was able to translate the plates, which were written in Reformed Egyptian, by the power of God. The stories in this book make up the Book of Mormon. The eighth article of faith states,

"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."

We believe in the Bible; we read the Bible, study it, love it, especially as we read of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. We also believe in the Book of Mormon. We believe that these are two witnesses together, as it says in Matthew 18:16: "in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. It tells the story of the resurrected Christ appearing to the Nephites and instituting His Church, the Sacrament, prophets, and apostles. While he was here he healed the sick, blessed the children, and spoke great things. I believe this to be a true account of the happenings on this continent from 600 BC to 421 AD. You can get a copy of the Book of Mormon here, or even read it online if you want. If you will read it and pray about it sincerely, Heavenly Father will witness to you through the Holy Ghost that this is a true book. The angel Moroni who appeared to Joseph Smith was the last man to write in the Book of Mormon. He said:

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost (Moroni 10:4).

I believe in the Book of Mormon.

painting: The Good Shepherd by Simon Dewey