The Book of Mormon – More Precious
Than Gold
“I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was
taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many
afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored
of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness
and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my
days.”
(1 Nephi 1:1)
(Words
of Christ are displayed in red. Words of Heavenly Father are displayed in red bold.)
From the very
first verse of the entire Book of Mormon, we are exposed to a richness of light
and truth that is unequalled from any other source. I say this boldly, sharing
these words from the Prophet Joseph Smith:
“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)
So, I have a
question… don’t raise your hand but consider this question. Who of you would
like to find a gold mine? …this week?
Why?
…Well, it’s not
that hard to imagine why. Gold represents a long-term store of value and
finding a gold mine could serve you well, and potentially, for the rest of your
life. You could be rich!
So, here’s the
next question. When you find it, what will you do with it?
Wasn’t the young
Prophet Joseph led to a treasure of gold? We know this from his testimony as he
learned from the Angel Moroni the location of the gold plates and after some
years of schooling, received them from the messenger of the Lord. The young
Joseph Smith was warned at his peril to guard the plates and with great
persecution he was able to do so, until he was done with them and delivered
them up unto the angel.
But the treasure
Joseph found was not in the gold… was it?
The Angel Moroni
“…added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt
me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father’s family), to get
the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I
must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God,
and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his
kingdom; otherwise I could not get them.”
- Joseph Smith History - 1:46 [emphasis added]
In case the
subject of my message is not apparent by now, it is about:
The Book of Mormon - More Precious Than Gold!
I pray that the Spirit of the Lord may convey
this message to your hearts, notwithstanding the weakness of the messenger. I
echo the sentiments expressed in 1 Nephi 6:4 with just a minor modification…
“For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade [YOU] to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved.”
What is the
message of The Book of Mormon? Well, do you think Nephi would know? Let’s ask
him…
“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ,
we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our
children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
-
2 Nephi 25:26
Let’s ask Omni…
“And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto
Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the
power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an
offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end;
and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.”
-
Omni1:26
The message of
The Book of Mormon is that you, and I, must “Come… unto Christ.”
This is the pure
message of the Gospel.
It is plain!
It is precious!
It was lost!
It’s been found!
It contains the
Doctrine of Christ, which doctrine must be our primary focus of these last
days.
In 1982, the
subtitle, “Another Testament of Jesus Christ” was added to The Book of Mormon.
I’m convinced that The Book of Mormon in these last days, is the primary
testament of Jesus Christ and that all other scripture is ancillary to it. The
Book of Mormon doesn’t just invite us to come unto Christ, it contains a rich
feast of patterns that teach us why and show us how.
Speaking in the
April 2005 General Conference, President Boyd K. Packer gave an address, “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ—Plain and Precious Things,”
and shared the following sentiments:
“When a verse I had passed
over several times took on personal meaning, I thought whoever wrote that verse
had a deep and mature understanding of my life and how I felt.
“For example, I read that the prophet Lehi partook of the fruit of
the tree of life and said, ‘Wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family
should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit’
(1 Ne. 8:12). I had read that more than once. It did not mean much to me.
“The prophet Nephi also said that he had written ‘the things of my
soul … for the learning and the profit of my children’ (2 Ne. 4:15). I had read that before, and it did not mean all that much to me,
either. But later when we had children, I understood that both Lehi and Nephi
felt just as deeply about their children as we feel about our children and
grandchildren.”
I have similar
sentiments. I’ve been a member of the church for over forty years. I go through
The Book of Mormon several times a year and some things have stood out for me
of late, which have not been clear before and The Doctrine of Christ is one of
those things.
President Nelson
said this of the Doctrine of Christ in the Saturday morning session of our most
recent General Conference (October 2021),
“The pure doctrine of
Christ is powerful. It changes the life of everyone who understands it and
seeks to implement it in his or her life."
A search for
the doctrine of Christ is somewhat hidden in the Old and New Testaments but is
clearly taught throughout The Book of Mormon. This will be our focus today.
Near the end of
his ministry, Nephi, the son of Lehi is writing 2
Nephi 31, a chapter I have always found remarkable. Imagine if you will,
that in his closing testimony, he wants to wrap it up with the most important
message he can share. This is a chapter with bookends, so in verse 2, he writes
this…
“Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it
be a few words which I must speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore,
I shall speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my prophesying.”
…and in the last
verse, 21, he closes the bookend with this…
“And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there
is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the
kingdom of 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. Amen.”
As I envision
this scenario, I can see him etching on the plates and contemplating his
message. As he is writing and pondering, he is joined in a three-way
conversation by none other than the Father and the Son. It stands to reason,
that these three witnesses are cognizant of their audience, you and I, and
expect us to heed their words.
Nephi continues
in verses 5 through 8, where we are taught that Christ, while yet being holy,
submitted himself to the will of the Father and showed us by example how to
enter in at the gate, being baptized by water, and witnessing to the Father of
His obedience in doing his will…
“Wherefore, after he was
baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove.”
Nephi is reasoning,
even pleading with us here to follow the example of Christ.
The conversation
continues in verses 9 – 12…
“And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of
the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having
set the example before them.
“And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved
brethren, can we follow Jesus save we
shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
“And the Father said: Repent ye, repent
ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.
“And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give
the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye
have seen me do.”
I commend this
chapter to you because this conversation becomes even more remarkable. In
verses 13, 14 and 17, Nephi and Christ refer to a baptism of fire and of the
Holy Ghost.
Verses 13 – 14…
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow
the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception
before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the
Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea,
by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his
word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the
baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of
angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.”
“But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son
unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins,
and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by
the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy
Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels,
and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had
not known me.”
Again, the Father
verifies these words in verse 15…
“And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that
endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.”
While I recommend
reading and re-reading 2 Nephi 31, verse 17 speaks of the gate we should enter:
“Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen
that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been
shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the
gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then
cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.” [emphasis
added]
Jacob the brother
of Nephi speaks of the gate by which we should enter. 2 Nephi 9:41...
"O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy
One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow,
but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is
the Holy One of Israel; and He employeth no servant there; and there is none
other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord
God is his name." [Emphasis added]
The Prophet
Joseph stated,
“You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in
view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water
is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half—that is,
the baptism of the Holy Ghost” (History of the Church, 5:499).
Nephi continues
with the Doctrine of Christ in Chapter 32, summarizing in verse 6,
“Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be
no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the
flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things
which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.” [emphasis added]
What is needed to
fulfill the Doctrine of Christ?
Complete
submission to God! Christ speaks to the Nephites who are in the darkness
and were spared from the destruction in 3 Nephi 9:20…
“And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken
heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a
contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as
the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion,
were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.”
He speaks to them
again in person in 3 Nephi 11:31-40…
“Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare
unto you my doctrine.
“And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which
the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father
beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me;
and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and
believe in me.
“And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same
shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
“And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized,
shall be damned.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my
doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me
believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me,
for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
“And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the
Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and
I, and the Holy Ghost are one.
“And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as
a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these
things.
“And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be
baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit
the kingdom of God.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my
doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against them.
“And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and
establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my
rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open
to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.”
3 Nephi 12:19
“And behold, I have given you the law and the
commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall
repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite
spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled.”
The promised
baptism of fire and baptism of the Holy Ghost appears to be a covenant. 2 Nephi 2:7 makes this unmistakably clear…
“Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the
ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and
unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.” [Emphasis added]
More references
regarding a broken heart and a contrite spirit can be found in…
·
Helaman 8:15
·
2
Nephi 4:32
·
Mormon 2:14
·
Ether 4:15
·
Moroni 6:2
What do we have
to do to reach such a level of humility? Christ promises those who come to him
with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, a baptism of fire and of the Holy
Ghost!
A number of
Lamanites who had come to put an end to Nephi and Lehi, the sons of Helaman,
being overshadowed by a cloud of darkness, humbled themselves and began to cry
unto the voice that had shaken the earth, Helaman
5:43-45…
“And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about, and saw
that the cloud of darkness was dispersed from overshadowing them, behold, they
saw that they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire.
“And Nephi and Lehi were in the midst of them; yea, they were
encircled about; yea, they were as if in the midst of a flaming fire, yet it
did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and
they were filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.
“And behold, the Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and
did enter into their hearts, and they were filled as if with fire, and they
could speak forth marvelous words.”
Consider now, as
mentioned earlier, that The Book of Mormon contains patterns throughout
that teach us why and how we must come unto Christ.
One of those I
noticed and taught in a Family Home Evening over thirty years ago, while our
children were still young, and was something I continued to teach in youth
Sunday School classes and referred to as Nephi’s pattern. When we visualize the
experiences from 1 Nephi chapters 1 and 2, a couple of things stand out.
In 1 Nephi 1:4, the author records these words…
“For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the
reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem
in all his days); and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying
unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be
destroyed.”
Let’s put this in
context. From the record, it appears that not only had Lehi spent his entire
life in Jerusalem, the holy city, the center place of Israel, but he must have
established himself reasonably well. He was raising a family and, as we learn
later, he apparently had a profitable business and… life was good, right?
Well… not so
fast. Imagine his consternation upon hearing from many prophets that his
community, in which he had invested his time, talent and treasure and from
which he’d derived his living was on a crash course for destruction. What would
that even look like? What would you do?
What did Lehi do?
Verse 5…
“Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth
prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.”
Lehi was a
remarkable man. However distressing this news must have been to him, the record
states that he prayed with all of his heart “…in behalf of his people.” This is
consistent with the same frame of mind when the Lord confided with Abraham that
he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
In Genesis 18:16-33, Abraham pleads, “Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the
wicked?” The Lord commits to Abraham that He will not destroy the city for
fifty, neither fifty-five, neither forty, neither thirty, neither twenty,
neither ten righteous. Eventually, only Lot and his daughters survived that
destruction.
Evidently, how
the Lord works was not a mystery to Lehi. Or was it? Verses 6 through 9…
“And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a
pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and
because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble
exceedingly.
“And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at
Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and
the things which he had seen.
“And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a
vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting
upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the
attitude of singing and praising their God.
“And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst
of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at
noon-day.”
Lehi hears the
prophets, probably Jeremiah among them, prays to the Lord for his people, and receives
a profound spiritual experience. He sees the Lord in vision and then what? From
verse 18 and part of 19…
“Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had
shown so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction
of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and
to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.”
Lehi becomes one
of the prophets, as he cannot be restrained from testifying of what he has seen
and heard. But his countrymen reject him. Because of the persecution he
experiences, the Lord warns him to flee Jerusalem with his family.
Nephi hears the
words of his father. He prays and, receives a witness for himself. See 1Nephi 2:16-17
Lehi heard the
prophets, prayed to the Lord, saw the Lord and became a prophet. Nephi heard a
prophet – his father – prayed to the Lord, saw the Lord and becomes a prophet.
There is another
pattern that should be noticed, though maybe shared for another time. This pattern
is that the Lord delivers His chosen from destruction. As Lot and his daughters
were rescued from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and as Lehi and his
family were driven out of Jerusalem, ponder this pronouncement from 1 Nephi 1:20…
“But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies
of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to
make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.”
So back to
Nephi’s pattern, why does it even matter? Well, let’s ask Moses, from Numbers 11:26-29…
“But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the
one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon
them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the
tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
“And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and
Medad do prophesy in the camp.
“And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young
men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
“And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that
all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit
upon them!”
This point took a
long time to get to, but the first message of The Book of Mormon, to come unto
Christ, appears to be a literal reality.
Why must we come unto Christ?
Mosiah 3:19
“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the
fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings
of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through
the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek,
humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord
seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.”
When Christ was
brought before Pilate, He was asked,
“Art thou the King of the Jews?”
...and His
declarative response?
“My kingdom is not of this world…”
-
John 18:33,36
Christ’s kingdom
is not of this world! Brothers and sisters, recognize that when we choose Christ,
then your kingdom, my kingdom, our kingdom is NOT. OF. THIS. WORLD. If it is,
then by definition, we are enemies to God!
How must we come unto Christ?
We must submit to
Christ as he submitted to the Father. We must be willing to give up all that we
have or will have; all that we are or will be; to lay on the altar, EVERYTHING
the Lord has given us in this temporal world for something better, something
ETERNAL. We not only follow Christ into the waters of baptism, but according to
the scripture, we receive a spiritual cleansing that comes only from the
baptism of Fire and the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Beware that as you
and I – as each of us – choose Christ, we may be led to follow Him into
submission, even as He was humbled! The
Son of God, Creator of heaven and earth, condescended to become as we are and
set an example for us. Submitting himself to the will of the Father, he wasn’t
just humbled, He was crushed by the weight of YOUR sins and MINE, and of all minkind
through His infinite Atonement, He was afterward HUMILIATED, ABUSED AND MURDERED
by His own people and in so doing, HE PAID THE DEBT HE DID NOT OWE, TO FREE US
FROM THE DEBT WE CANNOT PAY!
What kingdom,
then, are WE seeking? Christ invites us in 3 Nephi 27:27, saying:
“…what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto
thee, even as I am”
Then, may we be
ready in these last days to triumph as He has, after possibly suffering, even
as He did.
It should be
undeniable to any of us that we live in the last days, and this is our time, it
is why we are here.
“Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
-
Luke 22:42
I have a question
for you. How would you like to find a
gold mine… this week and ongoing? We have it in The Book of Mormon and it is
our work to Come unto Christ, to...
Seek His face (D&C
93:1)
Live His doctrine
(3 Nephi 9:20)
Invite all to
come to Christ (James
5:20)
Enter into the
rest of the Lord...
(Alma 13:12, Alma 13:16, Alma 13:29, Moroni 7:3, and more)
“Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.” – Doctrine & Covenants 11:7
In the name of Jesus Christ... Amen!
[Edited transcript of a talk given in
Clinton Ward, Warrensburg Missouri Stake, on 31 October 2021]
