This isn’t about trying to convince anyone to think the
way I do, it’s just me explaining what I know and how I got there. In the
Church, we often talk about the divinity of the Book of Mormon, but what does
that really mean? When we say the book is divine, does that just mean it’s
really good? I’ve heard people exclaim that a particular dessert is divine, but
I doubt it’s the same.
To me, there are three aspects of the divinity of the
Book of Mormon:
1. Divine
Purpose
2. Divine
Origin
3. Divine
Translation
If any one of these is removed, the other two don’t
stand. So let’s look at each one.
Divine Purpose
Why do we have the Book of Mormon? The Title Page, which
Joseph Smith translated with the plates, states that the book is:
·
Written to the Jew and Gentile (that covers
everyone)
·
Written by commandment, “and also by the spirit
of prophecy and of revelation”
·
To be interpreted “by the gift of God”
·
To convince Jew and Gentile (again, that’s
everyone), “that Jesus is the Christ”
Mormon taught us that the record was written so we would
believe the “record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews” saying
that if we believed that record, we would also believe this record (the Book of
Mormon). Those who have come to love the Bible will recognize that same spirit
in the Book of Mormon, as they are from the same divine source. Nephi also saw
this in a vision, where “plain and precious” things had been lost or removed
from the Bible over the years (1 Nephi 13:26) and that the coming forth of the
Book of Mormon would “establish the truth of the [Bible]”.
Now we have the Bible and Book of Mormon to jointly
testify that Jesus is the Christ.
Divine Origin
Through the prophet Lehi, we learn that Joseph in Egypt was
taught about a branch of his seed that would be broken off and raised in
righteousness (2 Nephi 3), and that this branch would keep a record that would
one day “grow together” with the writings of the seed of Judah (the Bible). He
was also taught about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and translation by
one who would be “called after me; and ... after the name of his father.” I
wonder what went through Joseph Smith’s mind as he translated that passage and
realised it was speaking about him.
The Lord was preparing for the Book of Mormon for
hundreds of years before Lehi’s family ever left Jerusalem, and His hand can be
seen as various writers added their commentary to the record.
Nephi mentioned a couple of times in his writings that he
didn’t know why he was making a second set of records, other than “the Lord
hath commanded me... for a wise purpose in him” (1 Nephi 9:5, 1 Nephi
19:2-3). He also said that he wasn’t
going to write anything on the plates “save it be that I think it be sacred” (1
Nephi 19:6).
Moroni knew the record he had compiled was not for his
day, but for ours. “Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye
are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing”
(Mormon 8:35).
Divine Translation
Moroni said that after he hid the record, no one would be
able to “bring it to light save it be given him of God” (Mormon 8:14).
Emma Smith, who often helped Joseph as a scribe during
the translation process, described how Joseph would work. She said, “When he
stopped for any purpose at any time he would, when he commenced again, begin
where he left off without any hesitation, and one time while he was translating
he stopped suddenly, pale as a sheet, and said, ‘Emma, did Jerusalem have walls
around it?’ When I answered, ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘Oh! [I didn’t know.] I was
afraid I had been deceived.’ He had such a limited knowledge of history at that
time that he did not even know that Jerusalem was surrounded by walls” (Edmund
C. Briggs, “A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” Journal of History, Jan. 1916, p. 454).
As part of her final testimony to her son, she said
Joseph “could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter, let
alone dictate a book like the Book of Mormon. And, though I was an active
participant in the scenes that transpired, and was present during the
translation of the plates, and had cognizance of things as they transpired, it
is marvelous to me, "a marvel and a wonder," as much so as to anyone
else...
“I am satisfied that no man could have dictated the
writing of the manuscripts unless he was inspired; for, when acting as his
scribe, your father would dictate to me hour after hour; and when returning
after meals, or after interruptions, he could at once begin where he had left
off, without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read to
him. This was a usual thing for him to do. It would have been improbable that a
learned man could do this; and, for one so ignorant and unlearned as he was, it
was simply impossible.” (Emma Smith - Last Testimony of Emma Smith 1879 Q&A
between Emma and Joseph Smith III, The Saints' Herald 26 (Oct 1879))
To me, that is what it means to say “the book is divine”.
It is divine because its purpose is to bring us closer to Christ. It is divine
because God has guided the events surrounding it for centuries and foretold its
coming. It is divine because it was translated by the gift and power of God. It
is divine because I have received divine confirmation that it is true.
