The purest, simplest description of the Book of Mormon is that it is literally, “another testament of Jesus Christ,” given to mankind so that they may know how to become like Him.
Yet sometimes, if only the surface of the Book of Mormon is studied, it is easy to loose sight of Christ in between pages after page of wars and contentions, kings and judges, journeys and trials and prophecies. If we diligently study the Book of Mormon, we will find that Christ is on every page, and we will come to a better understanding of his divine purpose and character. Furthermore, if we emulate those characteristics and do our best to become like Him, we can have all the blessings promised to the faithful in the Book of Mormon. One chapter that speaks volumes
…show more content…
It is incomprehensibly significant that Christ yields himself “as a man” to be judged wrongly and crucified by these wicked men. Jesus Christ is the firstborn Son of God, the Prince of the Heavens, and the Creator of the Earth. Through the Father he has all power, and is deserving of all exaltation, yet he voluntarily chose to lower himself to the level of men, to fulfill the will of the Father and complete the Atonement for us. He could have destroyed His persecutors in an instant and avoided all the pain, but He set aside his power for that moment so that he could truly experience what mortal men experience and feel what they feel. This is without a doubt the greatest display of humility and love in the history of the world. Christ’s example of humility can give us the strength to come to Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit when we have fallen short, because we know that He has felt of our heartache and understands how difficult it is to seek forgiveness. As we strive to continually humble ourselves before Christ, He can use the Atonement not only to cleanse us from sin but to also to turn our weaknesses into strengths as we progress towards eternal life with our …show more content…
Here Nephi expresses why it is that he “delighteth in proving unto [his] people the truth of the coming of Christ.” He teaches that, “save Christ should come all men must perish.” Without a Savior and Redeemer, no man would be fit to enter back into the Kingdom of Heaven. But Nephi delights in Christ because, “in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy,” the Plan of Salvation is made possible. This characterization captures the true essence of who Christ is in so many ways. Our God is a God of justice, bound by divine principles to hold all men accountable for their actions. By this estimation, it would be impossible for any of us to make it back to Him on our own; we would all fall painfully short of the mark of perfection that qualifies men for Heaven. But our God is also a God of mercy. This does not mean that justice can simply be forgone or ignored; the price of mankind’s sins must be paid. Jesus Christ satisfied these demands of justice, when he suffered for the sins of the world. But the Savior also fulfills the cause of mercy each day as he extends his infinite Atonement to us. Through His grace and the power of His priesthood here on Earth, the “great and eternal plan of deliverance from death,” is made possible. Nephi, however, describes all of this as being “the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers.” A covenant is a two way contract between the
The Oatman’s adventure began as a result of their decision to join a new sect of the Mormon faith. This particular belief, whose followers were named Brewsterites, had its roots in Kirtland, Ohio around 1836. A young boy, about ten years old, named Colin Brewster, showed promise in the eyes of Joseph Smith, the great Mormon prophet. Many had already noticed the boy’s “gift for seeing in vision distant objects not seen by the natural eye” (McGinty 40). Eventually, Brewster’s vision of a round table lead to his acceptance as “a prophet, a seer, a revelator and translator” (McGinty 31), by Joseph Smith Sr. and two other church elders, one of which was referred to as Lord.
The history of the Mormon Church goes back to 1863 when its founder, Joseph Smith, II, claimed to have a vision of the angel Moroni, who appeared to him in upper New York State and instructed him to interpret ancient writings on gold plates. The Mormon doctrine states that Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared to the Native Americans. The accounts with the Native Americans were transcribed onto the gold plates according to Moroni, the messenger. One doctrine of the Mormon Church, The Pearl of Great Price, shares a lot of the private journals of founder Joseph Smith. Founder Smith recalls, "He called me by name, and said that he was a messenger...and that his name was Moroni...," (Pearl. II:33) This is one of the main cornerstones of the Mormon doctrine. The Mormon Church had its beginnings from New York and traveled to Kirtland, Ohio, then on to Spring Hill (Independence), Missouri, and finally traveled back to Nauvoo, Illinois. It was at Nauvoo where on, Jun 27, 1844, Joseph Smith, III, his brother Hyrum Smith and friend John Taylor were ambushed at the Nauvoo-Carthage Jail. In the course of events that transpired, Joseph and Hyrum w...
Terry Tempest Williams is fully aware that she is contradicting the church when she writes “women have no outward authority,” yet she still chooses to take part in a ritual of healing that can only be performed by the men. Williams, however, does so in privacy and in the “secrecy of the sisterhood.” The word secrecy hints at the idea of doing something which is not accepted and against certain beliefs of today’s church. She was born and raised in a home of devout Mormons who follow the traditional beliefs of their faith. She acknowledges that the Mormon Church places great importance on obedience. In college she began to question her faith and today would not consider herself an “orthodox Mormon,” although Mormonism still has an impact in her life and work. In her writing, Williams continually contradicts the values of the Mormons.
The Death of Joseph Smith as a Turning Point in the History of the Mormons
They belive that Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet for the church and given the task of translating the book of mormon. The Book of Mormon is Another testament of Jesus Christ, similar to the Bible. He soon founded his own church and began converting people to his faith. Soon persecuted for their beliefs, they left New York moving first to Ohio, then Missouri, and finally Nauvoo, Illinois where they lived for five years. At that time, an anti-Mormon lynch mob found and killed Joseph and his brother Hyrum Smith. Brigham Young then became Smith's successor as the second prophet of the church, and led the Mormons away to Utah where they settled at Salt- Lake-
All Christian denominations claim The Holy Bible to be the word of God, testifying of Christ’s ministry. Mormons embrace the Bible, just as others do. In addition to the Holy Bible, though, LDS people believe three additional books to be scripture. The most famous of these books is, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This book, translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith, is a record given of an ancient civilization in the Americas. (Perry). This additional book of scripture does not change the fact that people of the LDS faith love the Bible and accept it as sacred testimony of Chris...
A handsome boy kneels down for prayer beside a tree in his father’s orchard. It is a nice sunny spring day with the warm rays of the radiant sun gently kissing the boy’s face. “God, give me a sign,” he pleads to his heavenly father. He is only 14, yet religion fascinates him. Confused by what Christian faith to believe in, he was not sure whether he wanted to become a Baptist like his parents, or a Methodist, which church’s teachings appealed more to him. A slight cool breeze passes through his chestnut colored hair. In a moment he finds himself paralyzed, unable to move, at the mercy of some evil force. A shadowy mist surrounds him. The boy is afraid and does the only thing he could think of: he prayed, “God save me!” Immediately a pillar of light descends over his head like a crown of gold. A strange calmness overcomes the boy, and the shadows around him recede. To the boy, who questioned God’s existence, this was a sure sign that his heavenly father was still there. That boy was Joseph Smith, who had just experienced the first of a series of visions that he would receive throughout his faithful life. Soon after his first vision, he received another in which he the angel Moroni visited him, who presented him with a map. Smith traveled to a nearby hill where he found several golden tablets, etched with mysterious characters of ancient languages long forgotten. Smith was ordered by the angel to translate the plates into what is now known as the Book of Mormon (from which the Mormons gained their name), the cornerstone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or simply abbreviated as the LDS Church. (Millet 6-8).
Bushman, Claudia L., and Richard L. Bushman. Building the Kingdom: a History of Mormons in America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.
fact a story filled with countless representations of Mormon belief about life, love, and morality.
In 1820, at age fourteen, Joseph Smith Jr. was confronted with a decision to join a church. Being a man of no formal education or religious organization, he went to a grove of trees to pray and ask God which church was the right one to join. Smith said God and Jesus appeared to him as “Two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description.” (Book of Mormon: Joseph Smith History Ch. 1 Verse 17) They told him that none of the churches had it right, and he should not join any of them.
In the days of Christ’s life on this earth, believers did not have access to the Bible in its entirety as we know and are familiar with today. Believers in this ancient time period only had access to the Old Testament. However, through their access to the Old Testament, believers were provided a foundation for New Testament times. This foundation provided New Testament believers with the Lord’s established principles of right and wrong they were expected to follow. In addition, the Old Testament is overflowing with accounts of people whose lives exemplified the future life of Christ on this earth. These pictures allowed the Israelite nation to begin to have an understanding of why Christ needed to come as their Messiah and the work He needed to do on earth. Finally, there are common themes that are interwoven throughout the entire Old Testament. Three of these themes: transgression, redemption, and consummation point to the purpose of Christ’s atoning death on the cross. These themes portray God’s work both in the lives of Old Testament believers, but they also foreshadow God’s desire and plan for believers in New Testament times and beyond.
The Confessions of Saint Augustine tells of the events and life choices that Saint Augustine made through his life which eventually led him to converting to Christianity. This was not an easy or quick process for Saint Augustine, just as many members of the LDS church spend a great deal of time truly converting to the gospel. Saint Augustine’s conversion and also LDS members’ process of becoming truly converted, shares many similarities. Both involve trials, growing from those trials, an ongoing process, and a significant change. In order to understand the importance of what becoming truly converted means to a Mormon, there must be distinguishing factors between this and just being a convert to the Mormon Church.
...f God’s glory and for those that have questioned their faith. The book urges the reader to consider the sacrifices Jesus made, his role as a messenger and mediator, and the ability of people to find salvation through the acceptance of Jesus. These are central messages that other portions of the Bible touch on but do not discuss with the same degree or urgency.
There are five aspects of covenant. For the purposes of this paper I am going to be referring to primarily the new covenant that is offered us through Jesus. The first aspect is the parties involved. There are two parties: God and the elect. Unlike the old covenant, the elect goes beyond the Jews. It also includes the gentile, or non-Jew in all the nations. This is one aspect of covenant that has helped shape my worldview. I have spoken to people who believe that God only selects a few privileged people to be saved, and condemns the rest to eternal punishment in hell. I now wholeheartedly believe this to be completely false, and even a heresy. In John 3:16 God uses the phrase “panta ta ethne” which means “all the nations.” There are other places in scripture, for example, when Paul says in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” He clearly says ‘everyone who believes’ not leaving anyone out. There are places in scripture, such as Ephesians 1:11 that talk about things which are predestined for believers. This verse is commonly taken out of context by those who believe in predestination. He has indeed planned out things He wants those in covenant relationship to accomplish for His kingdom once we accept Jesus and make Him Lord of our life. He does not, however, make the choice beforehand to save some, and damn some to hell! God created us in His image, therefore we have also been given the gift of free will to choose to love Him or love the world. This is the depraved condition of mankind in our fallen state.
Through his death Christ gained forgiveness of sins for all who follow him (see "baptism"). Titus 3:13,14 says "our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity".