“Remember the New Covenant, Even the Book of Mormon”
Lesson 4 –
Joseph Smith—History 1:27-65; D&C 3; 5; 10; 17; 20:5-15; 84:54-62;
Our Heritage, pgs.
5-10
In the three years after the First Vision, Joseph Smith
suffered “severe persecution” but remained steadfast in his testimony of that
momentous event. His courage and
integrity are an example for us as we face persecution or ridicule.
The angel Moroni visited Joseph when the Prophet was only 17
in response to prayer. When we
recognize our weaknesses, we too can seek forgiveness and direction to get
ourselves back on track.
When Joseph was first shown the plates, he was unprepared to
receive them, much less proceed to translate the strange writing. In Joseph Smith—History 1:33-35, 42, 44-46,
and 53-54, we see how the Lord prepared Joseph for his task.
Satan tried to thwart the coming forth of the Book of Mormon
in numerous ways. He prompted evil men to attempt to steal the plates and
persecute the Prophet and his family.
Satan’s efforts were frustrated and the precious scriptures came forth
despite all his plans and cunning.
In one notable and familiar example of Satan’s efforts to
prevent the successful introduction of the Book of Mormon, Martin Harris lost
116 pages of translated manuscript.
The Three Witnesses: Oliver Cowdrey, David Whitmer, and
Martin Harris.
D&C 5:11-15, 24-25; 17:3, 5 tell what the witnesses were
commanded to do.
Ether 5:4; D&C 5:16-18; and 17:4 explain why their
testimony was important.
The Eight Witnesses saw the gold plates for themselves and
so testified. While all of the Three
Witnesses and three of the Eight Witnesses left the Church, none ever denied
his testimony of what he saw. In the
last year of his life, David Whitmer published a strong denial that he never
recanted his testimony nor did the other two witnesses, Harris and Cowdrey. All three died reaffirming their
testimony. See A
Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:145.
The Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses testified of
things which they saw and heard. Today,
millions of faithful LDS members testify of the truth of the Book of Mormon
because of the spiritual witness that they have received from the Holy
Ghost. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley said, “The strength of the Church
is not in…its thousands of houses of worship across the world, nor in its
universities…the strength of this church lies in the hearts of its people, in
the individual testimony and conviction of the truth of this work” (Ensign,
July 1973, 49).
Early Saints were condemned by the Lord for taking the Book
of Mormon lightly. (D&C 84:55)
President Ezra Taft Benson said:
“If
the early Saints were rebuked for treating the Book of Mormon lightly, are we
under any less condemnation if we do the same?” (Ensign,
Nov. 1986, 4-5)
“The
Lord is not pleased with us in the manner of attention we’re giving the Book of
Mormon, a new witness for Christ. We
need it in our homes, we need it in our families. It was written for us today” (Church
News, 9 Nov. 1986, 10)
“There
is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you
begin a serious study of the book. You
will find greater power to resist temptation.
You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path.
The scriptures are called ‘the words of life’ (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is
that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and
thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater
abundance…[You will also enjoy] increased love and harmony in the home, greater
respect between parent and child, [and] increased spirituality and
righteousness. These promises are not
idle promises, but exactly what the Prophet Joseph Smith meant when he said the
Book of Mormon will help us draw nearer to God” (Ensign,
Nov 1986, 7)
President Benson went on to point out that we need to flood
the earth with the Book of Mormon. We are encouraged to make the Book of Mormon
a greater emphasis in our lives.
---
Biblical prophecies that Moroni quoted to Joseph Smith included Malachi 3, Malachi 4, Isaiah 11, Acts 3:22-23, and Joel 2:28-32.
The Doctrine and Covenants is an external witness of the
Book of Mormon. President Ezra
Taft Benson taught, “Excluding the witnesses to the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and
Covenants is by far the greatest external witness and evidence which we have
from the Lord that the Book of Mormon is true” (Ensign, May 1987,
83). President Benson referred to
13 different sections of the D&C that testify of the Book of Mormon:
D&C 1, 3, 5, 8, 10-11, 17-18, 20, 27, 42, 84, and 135.
Drawing nearer to God through the Book of Mormon: The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “I told the
brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and
the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by
its precepts, than by any other book” (History of the Church,
4:461). Pres. Benson cited
this quotation and then asked, “Is there not something deep in our hearts that
longs to draw nearer to God, to be more like Him in our daily walk, to feel His
presence with us constantly? If so, then the Book of Mormon will help us do so
more than any other book” (Ensign, Nov. 1986, 7)
Translated by the gift and power of God: Joseph Smith completed the translation of
the Book of Mormon in about 65 working days.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell commented on the speed of the process and the
remarkable fact that Joseph would rarely go back, review, or revise, so there
was a “steady flow” in the translation process. Miracles still occur today in the process of translating the Book
of Mormon into a multitude of languages for worldwide distribution.
These lessons are posted on the Internet at http://www.neumanninstitute.org