BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” BYU students take nearly a semester of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.

In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.

In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelite who settled in ancient America. (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names. We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)

Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.

 Mormon Bible: The Veil Is Not Far

The stripling warriors may be one of the most famous and favorite stories from the Book of Mormon. It is a story of about 2,000 young men who go to war to defend their families because their parents have made a covenant with God to not take up arms against their enemies. These families were taken in by a group called the Nephites who went to war to protect them. When the Nephites began to suffer great loss, however, the parents wanted to step in to help. Afraid of the consequences their parents’ might suffer for breaking their covenant with God, these young men rise to the occasion.

Professor Griffin’s insight on their background was eye-opening for me and made me think a lot of their upbringing. He taught that many of the boys grew up without their fathers, which made me think of where their fathers were while they were fighting. I pictured them looking down from heaven being as proud as a father could be of his son. I pictured them being so close in spirit with the veil so thin. It seemed beautiful to me to imagine protection, comfort, and aid from the stripling warriors’ dads.

 Obviously I can’t know if these warriors’ fathers were looking down on them, but I do have a testimony that those who have passed away are still with us. They want to share our lives, especially in times of distress, celebration, happiness, or need. I can feel their comfort and help and have faith that they are there burning within us because of their love for us. Brigham Young (a Latter-day Saint “Mormon” prophet) told us that if we could see clearly, heaven is right in front of us.

 I like to remember my ancestors because their lives impacted mine and allowed me to come to earth at this time. I am very fortunate for those who came before me. All have played a role in who I am today, regardless if they were involved with me while I was growing up.

 Look to those who love you so deeply. Most of all, this is our dear Savior Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. Even when you feel most lonely and as if you have no friend in the world, they are always rooting for you.

The Book of Mormon is made up of records of history, prophecy and revelation, which records were kept by ancient prophets of the Americas over hundreds of years. These records were finally abridged by a prophet named Mormon, for whom the book is named.

Two broad groups of people are accounted for in the Book of Mormon.  One came from Jerusalem to the American continent in 600 BC and afterward separated into two nations known as the Nephites and the Lamanites.  The other civilization came to the American continent much earlier and is known as the Jaredite nation.

The Jaredite nation came to the American continent after the events of the Tower of Babel – in fact, they were guided to the Americas by the hand of the Lord.  Unfortunately, the nation eventually split into violent factions and destroyed itself.  When Nephite explorers happened on Jaredite lands later, they called it a “land of bones.”

The Nephite nation is the focus of the Book of Mormon – and the Book of Mormon is written by Nephite prophets.  They write of their testimonies and prophecies of the coming Messiah and council against sin and selfishness.  Pre-Christ Book of Mormon peoples, being descendants of Jacob, lived according to the Law of Moses as they looked forward to the coming of Christ.  They understood the Plan of Salvation and the atonement many years before Christ’s coming.

To a lesser degree, the book also details the Nephite wars with the other principal nation mentioned in the Book of Mormon, the Lamanites, who, “because of the traditions of their fathers,” hated the Nephites ferociously.  The wars were primarily defensive, however, and a hope for the conversion of the Lamanites is a running theme throughout the book.

Another running theme throughout the Book of Mormon is something Mormons call the “pride cycle.”  When the Nephites were righteous, the Lord blessed them with prosperity.  Eventually, some Nephites would take pride in their prosperity and start to set themselves above the less prosperous.  Pride and arrogance would always lead to a general disregard for the prophets and for precepts of the gospel, especially love and charity.  The Nephite nation would fall into wickedness and would be chastened, whether by famine or war.  They would then repent and the cycle would begin again.

The Lamanite nation also went through cycles.  The converted Lamanites would convert with such passion and strength that they often served as examples to the Nephites.  At one point, a group of converted Lamanites laid down their arms before an oncoming army of their own people and refuse to fight, because they had vowed before the Lord never to kill again.  At another point, the children of these Lamanites fought alongside the Nephites and, because of their incredible faith, not one of them was killed.

Jesus Christ came to visit the people of the Nephites and Lamanites after His ministry in Palestine and His resurrection.  He established His gospel and Church among the people, who had been awaiting His coming since their ancestors’ arrival six hundred years before.  A golden age of peace and equanimity followed for a number of generations, but when the sure testimony of Christ faded in the memory of the people, they split back into factions and began warring again.  By the fourth century after Christ’s coming, the Nephites, who had become wicked and aggressive, had been utterly destroyed.  In Mormon belief, the Lamanites are the principal ancestors of some of the native peoples living in the Americas today.  This would make some native North and South Americans descendants of the tribe of Joseph.

Mormon, who compiled and abridged the Book of Mormon, died in one of the final battles.  His son, Moroni, added to the end of the book, and hid up the plates.  (The Book of Mormon was inscribed on metal plates.) Mormons believe that, in 1823, the same Moroni appeared as a heavenly messenger to the Prophet Joseph Smith and instructed him about the ancient record. Joseph Smith later received and translated the Book of Mormon into English through the power and direction of the Lord.

Additional Resources:

Get a Free Copy of the Book of Mormon

Learn More about Mormon Scripture

Jesus Christ in Mormonism

Joseph Smith first learned about the existence of the golden plates from an angel in 1823.  In 1827 he was entrusted with the golden plates and charged with a mission to translate them and deliver their message to the world.  Buried with the plates were the Urim and Thummim, the devices prepared for the purpose of translation from ancient times.

Each witness seems to have a differing account of the method by which the translation took place, each of which may be correct, since history suggests that Joseph Smith struggled with a few methods to find the one that worked best.  One account describes Joseph wearing the breastplate of the Urim and Thummim and looking directly at the plates through the two stones set in a silver bow.  The other widely-recorded method tells of Joseph putting his own personal seer stone in a hat and placing his face in the hat to block out all light.  The plates were left covered when using this method.  What Joseph saw through the interpreters or his seer stone is also the speculation of his scribes and other acquaintances based on their conversations with him.  Each scribe reported Joseph dictating one sentence at a time, spelling out words or names if he did not know the pronunciation, and then having them read back the sentence to confirm.

The language of the Book of Mormon is written in the language of the King James Version of the Bible, the one Joseph read and was familiar with, and contains elements of 1830 New York dialect.  This seems to suggest that Joseph Smith was instrumental in formulating the language.  Some who knew him during the translation supposed that he actually saw the words appear in English, but whether this was a physical manifestation or a mental one is not known.  The particulars of the Book of Mormon translation will remain a mystery, but from the process observed by others, and the time frame within which it was accomplished (two months), it was a supernatural effort.

Said Emma Smith to her son shortly before her death: “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 would 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” (Saints’ Herald 26 (1879):290).

Said Oliver Cowdery: “I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet as he translated it by the gift and power of God by means of the Urim and Thummim, or as it is called by that book, holy interpreters. I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also beheld the Interpreters. That book is true. … I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet” (“Journal of Reuben Miller,” 21 Oct. 1848; for background see R. L. Anderson, “Reuben Miller, Recorder of Oliver Cowdery’s Reaffirmations,” BYU Studies 8 (1968):277).

Urim and Thummim

“The urim and tumim are associated with the breastplate worn by the High Priest. This breastplate had twelve precious stones, arranged in four rows of three, upon which the names of the tribes were engraved: ‘The stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve in their names, engraved, each person with his name on it, for the twelve tribes’ (Exodus 28:21). A later verse instructs, ‘And you shall place in the Breastplate of Judgment the urim and the tumim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart when he comes before G-d, and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before G-d, always’ (Exodus 28:30).

“While the High Priests wearing of the breastplate atoned for the Courts mistakes in judgment, the urim and tumim inside the breastplate dispensed judgment of their own. Rashi explains that when the Jewish People needed to know something of great import, the urim and tumim could be consulted to reveal the will of G-d, as in the verse, ‘Before Elazar the priest, [Joshua] will stand and seek from him the judgment of the urim’ (Numbers 27:21). Urim and tumim, Rashi explains, refers to a special name of G-d that was written and placed in the fold of the breastplate through which the breastplate illuminated and clarified its message. This, the Talmud explains, is the source of its name: urim being related to or, the Hebrew word for light; tumim being related to tam meaning perfect (Yoma 73b).

“Ramban describes the phenomenon in greater detail: ‘[The urim, (specifically)] were holy names, by whose power the letters on the stones of the breastplate lit up to the eyes of the priest who was asking for judgment. For example, when they asked ‘who should lead the way for us to fight against the Canaanites?’ the priest would concentrate on the Divine names which are the urim, and the letters would light up to his eyes [But] he still did not know their correct order, for from the letters which can be ordered ‘Yehuda ya’aleh (Judah shall go up) it is possible to make of them’hey al Yehuda‘ (woe unto Judah) and many other words’” (Ohr.edu, Jewish Information Resource: Urim and Thummim).

Joseph Smith also translated a version of the Bible popularly referred to as the Joseph Smith Translation (JST).  The King James Bible issued by the Church contains cross references to the Joseph Smith Translation, as well as an appendix containing major excerpts from it. Mormons believe that Joseph Smith’s translations correct a number of errors made in the original translation and clarify doctrinal points that might otherwise have been ambiguous or misleading or outright lost.

The Bible has two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.  The Old Testament is the record that was used by the Jews of Palestine in the first century A.D. The New Testament contains writings of the time during which Jesus Christ and His apostles were on the earth. The books of the Old Testament were written mostly in Hebrew, and the books of the New Testament, in Greek. The word testament is a translation of a Greek word meaning “covenant.” Thus, the Old Testament, or covenant, is the record of the original law given to the prophet Moses. The New Testament records the new covenant brought to the Lord’s people when Jesus Christ came to earth.

In Mormon beliefs, both parts are essential reading for Christians.  The Old Testament contains many types and prophecies of Christ and our day, as well as teaching many essential principles through law and example.  The Book of Job tells a powerful story of spiritual endurance, of faithfulness through and despite ferocious adversity.  The Book of Ruth speaks of loyalty, even when loyalty does not appear to have any immediate reward.  The writings of prophets such as Isaiah and Ezekiel are both beautiful and immensely valuable, supporting multiple close readings and revealing more and more with each reading.  The long explications of the Law of Moses teach us about obedience,  sacrifice, and repentance, even when we may not immediately understand the principles involved.  The books of history detail both the righteousness and waverings of a chosen people, the glories of their heroes and the tragedies of their falls.

The New Testament tells us of the chosen people at the time of the coming of the Messiah.  Jesus Christ, His teachings, His Church, is the central figure of the New Testament.  His birth is the great beginning of the New Testament, but His death does not end it.  He died at the hands of His own, but He suffered and died for the sins of all, that we might all be forgiven by God and return to Him.  The apostles of His Church, also of Israel, continued His work until their death – after which, Mormon doctrine teaches, Christ’s Church was afflicted by distortions, lost its heavenly line of authority, and fell into apostasy.  The New Testament is a record and testament of Christ – it is also a record of the original precepts and organization of His original church.  To read the New Testament is to know how He would have us live and how He would have us love our fellow man as He has loved us and loves all.

Some people outside the Mormon Church erroneously think that Mormons only read their own “Mormon Bible,” or the Book of Mormon.  Mormons read and study the Bible on a consistent basis.  The course of study for Mormon Gospel Doctrine classes on Sundays lasts four years and rotates through the scriptures, then begins again.  Two of those four years are spent on Bible study.  Mormons also pay more attention to the Old Testament than do most Christian faiths.  Mormons also tend not to use very recent translations that might dilute meaning.

Additional Resources:

The Mormon Bible: The Book of Mormon

Mormon Beliefs and Scripture

The Prophet Joseph Smith

What does the Doctrine and Covenants reveal about the Lord’s organization for His Church?  Priesthood is an important aspect of the restoration.  In the beliefs of Mormonism, Joseph Smith received the priesthood, the divine authority to act in God’s name, from John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John.  This priesthood had been lost from the earth with the death of the Apostles.  The Doctrine and Covenants reveals two kinds of priesthood.  The Aaronic Priesthood allows its holders to bless and pass the sacrament and to perform baptisms.  The sacrament is holy bread and water representing the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  Sacramental prayers are also given in the Doctrine and Covenants.  The Melchizedek Priesthood allows its holders to serve as Mormon missionaries and give the gift of the Holy Ghost, among other responsibilities and ordinances, but the Melchizedek Priesthood is also the fullness of the priesthood.  The prophets and apostles of the LDS Church need no higher priesthood than the Melchizedek – there is no higher priesthood.

The Doctrine and Covenants also reveals the need for and purpose of Mormon temples.  The first revelations about modern temples are recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants.  Under the Lord’s direction, the Mormons would build first a temple in Kirtland and, then, a temple in Nauvoo, Illinois.  These temples were houses built unto the Lord, and revelations afterward were often received in them.  Key ordinances in the Mormon faith were also revealed, such as endowments and baptism for the dead.

Joseph Smith and Prophet Joseph F. Smith also received knowledge of the state of spirits after death.  Mormons believe in kingdoms of heaven – the celestial kingdom being the highest, but even the lowest, the telestial, being a glorious place.  They also believe that those who died without a knowledge of the gospel can be saved in the celestial kingdom if Mormons perform such ordinances as baptisms for them by proxy.  Then, those spirits will have the opportunity to accept, or reject, the gospel after life on earth.  Joseph F. Smith saw a vision of the spirits of the dead, and that they have volition and the ability to learn.  He saw the gospel of Christ being taught to them, in preparation for resurrection and judgment.

Among these and many other revelations of doctrine, ordinances, and organization, the Doctrine and Covenants also reveals some aspects of Mormon history.  Some of Joseph Smith’s prayers, both dedicatory and formal and those given in jail or in times of anguish, are recorded here.  Callings for individual members and Churchwide decisions, such as moving to another state as a body, or building a temple, are also recorded.  So is there an account of Joseph Smith’s assassination and martyrdom.  The Doctrine and Covenants is one of the core Mormon books of scripture and an extensive record of the early Church – its revelations, its struggles, and its movements.

Additional Resources:

HistoryofMormonism.com

They are described as “instruments prepared by God to assist man in obtaining revelation and in translating languages. In the Hebrew language the words [Urim and Thummim] mean ‘lights and perfections.’ The Urim and Thummim consist of two stones set in silver bows and sometimes found set into a breastplate.

In Mormon belief, a seer is also a prophet, and a seer is the only person able and authorized to use these seer stones.  The Urim and Thummim are mentioned in the Old Testament, at first with Aaron, acting as a Levite Priest, and mentioned occasionally after, also linked with Levite priests.  Mormons believe that Abraham received revelation through the Urim and Thummim, and the Book of Mormon mentions some Nephite prophets also in possession of  Urim and Thummim.

When Joseph Smith, by the direction of the angel Moroni, found the golden plates (which would be translated into the Book of Mormon) in the Hill Cumorah, he found the Urim and Thummim with them.  In Joseph Smith History 1:35, he describes them as follows,

“…there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted ‘seers’ in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.”

The golden plates and the Urim and Thummim were sacred.  Joseph Smith was to keep them safe until the angel Moroni should call for them.  Indeed, although sacred, both the Urim and Thummim and the gold plates were physical objects that could be stolen or lost.  The gold plates in particular, when rumor got around of their existence, became a target for would-be thieves and those who wished to discredit the Mormon faith.

Beyond keeping them safe, Joseph Smith was not to show either the Urim and Thummim or the golden plates to anyone, save on the express direction of the Lord.  The Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon were those permitted to see the sacred work in its golden, untranslated form.

Joseph Smith doesn’t recount the exact process of translation with the Urim and Thumim, but he emphasizes that the ability to translate was a spiritual gift from God.  The Urim and Thummim were sacred tools, but intended to be used with the Spirit and God’s direction.

Later, Joseph Smith told Elder Orson Pratt that seer stones were not essential to receive translation or revelation.  Rather, they were given to him because he was inexperienced, when he was inexperienced.  As Joseph Smith continued to translate and become better acquainted with revelation he no longer needed the seer stones.

The Book of Moses is the first part of the Pearl of Great Price.  It is an extract from the book of Genesis, from Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible, which he began in 1830.  Most of the chapters detail the creation of the world and the early history of mankind to the flood, with special focus on the story of Enoch and the city of Zion.  The first chapter, however, tells of God’s revealing himself to Moses and Moses’s confrontation with Satan, whom he rejects. And as God begins to tell Moses of the history of Moses’s own earth, he speaks the following: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”  The God of the Book of Moses, and of Mormon belief, is a personal God, a Heavenly Father who is closely concerned with the welfare of all His children and earnestly desires them to return to Him.

The Book of Abraham is a translation of some Egyptian papyri that came into the hands of Joseph Smith Jr. in 1835 containing writings of the patriarch Abraham.  Like the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham is concerned with the creation of the world.  But while the Book of Moses is largely the Genesis story translated through revelation, the Book of Abraham is largely about what happened before the creation – about who we are as spirit children of God and what His plan for us is.  The War in Heaven is also spoken of – how Satan rebelled and drew many spirits after him.  The Book of Abraham also contains a brief history of Abraham himself and his travels.

The Book of Matthew is an extract from the testimony of Matthew in Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible, an expansion on Matthew 23: 39 and Matthew 24.  The main focus of the translation is on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Joseph Smith – History relates the experiences and visions of Joseph Smith before the organization of the LDS Church.  The First Vision was received when he was a boy of fourteen and praying to God to know which church to join.  God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to him and told him that no church currently on the earth was true.  Three years later, the Angel Moroni would appear to Joseph Smith to tell him of the existence of the Book of Mormon and eventually aid him in recovering it from its hiding place.  The history also speaks of Joseph Smith’s marriage to Emma, translating the Book of Mormon, and receiving the priesthood.

The Articles of Faith are a statement by Joseph Smith detailing thirteen of the Mormon basic beliefs and doctrines.  Beliefs on the nature of God, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the scriptures, and religious freedom are among those mentioned in the Articles of Faith.