I figure this week is the best time to review some of the introductory content of the manual and quickly summarise it. Then we can start talking about the title page to the book of Mormon, the introduction, and the testimonies of Joseph Smith, the 3 and the 8.
Have you considered getting yourself a copy of the book of mormon specifically for this years study? Put your testimony in the front and date it Jan 2020. Then at the end of the year, put your testimony in the back and date it Dec 2020.
Study Manual Summary
Summarise all content
Conversion is our goal.
Using come follow me.
Ideas to improve personal study.
Ideas to improve family study.
Additional resources.
Teaching young children.
Note: the emphasis on music in this years manuals. New sections or moved section to the top of the list. plus appendix D.
Prophetic Promises
Studying the Book of Mormon will change you.
Joseph Smith: Abiding by its precepts = nearer to God
Ezra Taft Benson: Serious Study = power to resist temptation, power to avoid deception, power to stay of the straight & narrow.
Gordon B Hinckley: Prayerfully read = strength to obey the commandments, stronger testimony of Jesus.
Russell M Nelson: Prayerfully study = better decisions. Ponder = personal revelation. Immersion in the Book of Mormon = Immunisation against evils.
I'll repeat what I said at the start of last year. with this little bonus from D&C 84:85 the words of life. Read the scriptures like your life depended on it, you will find life in greater abundance.
Sunday School Lesson Material
Book of Mormon’s title page
-Written by Mormon, not Joseph Smith. Only translated by Joseph
-Abridgement=Summary, Synopses
-Why have the Book of Mormon at all ‘to show 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 forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations’.
-There is one other reason on the cover of the Book of Mormon. To act as another testimony of Jesus Christ.
-See Appendix B. To establish the truth of the Bible, to make known the plain & precious things & to make known that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father & the saviour of the world.
-There is one other reason on the cover of the Book of Mormon. To act as another testimony of Jesus Christ.
-See Appendix B. To establish the truth of the Bible, to make known the plain & precious things & to make known that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father & the saviour of the world.
-Errors/corrections: According to those in the know, the only corrections have been minor grammatical or typo corrections. No verse or section has been rewritten. Every word we read in the Book of Mormon is as it was dictated by Joseph Smith.
Introduction
-Real simple. I found this east to read & understand. It goes downhill after this! i.e. it gets harder to understand.
-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 Joseph Smith
-Keystone of our religion, how so? Link to witnesses who were excommunicated, but never denied their testimony of the BoM. Not sure if they also maintained if the church was true.
-If the BoM is true then...
-We will get closer to God by abiding by its precepts, not by merely just reading it. Abide is a action word which requires faith. Faith is rewarded with knowledge.
-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 Joseph Smith
-Keystone of our religion, how so? Link to witnesses who were excommunicated, but never denied their testimony of the BoM. Not sure if they also maintained if the church was true.
-If the BoM is true then...
-We will get closer to God by abiding by its precepts, not by merely just reading it. Abide is a action word which requires faith. Faith is rewarded with knowledge.
The testimonies of the Three Witnesses
-Always intrigued me that they make a point of stating they are sober.
-See an angel who showed them the plates.
-Testify of the existence of the plates and they have been translated by the gift & power of God therefore the work is true.
-Oliver, David & Martin never denied their testimony of the Book of Mormon, though they did fall out with Joseph Smith. Which in a way, strengthens their testimony of the Book of Mormon.
-They saw an angel. I suspect it's kinda hard to deny something when an angel presents it to you. Consider who else saw an angel and what they did.
--Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah became very powerful missionaries.
--Didn't work out quite so great for Laman & Lemual.
--Children at Bountiful during Christs ministry, generations of peace followed.
--...
See Appendix C - The 3 Witnesses
--Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah became very powerful missionaries.
--Didn't work out quite so great for Laman & Lemual.
--Children at Bountiful during Christs ministry, generations of peace followed.
--...
See Appendix C - The 3 Witnesses
Oliver Cowdery - John the Baptist & Aaronic Priesthood.
David Whitmer
Martin Harris
Also consider, while Joseph Smith was a farm boy, Oliver Cowdery at least was educated and would not likely have been fooled by the uneducated young man of Joseph Smith (24yo in 1829).
Also consider, while Joseph Smith was a farm boy, Oliver Cowdery at least was educated and would not likely have been fooled by the uneducated young man of Joseph Smith (24yo in 1829).
The testimonies of the Eight Witnesses
-No angel but were given the plates to handle and inspect.
-Only testify that the plates are real. No mention of the content.
Have you met any other witnesses of the Book of Mormon?
In what ways can you be a witness to the Book of Mormon?
The testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith
-Moroni’s visits, this account forgets to mention this was another answer to a prayer.
-Must have been important to act now rather than go to work and effectively ignore visits because he was visited again.
-Visit 2, judgements with desolations
-Visit 3, do not sell, only build up Gods kingdom
-Visit 4, tell his father
...
A Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon
-This for me was actually the most complex part of the reading as it attempted to describe who wrote and abridged what from what plates.
-Worth noting it did not say the Nephites hadthe book of Isiah. They had writings of the prophets. The old & New testaments did not exist back then as we have them now.
-It looks like I have got rid of my old seminary BoM bookmark. However, Rachel has come through (as has the internet) and I have been able to find this.
-This help to explain the BoM. Sometimes a diagram says it better.
Other/Misc thoughts
-Where are the imitations of the Book of Mormon? The fabrications of the deceitful one? Books that claim to be translated from inspiration?
-How do these introductions to the Book of Mormon differ from the introduction of other book of scripture?
-I thought it was interesting to identify locations on the map of where the plates were hidden, and where translation took place. I find it interesting to note that where the plates were hidden, was 1,000's of miles from where the Book of Mormon stories take place, being near the narrow neck of land in south America, south Mexico. Have a look at your maps now.
My reason for looking into the geography was to justify why nobody found the plates before Joseph Smith (other than divine protection). I had assumed all BoM activity was in central America. Mormon & Moroni will have travelled a significant distance to keep the records safe & hidden. As far as I am aware, there are no ancient monuments in Cumorah or in most of the northern united states.
-I thought it was interesting to identify locations on the map of where the plates were hidden, and where translation took place. I find it interesting to note that where the plates were hidden, was 1,000's of miles from where the Book of Mormon stories take place, being near the narrow neck of land in south America, south Mexico. Have a look at your maps now.
I found 3 different maps of potential Book of Mormon geography. Can't verify if any is more accurate than any other. It is also worth noting, neither of these come from official church sources. The church does not seem to have published anything.
1. This one suggests that what is now the caribbean sea, was once land. Presumably sunken during the great earthquakes in 34AD. To suggest the whole of the caribbean sea was once dry land is a pretty big stretch, that's a lot of land to fall into the sea. The impact of such a transformation on life not just in the American continent would have been catastrophic & probably felt beyond.
1. This one suggests that what is now the caribbean sea, was once land. Presumably sunken during the great earthquakes in 34AD. To suggest the whole of the caribbean sea was once dry land is a pretty big stretch, that's a lot of land to fall into the sea. The impact of such a transformation on life not just in the American continent would have been catastrophic & probably felt beyond.
2. This one concentrates the points of interest to central America. This has always been my understanding of BoM geography.
3. This one places the points on interest squarely in North America. I find it hardest to appreciate this map. However, it does explain the location of the hidden plates well.
My reason for looking into the geography was to justify why nobody found the plates before Joseph Smith (other than divine protection). I had assumed all BoM activity was in central America. Mormon & Moroni will have travelled a significant distance to keep the records safe & hidden. As far as I am aware, there are no ancient monuments in Cumorah or in most of the northern united states.
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