Why Read the Book of Mormon?
(compiled by Seventy Frank Frye)

1. It is another witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ.
...to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus Christ is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.
Title page, (iii)

2. It contains prophecies recorded centuries ago which are being fulfilled
right now.
Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth.
Mormon 4:38

3. It contains more information on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
For behold, the covenant which I have made with my people, is not all fulfilled; but the law which was given unto Moses, hath an end in me. Behold, I am the law, and the light; look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live, for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.
3 Nephi 7:9-10

Therefore whoso remembereth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, him will I raise up at the last day.
3 Nephi 7:2

4. It contains more information about life after death.
Behold, it has been made known unto me, by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body; yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life...
Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked; yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful, looking for, of the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.
Alma 19:43 & 47

5. It supports the divinity of the Holy Bible.
And he said unto me, The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord which he hath made unto the house of Israel; And it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; And it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord which he hath made unto the house of Israel; Wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles. 1 Nephi 3:161-164

6. It teaches sexual purity and monogamous marriage.
Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives, and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord,...Wherefore, I, the Lord God, will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old. Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none:  For I, the Lord God, delighteth in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me: thus saith the Lord of hosts.
Jacob 2:33, 35-37

7. It supports the Biblical teachings of creation and catastrophism.
Who shall say that it was not a miracle, that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word, man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word, hath miracles been wrought?
Mormon 4:78

8. It supports the Biblical witness that God is a God of miracles.
For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will shew unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and for ever; and I work not among the children of men, save it be according to their faith.
2 Nephi 11:145
9. It teaches the importance of God’s Word.
And now, behold, I say unto you; and I would that ye should remember that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name: therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word.
And now, he imparteth his word by angels, unto men; yea, not only men, but women also. Now this is not all: little children do have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned.
Alma 16:144-1467

10. It supports and explains the Biblical teaching of the Atonement.
For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the eternal God, there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish;
Yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen, and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made;
For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice: but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.
Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood, which will atone for the sins of another... And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law; every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God; yea, infinite and eternal; and thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name;...And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance, is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore, only unto him that has faith unto repentance, is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.
Alma 16:208-211, 215, 217

11. It supports the Biblical teaching that there is only one God.
And now behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end.
2 Nephi 13:32

12. It contains more information about the Old Testament.
Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold, a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live. But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts.
But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look; therefore they perished.
Now the reason they would not look, was because they did not believe that it would heal them.
O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes, that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?
If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins;
Alma 16:191-196

13. It is prophesied of in the Holy Bible.
And thou (Jerusalem) shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
Isaiah 29:4

Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Psalm 85:11

The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and fro all the house of Israel his companions:
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these?
Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
Ezekiel 37:15-20

14. It is easy to understand.
And now my brethren, I have spoken plain, that ye cannot err;
2 Nephi 11:37

15. It Supports and expands on the Biblical witness that God is an
unchangeable God.
For he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. And the way is prepared from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.
1 Nephi 3:27-28

For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.
Moroni 8:19

16. It promotes faith in God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
For the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him, ye also deny the prophets and the law.
2 Nephi 11:54

Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things both in heaven and in earth;
Believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth;
Believe that man doth not comprehend all things which the Lord can comprehend.
And again: Believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you: And now, if you believe all these things, see that ye do them.
Mosiah 2:13-17

17. It contains more prophetic information about latter day events.
And these plates of brass which contain these engravings, which have the records of the holy scriptures upon them, which have the genealogy of our forefathers, even from the beginning.
And behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord, until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon.
Alma 17:32-33

18. It amplifies the meaning of the Law of Moses as a witness of Jesus
Christ.
Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses; and he proveth all his words. Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ:
For, for this end hath the law of Moses been given: And all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.
2 Nephi 8:6-9

Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfill the law; therefore, it
hath an end.
3 Nephi 7:6

 

19. It supports the Biblical teaching that Jesus Christ is Jehovah of the Old Testament who was with the Father in the Creation.

Behold I am Jesus Christ, the son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.
3 Nephi 4:44-45

20. It supports the universal mission of Jesus Christ to all nations.
...which is to shew unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off for ever; and also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.
Title Page (iii)

21. It is the history of three groups of people who were led to the New World by the hand of  God.
Nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land: For the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea.
But great are the promises of the Lord unto those who are upon the isles of the sea;
Wherefore, as it says isles, there must needs be more than this; and they are inhabited also by our brethren. For behold, the Lord God has led away from time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure.
2 Nephi 7:34-38

An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether; also, which is a record of the people of Jared; who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven.
Title Page (iii)

22. It teaches the restoration of the House of Israel in the last days.
And it shall come to pass that my people which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one.
2 Nephi 12:73

23. It supports and expands on the Biblical teaching of the Fall of Man.
Because of the fall, our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.
Ether 1:63

Behold, he created Adam; and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man, came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.
Mormon 4:71

24. It Gives promises and warnings to the people living in the land of America in the latter days.
And now we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise, and whatsoever nation shall possess it, shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them.
Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it, shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ who hath been manifested by the things which we have
written.
Ether 1:31 & 35

25. It further explains the Biblical teaching of the resurrection.
Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall come forth from the dead.
Now when this time cometh, no one knows; but God knoweth the time which is appointed.
Now whether there shall be one time, or a second time, or a third time, that men shall come forth from the dead, it mattereth not; for God knoweth all these things; and it sufficeth me to know that this is the case; that there is a time appointed that all shall rise from the dead.
Now there must needs be a space betwixt the time of death, and the time of the resurrection.
And now I would inquire what becometh of the souls of men, from this time of death, to the time appointed for the resurrection?
Now whether there is more than one time appointed for men to rise, it mattereth not: for all do not die at once: and this mattereth not; all is as one day, with God; and time only is measured unto men.
Alma 19:33-38

27. It witnesses that God is not a partial God, and that all may freely come to him for salvation.
And he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female;
And he remembereth the heathen, and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.
2 Nephi 11:114-115

28. It witnesses along with the Bible that there is but one way, and that way is through Jesus Christ.
Yea, behold, I say unto you, that as these things are true, and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven, save it be this Jesus Christ of which I have spoken, whereby man can be saved.
2 Nephi 11:39

29. It warns us that in the last days there will be those who will teach that Satan does not exist.
And thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.
And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them, I am no devil, for there is none:
2 Nephi 12:26-27

30. It warns us that in the last days there will be those who will deny the existence of God.
And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another; and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.
And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people, Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept;
For behold, there is no God to-day, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men.
2 Nephi 12:5-7

31. It supports the Biblical teaching of a world-wide flood in the days of Noah.

For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had receded from off the face of this land, it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord.
Ether 6:2

32. It is a book which contains a promise from the Lord that whoever will read it and ask God about it anyone may receive a testimony of its divinity and truthfulness by the power of God.

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; and by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things.
Moroni 10:4-5

Why not put it to the test?

 The Lord is faithful and will keep all his promises. See for yourself that the Book of Mormon is indeed a record of God’s word which stands along side the Bible-God’s record of the Jews.