Book of Mormon

The first time I read the Book of Mormon I walked away from it full of fear and dread and not truly understanding the intent of it. You see, in my heart, I was not yet ready for the message that it gives. There were things in my life that were keeping me from understanding the truthfulness and seeing the examples set forth in this abridgment of the records of two scattered tribes of Israel. It wasn't until I truly desired truth and only truth, setting aside what I was holding onto, did I actually understand it. It is written with purpose and with knowledge by those that wrote it that it would be used as a record of the truth of Jesus Christ for future generations. It is another revelation, like those in the Bible, in which we know that not all records were contained. Any scholar of the Bible knows that in some places it refers to books that are not part of the standard Bible today. It refers to books such as Enoch and Jasher that are no where found in the Bibles most people use this day. Is it so outrageous that other people of God, from Israel would also write prophecies just as those that were before them? Is it unfounded that God speaks through revelations and is it not in His power to reveal His will to man? If you are a believer in God, I would hope that you believe He has that power.

The Book of Mormon was the foundation of truth for me at the beginning of my development of faith and my coming to the true knowledge of God. Take away from your minds the associations attached to the term Mormon. It is a name given to a people, not one taken for themselves. The book is only named after Mormon because he was the man chosen of God to abridge the records of many others and place them together. He is not to be worshiped. He's made of the same dust of the earth as all of us are.

The Book of Mormon is a history of a people in a place that we have come to know there are many temples of a once civilized people. This knowledge was found in the Book of Mormon before it's actual discovery by men of education. Joseph Smith, Jr. had no formal education and you see from his translation how crude his speaking must have been. Regardless of the knowledge given to man, we still have weakness, as do the prophets chosen of God. You'll see, if you read Smith's original copy of translation, which can be found at www.inephi.com that he often misspelled words or used double negative. He was not educated, but yet, if you read this book, you'll see how complex a lie it would be if false; a lie that a man of his education could not have come up with. It was indeed a truth that came to an enlightened mind through the power of God.

Don't take my word for it. Read it yourself. But know that when you read it, you must read it with the knowledge that all that is written in it was written for some purpose; for our minds to understand. And know that each of us comes to an understanding of things in ways that our minds can comprehend.

My belief in this book fed my belief in Joseph Smith, Jr as a true prophet called of God in the latter days. My belief in Joseph Smith, Jr feeds my belief in his further revelations, such as in the Doctrine and Covenants, 1835. My belief in his revelations feeds my belief in the revelation given to him concerning the requirement that if he could no longer lead the church, he was to appoint another, and that he did so, when he appointed James J. Strang. No one else ever claimed to be appointed by Joseph Smith, Jr. or ever actually provided the letter except for James J. Strang. No one else entered in the way that we were foretold his true successor was to do, but James J. Strang. Believing in those revelations fuels my belief in the prophet that was called after him, and the fruits of Jame J Strang's labors added more fuel to the fire of belief and truth.

All knowledge is open to those who seek diligently and with true desire. It's there to find if you seek. If any lack wisdom, let him ask of God.

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