Building Faith with the Book of Mormon
by Glenn Pearson and Reid Bankhead
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Introduction
to Building Faith with the Book Of Mormon: The Book of Mormon is like such a scribe's
treasure. It is full of ''things new and old.'' All
of its treasure is useful. Nothing which is said
hereafter is intended to disparage or render
ineffective any of the efforts of teachers or
scholars who believe the Book of Mormon and teach
or write about it. Every book has a main message
and purpose, plus many ''byproducts'' which may or
may not have been suspected by the author. To some,
Chaucer or Shakespeare may be more important as
history than as literature or more important for
linguistic research than for short story plots.
But, in their times, these authors had a purpose or
a message that was more important to them than
other considerations.
Our main purpose in writing this book is to help
the reader begin to fill up his ''bag'' with
treasures of knowledge out of the Book of Mormon
that he can bring out whenever he is called upon to
teach or preach. We say ''begin'' because the Book
of Mormon is an almost infinite mine of spiritual
treasure, and we will only scratch the surface and
lay bare the mother lode.
We can look in the pages of the
Book of Mormon for many things; but the best thing
to look for is that which was intended for us.
The authors of the book, first and foremost,
desired to bring souls to Christ that they might be
saved. It is not that we should ignore or refuse to
take note of other things, but the book was written
to us and for us as well as for the
modern Lamanite and Jew. Should we fail to hear the
somber warning of those who ''whisper'' to us ''out
of the dust'' (2 Nephi 26:19), it will help us
little to know on which side of the river Sidon the
battle was fought when their life's blood was
spilled. We offer our heartfelt thanks to
our wives, Ardith Hunsaker Pearson and Mary Smith
Bankhead, who have kept us in the harness and have
seen to it that the tugs were always tight.
Whatever good things of an academic
nature we have done would not have happened if it
had not been for the start given us at BYU by the
late Dr. Sidney B. Sperry. He was the ideal
administrator, a plain, loyal, kind man who offered
brotherly encouragement along the path of
righteousness and truth.
We thank all others who were
responsible for our being at BYU and for our other
positions of trust in which we were allowed the
free exercise of our minds. Studying
the Book of Mormon
Various Approaches
l . The Book of Mormon can be
studied as literature. It is not representative of
the best in Nephite literature according to Moroni
(Mormon 9:32-33), but it contains some rather
beautiful pieces Of prose. poetry, and psalmody. At
least, if we use the words poetry and psalmody
in the broad and loose sense used by modern poets
and Bible students, there are poems and psalms in
the Book of Mormon. Rhyme, meter, and beat probably
do not survive translation very well. What we have
in our language may be but a shadow of the poetic
forms and feelings that were there in the original.
2. Some remarkable and valuable
inferences have been drawn from studies of
evidences for the truth of the Book of Mormon that
come from within the book. Consider as an example
the proper nouns in the Book of Mormon. These
certainly did not come from a fertile imagination.
Where could Joseph Smith have obtained them? Why do
they prove helpful in defending the Book of Mormon
when investigated without prejudice? Dr. Hugh
Nibley's two books, Lehi in the Desert
and The World of the Jaredites and An
Approach to the Book of Mormon are the
classical works in this area. These contributions
alone would have justified his having lived.
3. Akin to a study of such evidences is a study
of discoveries in anthropology, archaeology, and
geography that tend to corroborate the Book of
Mormon story. Some very exciting artifacts have
been collected and catalogued. To a converted
''Mormon,'' the evidence seems too great to be
passed off as coincidence.
4. Another approach to Book of Mormon study is
the story approach. In this method, the student or
teacher usually emphasizes the information that
tells where the Book of Mormon people went and what
they did. When such information is followed by a
helpful lesson, this can be a very effective way to
teach morals and ethics. Of course, similar lessons
can be taught quite as effectively from the
writings of the world's great poets and from great
novels. We might also call this the anecdotal
approach. With some, it is more historical; with
others more moral. But it rarely gets close to the
heart of things if storytelling is all that is
done. On the other hand, all methods of studying
and teaching the Book of Mormon will profit if
allied with a knowledge of history of the Book of
Mormon peoples. With all of our searching's and
ponderings back and forth on specific doctrines, we
should occasionally sit down and read the book from
cover to cover as we would a novel.
5. Finally, we can study the book as that which
it claims to be. The four preceding approaches to
the Book of Mormon are all useful, all valid. A
complete study of the book would have to include
them. But the main message of the book could be
neglected if no more were done with it than is
generally implied in the above four approaches. What
the Book Claims to Be
The title page of the Book of
Mormon states that its purpose is to convince both
Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, and to
reacquaint the Lamanites and other branches of the
house of Israel with the promises made to their
fathers and with the Lord's intention of keeping
those promises. Elsewhere we learn that the Book of
Mormon is a witness of the Bible. (Mormon 7:8-9, 2
Nephi 3:12, 29:3-14.) One of the clearest
declarations of intent is found in these words of
Nephi:
And it mattereth not to me that I
am particular to give a full account of all the
things of my father, for they cannot be written
upon these plates, for I desire the room that I may
write of the things of God. For the fulness of mine
intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the
God of Abraham. and the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob, and be saved. Wherefore the things which
are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the
things which are pleasing unto God and unto those
who are not of the world. Wherefore, I shall give
commandment unto my seed. that they shall not
occupy these plates with things which are not of
worth unto the children of men. ( l Nephi 6:3-6.)
Think how happy the world would have been to
find the Book of Mormon plates, to grub them up
with the archaeologist's shovel, and then (if they
weren't melted down for their gold or declared a
fraud deliberately planted to deceive them) to set
the world's greatest linguists to work translating
them! They could have had a heyday. They could have
squabbled over the gold plates for at least a
hundred years and never agreed on a thing. Of
course, the book would then have had no value as
scripture. It is precisely because the gold plates
came the way they did and were then taken away that
the Book of Mormon can be the ''keystone of our
religion'', its source as well as its message must
be accepted on faith.
Or think how happy the world would
be if the book's pages were filled with maps and
other data which would prove its authenticity, so
that the need, as they might suppose, for
exercising faith could be eliminated! Of course,
that too is a snare and a delusion. But who has not
secretly wished that the gages of a city could be
found with the word Zarahemla inscribed in
several languages across its top?
Instead it is such a book that
those ''who are not of this world'' love it for the
good that is in it and the good to which it bears
witness. They need no external proof. It leads them
to the God of Israel, Jesus Christ, and shows them
how to be saved through him and his gospel. The
Spirit bears witness to their souls. (Moroni 10:4-
5; Alma 5:44-48; 2 Nephi 33:10-11; Doctrine and
Covenants 50:13 -21 .)
In order for the Book of Mormon to realize its
purpose of bringing souls to Christ in the latter
days. it must do two things. One is that it must
tell us about Christ and his gospel in a plain
manner so that there can be no confusion. Great and
wonderful as the Bible is, that book as we have it
today does not do that. as is evidenced by the
myriad interpretations that arise out of it.
But to tell of Christ and his gospel is not
enough. The book also must fortify the reader
against those ideas which exclude the gospel from
his mind or prevent him from seeing it in its true
light. Some beliefs are compatible and some are
not. Love and mercy are compatible. Love and
self-preservation (personal or national defense)
are generally compatible. But love is not
compatible with hate or aggression. Love cannot
possess a mind that is full of hate and aggression.
Love cannot conquer a nation which excludes love
and freedom. So it is with many other ideas or
states of mind and being in the world today. In his
infinite foreknowledge, God so fashioned the Book
of Mormon that it anticipated the needs of our
times. It contains a warning against the evil
philosophies and practices of our day. Christ
and His Gospel
The Book of Mormon message about
Christ and his gospel can be divided into at least
the following eight areas:
l . His divinity. This area
includes the prophecies of his coming,
announcements that he is the Son of God,
explanations of his being an agent for the Father,
and so on. In Mosiah 15. Abinadi gives four reasons
why Jesus is rightly called the Father: (a)
heirship or kinship.(b) agency or proctorship, (c)
as the Creator, and (d) as the Father Of the
faithful. In Ether 3, Christ's role in the Creation
is made known. Many other passages declare his
Godhood.
2 . The lethal necessity of a
Redeemer. The Book of Mormon clarifies the
meaning and nature of sin. law, punishment, mercy,
grace, and justice. It tells why obedience to law
without a Redeemer would avail nothing. It gives
the terms upon which mercy can claim the sinner
without destroying justice. No one can know his
need for a Redeemer without knowing these things
well enough to cause him to put his trust only in
Christ.
3. The nature of the Atonement.
In King Benjamin's great sermon and elsewhere in
the Book of Mormon we are brought to the
realization that Jesus' atonement was an expiatory
act by a divine being. His agony in Gethsemane for
our sins caused him to bleed at every pore. As he
hung from the cross, his heart broken, made to feel
forsaken by his Father, he was offered as the last
sacrifice, the spear of a heathen soldier doing
service as the sacrificial knife. We are bought
with his blood if we will plead for him to apply
the price.
4. The initiation of repentance
by the broken heart and contrite spirit.
When Benjamin finished his sermon, he discovered
that it had had a most profound effect upon his
hearers. An even more pronounced change came over
some others who had been more wicked. Alma the
Younger and some Lamanite royalty were stricken as
though dead. Zeezrom became exceedingly ill and
would have died if God had not sent Alma to heal
him. By these stories and in other ways, the Book
of Mormon brings its readers to a realization Of
the enormity of sin and the necessity of
recognizing our guilt.
5. The first principles of the
gospel. A knowledge of the four foregoing areas
is prerequisite to faith in Christ. But it must be
an active faith, a ''faith unto repentance.'' (Alma
34:15-17.) Nowhere is it possible to get a better
understanding of the purpose and meaning of the
first principles of the gospel than in the Book of
Mormon.
6. The rebirth. Of course,
the spiritual rebirth is embraced in the first four
principles when they are properly taught and
understood. But one should take some things apart
and look at the separate pieces and then put them
back together. The Book of Mormon does this with
the principle or process of being born again, being
born of the Spirit, or putting on Christ. Alma's
description of his own experience, as retold in
Alma 36, is beautiful and clear beyond comparison.
One might have gone through the formality of
baptism and the laying on of hands; but if he has
not received the new Spirit, his actions have been
in vain. Among the Book of Mormon peoples, the
second generation often apostatized. The lesson
seems to be that, while a rebirth will produce
certain works, the formality of pushing people into
those same works will not necessarily produce a
rebirth. That is where the broken heart and the
contrite spirit come in. i.e . The need for
enduring to the end. Since much of the Book of
Mormon is to or about those who are or were members
of the Church, it is understandable that the
doctrine of enduring to the end is contained in
nearly every chapter in either an implicit or
explicit form. The book is a great instrument to
''succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang
down, and strengthen the feeble knees.'' (Doctrine
and Covenants 81:5; see also Galatians 6:1-4.)
8. The moral Life of a Saint.
As one might reasonably expect, Jesus repeated to
the Nephites that greatest of sermons, which we
commonly call the Sermon on the Mount. But many
other choice sermons are given and many stories are
told to guide the feet of a Saint in the path of
righteousness. The reader is told the formula or
guide which will determine right from wrong in any
situation. In this study guide, this formula is
called ''the moral imperative.'' One explanation of
it is found in Moroni 7. Warning
Against Modem Pitfalls
The first thing we must realize if
we are to benefit by the warning voice of the Book
of Mormon is that it was addressed to the people of
our day. The words of those who have slumbered in
the dust were tailored to fit our needs. Then they
were hidden up and saved for our time.
And no one need say they shall not come. for
they surely shall, for the Lord hath spoken it; for
out of the earth shall they come, by the hand of
the Lord, and none can stay it; and it shall come
in a day when it shall be said that miracles are
done away; and it shall come even as if one should
speak from the dead. (Mormon 8:26.)
Hearken, O ye Gentiles. and hear
the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living
God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak
concerning you, for, behold he commanders me that I
should write, saying: Turn, all ye Gentiles, from
your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings,
of your lyings and deceivings. and of your
whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and
your idolatries. and of your murders, and your
priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes,
and from all your wickedness and abominations, and
come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye
may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled
with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with
my people who are of the house of Israel. (3 Nephi
30: l-2.) Two-Way
Warning
The Book of Mormon tells us stories
about Korihor, Nehor, Sherem, Zeezrom, Alma the
Younger, Corianton, Laman, and others whose faults
or mistakes are just as common in our day as in
times of old. They are a warning to us. These men
were deceived by Satan. Korihor taught many things
which are similar to the teachings of Karl Marx.
Nehor was a great ''liberal'' in the same sense
that the word is now appropriated by many who take
what they call a liberal view of religion and
politics. And they show the same intolerance for
opposition that he showed. No Latterday Saint need
be deceived by any of the modern Sherems, Nehors,
Korihors. and their like. We have been adequately
warned. As students and teachers of the Book of
Mormon, we ought to ponder the apostate prototypes
in the Book of Mormon and try to see them in our
modern culture. And this we will do if we always
keep paramount the idea that we must study and
teach the Book of Mormon as a warning voice to our
day. Studying
the Warning Message
l . The student of the Book of
Mormon must first settle his mind about the truth
of Joseph Smith's story. He must have a
testimony that this story is true; that is, he must
accept it on faith or by the knowledge conferred by
the Spirit. Any feeling that Joseph Smith's mind
created the book rather than that it was translated
from the gold plates damages the usefulness of the
Book of Mormon. Furthermore, the student must not
fall into the trap that some weak-faithed or
confused members have fallen into; that is. he must
not accept the book as a translation and then
dismiss some of its teachings by saying that the
Nephites just didn't know any better than to
believe such common superstitions of their times.
It is not man's right to dismiss or doubt any
teaching of the Book of Mormon. For instance, if
the Book of Mormon confirms the fall of Adam, the
Flood, the confusion of tongues at the time of the
tower of Babel, and similar matters, these things
must be accepted if the Book of Mormon is to be
accepted as having come the way Joseph Smith said
it came. Those who think otherwise simply are
confused or do not have an adequate testimony and
have not fully made up their minds to believe the
Book of Mormon.
God has the power to tell people
what he wants them to know and bring them to
understanding (not misunderstanding) in their own
tongue. (Doctrine and Covenants 1:24.) The voice of
God told the Three Witnesses that the book was true
and the translation correct. Joseph Smith said it
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.'' (Joseph Smith, History of the
Church, 4:461; see also 3 Nephi 5:18,. D&C
17:6,. 20:6- 10.)
If there is any error in the
teachings of the Book of Mormon, no man, by human
means, will be able to discover it. If Lehi said
that Adam introduced sin and death into the world,
it was so. Had he a knowledge of modern geology,
paleontology. or biology. his story would have been
no different. Anyone who accepts the book in any
less degree than this fails to understand the
potential power and influence of the book. What is
even worse, he may have condemned his own soul or
delayed the progress of those who listen to him if
he teaches ideas which cast doubt on the truth of
the Book of Mormon.
2 . The teacher or student must
have a correct understanding of what is meant
by the idea that the gospel embraces all truth.
This idea does not mean that the mind is a sponge
and knowledge is water and it doesn't matter where
the sponge soaks up water as long as it is soaking
it up. When the Brethren have taught that the
gospel embraces all truth, they did not mean that
all knowledge is of equal value. They have clearly
taught that some truths should hold a higher
position on our hierarchies of value than other
truths. We should seek spiritual knowledge earlier
and more diligently than secular knowledge-even
than secular knowledge that has been proven true by
all necessary tests. The prophets have taught that
we shouldn't believe everything the world believes.
When Brigham Young, for instance, said that the
gospel embraces all truth, he was using ''gospel''
to mean all of our religion. It is true that we
claim our religion embraces all truth and is
compatible with all truth. But we are selective
about what we accept as true. We screen the world's
beliefs. And the first screen always should be the
Book of Mormon.
We must not think of knowledge as though it were
somewhat analogous to a spectrum, with the subjects
ranging from accounting to zymurgy, let us say,
with all subjects of equal value. Some seem to feel
that, if the gospel embraces all truth, Shakespeare
is as important as Moses; that salvation is an
endless process of learning, and the more you
learn, the more you realize that you know nothing.
If one accepts the premises from which these people
reason, he can only conclude that a lifetime spent
on one segment of the knowledge spectrum is just as
useful, just as much an indication of love for the
gospel, as a lifetime spent on any other segment,
and that is definitely not the case.
This philosophy must be eliminated if one is to
teach or learn the best that is in the scriptures.
There are, as Paul said, two areas of knowledge:
that which can be learned by men and that which can
be learned only with the help of revelation.
(1Corinthians 2:11.) The ''things of God'' can be
known only by revelation. One must fully partake of
the spirit of Jacob's words:
Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the
Lord. How unseasonable are the depths of the
mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man
should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of
his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore,
brethren, despise not the revelations of God.
(Jacob 4:8.)
In saying the above, of course,
there is no intent to imply that, under the right
set of priorities, the learning of man cannot be
very productive and worthwhile. (2 Nephi 9:28-29,
42-43.)
3 . The student or teacher must
get a correct understanding of the nature of
man. Man is not necessarily essentially good or
utterly depraved. some people are quite good, some
quite evil. None pre born with a load of guilt or
blame; but, as they grow up, some prove to be very
good and some become very depraved. But all
are fallen. All are lost. Without the
Redeemer, none can be saved.
We are not just the product of
heredity and environment. While we do not bring
with us to earth a memory of a premortal
experience, we do bring the characters we formed in
that previous life. We developed those characters
over a comparatively long period of time, how long
we do not know. But we know we are here to be
tested, tried, and finally judged. God's judgment
would be a farce if there weren't something eternal
inside of us that we brought with us, for which we
alone are responsible. We are free to improve or
get worse. We can repent or we can refuse to
repent. We cannot be coerced into goodness by God,
because he has said he will not use coercion and he
is a God of truth. But he can and will hold us
accountable. He warns us and offers help all the
day long; but when night comes, we must face the
consequences of the preparations we have made in
the day. We need to listen to what God says
and not change it to fit our own prejudices.
4 Teachers and students must
learn to relate the Book of Mormon to their own
times, not just the times of the ancient writers
of the book. They must not approach it with
scholarly detachment. but must become involved in
it. Then they will identify each character with
their counterparts in our times. They will believe
that the theology is true, will accept the moral
code as their own way of life, and will identify
the false religious and political philosophies of
our day for what they are and thus be forewarned.
5 . Teachers and students should
study the Book of Mormon itself. While study
guides have value, the greatest value comes from
reading the Book of Mormon itself and then
pondering and praying about its message. The better
study guides tend to lead people into the Book of
Mormon itself, while the less valuable study guides
tend to lead them out of the Book of Mormon and
into commentaries and other readings about
the Book of Mormon. You cannot get the same witness
of the Spirit concerning the Book of Mormon by
studying everything except the Book of Mormon that
you can by studying the book itself. Paying
the Price for Knowledge
It takes time and hard work to
learn anything worth learning. The time spent must
be active, effective, dedicated, productive time.
There must be practice, repetition, and
participation of some sort. It usually takes an
hour a day for eight to ten years to produce a
somewhat accomplished piano player. Athletes
practice long hours for years and give a sport
their best all-out effort. Such learners never
really know whether it is all going to pay until
the scholarship or the contract is offered to them.
In the so called exact sciences, mathematics,
physics, chemistry, and in the applied sciences,
such as engineering and medicine, students are
expected to attend lecture courses besides reading
large and detailed texts. Then they are required to
go into laboratories and do tests and exercises
which illustrate the things they have read and
heard. In addition, they have problems to work at
home that must be done in writing. Courses in
grammar demand a great deal of written work in
class and at home. 'Students must learn to diagram
sentences, to write proper essays, themes, and term
papers.
All important areas of learning are difficult
and require a great deal of ''homework.'' Students
generally know that and usually are willing to pay
the price. Yet, none of the rewards for any of
these academic' athletic, or artistic efforts are
as important as the rewards for learning the
knowledge offered in the scriptures. Should we
expect it to be easier to provide for our spiritual
welfare than for our temporal welfare?
In one of the great sermons recorded in the Book
of Mormon, Jacob decried the materialism and
adultery of the Nephites. With reference to their
materialism, he said this:
"Think of your brethren like unto
yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with
your substance, that they may be rich like unto
you. But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the
kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope
in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them;
and ye will seek them for the intent to do good-to
clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to
liberate the captive, and administer relief to the
sick and the afflicted." (Jacob 2: 17-19.)
What Jacob is saying is that the
first quest is a search for the kingdom (the true
Church) and for a hope in Christ (the assurance of
salvation given by the First Comforter, or gift of
the Holy Ghost). No earthly goals should preempt
this great quest. Yet most members put worldly
success ahead of gaining a testimony of the truth
of the Book of Mormon and all that goes with it.
They promise themselves they will get around to it
after they graduate, or after they are settled in
their careers. By and by it becomes ''when the
family is raised.'' And so on. Most members finally
die without having even read the entire standard
works through once. Yet they have promised
themselves a thousand times to get it done. If the
whole Book of Mormon had been read as often as the
first three chapters of l Nephi, we would be a
Church of, perhaps. a hundred times the influence
we presently are. We even may have removed the
curse God put on us for neglecting the Book of
Mormon. (See D&C 84:54-58.)
The authors would like to suggest
that all would profit by record- ing their thoughts
about the scriptures in written form. We are never
too old to start doing ''homework.'' Everyone tends
to collect the best that comes ''across his desk.''
You will find that. if you try to write your own
thoughts, by and by these scraps of paper or
journal notes will become some of your most prized
possessions. With such an important and eternal
subject as the fulness of the gospel presented in
the Book of Mormon, how could you expect or hope to
learn it without producing your very best effort in
written homework? The Lord has said we must ''awake
and arouse (our) faculties.'' (Alma 32:27.) We are
told to seek ''with real intents'' (Moron! 10:4.)
And we are often reminded that ''faith without
works is dead.'' (James 2:21.)
One form your ''homework'' might take is writing
dialogues. Hundreds of students have found this a
very useful method of preparing for missionary work
in the mission field or with neighbors at home.
What you do is take a particular doctrine you have
learned and imagine yourself teaching it to someone
else. Give him or her a name and then write a
dialogue between that person and yourself. Try to
anticipate what the responses and objections will
be and how you will meet them. If you can pick a
specific individual you already know, you will find
it easier to predict his or her reactions. By and
by you will have a system worked out that will
produce success in your missionary endeavors. It
also will result in spiritual experiences that will
bring joy equal to anything you ever have
experienced.
Another form your writing might
take is that of making lists of ideas and concepts
on each subject you study. Read, study, and ponder
the passages suggested in this book or in the
Topical Guide (TG) which is found in the latest
edition of the Bible published by the Church. Then
sit down and try to make a list of concepts on that
subject. For instance, on baptism, you might
include in your list these concepts or ideas: ( l )
Baptism is a covenant. (2) Baptism is the door or
gate through which we must enter to get onto the
path that leads to eternal life. (3) Baptism places
us under covenant to keep all the covenants that
have been accepted by common consent. (4) Baptism
obligates us to mourn with those who mourn, comfort
those who stand in need of comfort, and so forth.
(See Mosiah 18:8-10.) (5) Baptism has no value
without faith in Christ and repentance. (6) Baptism
is invalid if we do not forgive our enemies and all
who have harmed us. (7) And so on.
As you write these lists, try to
bring the Book of Mormon into your life today. The
present Church manuals call this ''likening the
scriptures unto us.'' This idea is derived from l
Nephi 19:23. It is an antidote to the
''me-here-and-now'' attitude of many selfish
humanistic movements of the sixties, seventies, and
eighties.
Ask yourself. ''What is this
passage trying to tell me about my life, my
friends, my family, my school work, my government,
my neighbor, my mission, my Church activity. What
is it trying to tell me about 'the great plan of
the Eternal God' (Alma 34:9), about my Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, about my eternal life?''
When something comes to your mind from the
message of the scriptures, combine the language of
holy writ and your own language and express the
idea or concept in writing. Make a numbered list in
writing of these ideas and concepts as you read the
scriptures on various subjects. This is your
homework assignment. Those who have done this
testify that it bears good fruit. It is worth the
effort, determination, and work that it requires.
The following list is a recapitulation and
expansion of the reasons why you should do this
written homework:
l . It is your opportunity to express yourself
in ''Book of Mormon language'' as you learn to
understand it and adopt it as your own. A ''Book of
Mormon man or woman'' is recognized by his or her
speech patterns and ideas about every facet of
life. If he speaks the language, you know he has
been there.
2. The lists give you an opportunity to see what
you have learned from studying the scriptures. It
is said that you don't know anything until you can
teach it and that writing makes your thinking more
accurate. If you put it in a sentence or a
paragraph, you begin to look at it and wonder if it
will pass inspection. This makes you more careful
about what you say.
3. These lists or writing exercises give you an
opportunity to see how well you can form thoughts
in your mind and then express them in writing for
your own or someone else's reading. Only practice
can make you a writer. Writing is among the hardest
work there is; but that is no more of an excuse to
stop trying than it would be to stop trying to
improve your percentage at throwing the basketball
through the hoop. All good things come hard.
4. Your writing will serve as a complete set of
notes for later use. And these notes will be a
byproduct of your study of the Book of Mormon. They
will be a reminder of the ground you have been
over.
5. This ''homework'' can be a future reference
and outline for you as you make and accept teaching
assignments in your life as a parent and as a
servant of the Lord in his Church.
If you often review and revise what you have
written, you will find that a lot of your homework
for future assignments was completed when you first
began to earnestly study the Book of Mormon and the
other scriptures. One other thing on this written
work: Except for assignments from teachers, who
assign homework for their own specific purposes,
develop your own system and organization of
writing. We generally are more productive when we
are being creative instead of just imitating
someone else. How
This Book Is Organized
The main body of this book is made up of
separate sections or topics, such as baptism,
faith, repentance, and so on. In turn, each topic
has five parts: ( l ) a title, including an acronym
or code name which serves as a short title; (2) an
explanation of the content of the topic; (3) a
''take-off passage''; (4) a list of scriptural
references called ''other passages''; and (5) a set
of ''study questions.' ' Following is a detailed
explanation of the purpose and content of each of
these five parts:
l . The title and acronym
identify the subject matter in the section or
topic. If you find the title unclear or inadequate,
just read the first few sentences of the
explanatory section.
The acronym or code name (e.g., B for Baptism),
which is set off by bullets to the right of the
title, serves additional purposes. Like all
acronyms, it serves as a short title. This makes it
possible to refer back and forth in this book from
one section to another more conveniently. And it is
the basis of a marking system which is illustrated
in the appendix. If you follow this marking system,
you may find it desirable to subdivide some of the
acronyms-like Bl , B2, B3, and so forth. This will
make it possible for you to separate the passages
on that subject into appropriate subtopics.
2. The explanatory section
has the purpose of giving unity and direction to
the set of references which follow it. It is not
meant as a full explanation of the subject under
investigation, but as a means of indicating what
you might look for as you study the passages
listed. Of course, you may find things you value
more highly than any we have mentioned. That is one
of the things we hope will happen.
3. The Take-off Passage
serves several purposes. One purpose is to serve as
the starting place for your marking system if you
decide to use ours or one of your own. If you use
the acronyms we have sug- gested, or a set you have
made up yourself, you can write this acronym in the
margin where the take-off passage appears in your
Book of Mormon. Don't feel compelled to use our
take-off passage. You should start with the passage
you feel is the best starting place. Then you can
write another passage in the margin of your Book of
Mormon by that one. This other passage should be
the next one you want to go to on the subject
suggested by the acronym.
You will note that our take-off
passage for Baptism (B) was Mosiah 18:8-18. (That
was President Harold B. Lee's favorite passage on
the subject of baptism.) The next passage we give
is 2 Nephi 31:5-17, which tells why Jesus had to be
baptized and why we have to be baptized. The next
passage is 3 Nephi l l :21-28, the one in which
Jesus himself tells us how baptism is to be done.
The next passage is Moroni 8, which absolutely
forbids infant baptism and gives a highly
theological treatise on baptism and the doctrines
immediately related to it.
You may wish to write ''B'' in the
margin by each one of the above scriptures. And you
may wish to write all of the references listed in
the Baptism (B) section by every other passage
listed. (See sample page in Appendix.) Or you may
wish to list just one passage by each other
passage. In any event, all this is just by way of
suggestion for a system by which you can have a
whole series of ready-made sermons or lessons
outlined in the margins of your scriptures. If you
are called out of the congregation to speak, all
you have to do is thumb through your scriptures
until you see an acronym that you feel prompted to
start following back and forth. Then you can speak
''as one having authority, and not as the scribes
and Pharisees.''
Some have listed all the acronyms. together with
their take-off passages, in the front of their
copies of the Book of Mormon. Then all they have to
do when called upon for a speech or lesson is to
prayerfully go over the list until they feel
inspired in the selection of a topic. Of course,
the idea is not to just read out the passages in
turn-- though that would be better than many could
do without such an aid. The idea is to read each
passage in turn and then explain to your audience
how it clarifies the topic upon which you are
speaking.
4. The Other Passages
section is just what the name and the information
in section 3, above, imply. If you decide to use
the acronyms as a marking system, do not get in too
big a hurry to cross-reference all of the ''other
passages'' to each other, especially if there are a
lot of them. Cross-reference them as they become
fully meaningful to you. Also, consult the Topical
Guide for additional passages. Be sure you
understand the connection of one passage to
another. Avoid too many that are simply repetitive.
Think in terms of a logical flow for a sermon, and
reference them accordingly.
Another way to approach this
marking system is to combine it with the Topical
Guide (TG) in the new edition of the scriptures. In
that case, you may wish to circle or underline
footnotes in the TG and in the Book of
Mormon/Triple Combination index, and at the bottom
of the page and write the acronym you wish to use
in a prominent place on the page in such a manner
that, when you see this acronym and the circled
footnotes, you will remember why you did it. If you
master the TG and sprinkle acronyms in appropriate
places in your scriptures, you will soon find that
you have developed the ability to discourse on
almost any subject that can properly come up in
your Church assignments.
5. The Study Questions
section is meant to stimulate thought and analysis
about the particular subject being studied. These
questions are framed on the assumption that the
reader has looked up the passages and pondered
them. Still. it is suggested that the questions be
read once before the ''other passages'' are read.
That will help the reader find further implications
in these passages. Then he can go back to the
questions and give them a second try.
The authors do not claim to have
presented all the passages on any given subject, or
even a significant portion in some cases. You may
find what you consider better passages when you
start searching on your own initiative or through
the TG. Also. this is by no means an exhaustive
list of Book of Mormon subjects or concepts. It is
an illustration of a system of studying and can be
used as a system for marking the scriptures. We
have tried to use what have been to us the most
useful passages. We have also presented some useful
and less often observed subject areas.
You will note that some sections have many
references and some have only a few. One reason for
that is that one needs only a few passages on some
subjects to give one plenty to study or talk about.
In other cases, even though (he material is
lengthy, (here are so many ramifications that it is
necessary to show some of them. and the only way
that can be done is by listing a lot of passages.
In some large areas such as repentance, for
instance, we have used what almost might be called
a random selection. You may want to subdivide these
sections and add many references.
You will also discover that there is
considerable overlapping on some subjects. This is
inevitable because there are many different issues
raised within a single verse of some of the best
Book of Mormon sermons. Study the passages first,
and then decide which passages to use in your
marking system. Perhaps it might be well to use an
inexpensive copy of the Book of Mormon the first
time you try a marking system. You will not regret
the practice.
The passages we have used are
mainly expository in nature. That is, we have
selected passages with an emphasis on doctrine.
Next you may want to find good anecdotal passages
to add interest to your lessons and sermons. For
example. the great prayer recorded in John 17 is
illustrative of the principle of prayer, while the
prayer of the Lamanite king in Alma 22 can be used
in a story approach to prayer.
Of course, any theological or expository passage
can be introduced by telling the story in the
context.
In the following pages the subjects are arranged
chronologically by take-off passage. That is, they
come in the order the take-off passages appear in
the text of the Book of Mormon. An alphabetic index
to these subjects, based on the acronyms, appears
at the end of the book.
We hope this will be only the beginning of your
systematic study of the scriptures. If you will pay
the price, you can find great treasures of
knowledge in the scriptures:
"And again, the elders,
priests and teachers of this church shall teach the
principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and
the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of
the gospel. And they shall observe the covenants
and church articles to do them, and these shall be
their teachings, as they shall be directed by the
Spirit. And the Spirit shall be given unto you by
the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the
Spirit ye shall not teach." (D&C
42:12-14.) |
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Copyright Joseph Educational Foundation, Inc. 1999 Last Update: 26 Nov 1999 |
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