Joseph Smith said that The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. We know this very well as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But why is it the keystone? Why is it so central?
Two obvious reasons are that The Book of Mormon has to exist and have been translated for this Church to exist, and for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored in its fullness in these times. Connected with this is that we must believe that this has occurred, in order to believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet and a restorer of the truth to the earth, and therefore that this is the true church of God. Very important reasons, for sure…. but we know these well, and they’re only part of why this book is so important to our religion. There are two reasons which go beyond its practical necessity for the Church to exist and its centrality to our testimonies.
The Book of Mormon is for our time
The authors of The Book of Mormon, from Nephi downward, knew they were writing for the future as well as the present. Nephi saw his descendants in vision, and he had the same great vision that many prophets have had, which included the future events of the world and its ending. Mormon and Moroni quite clearly and directly knew they were writing for the future, since their civilisation was coming to an end. Mormon, as the compiler and editor of his people’s history, worked with this in mind – we see it in his commentary, such as his ‘and thus we see…’ lessons. That they were writing and preserving for the future – the far future – is evident in the whole book. In the choice of events, prophecies, visions, and lessons.
The authors were writing for this time, and their messages are relevant for our day. The world needs this book, and to abide by its teachings, to get out of the difficulties it’s in. “This is directed to you, ye Gentiles, that ye may learn to be wiser than we have been”. It does what Mormon wrote on the title page: convinces both Jew and Gentile – everyone – that Jesus is the Christ, and that God remembers His covenants. That the world, all people, must come to know and obey Him to gain salvation; to fix where they and the world at large have gone wrong.
It is the message of all time, and it’s the re-given message of our day, to the whole world: Come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him. Without Him, without coming to Him, you will be lost. The world has forgotten God, and needs to find Him again.
So our religion is, in addition to saving and blessing us, a message to the world. It needs to go forth, and The Book of Mormon is that message, or the carrier of it. It was created – very deliberately and specifically – for this purpose.
It contains a wonderfully clear picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
The Book of Mormon isn’t affected by the problems of the Bible. Its creator, Nephi, and finishers, Mormon and Moroni, and all the prophets and leaders who came between them, understood the Gospel clearly and completely, and they taught their people that way. So the Gospel it teaches – its vision, or ‘version’, of Christianity – is true, clear, and direct. There are no problems of transmission.
It’s needed in our time to clarify the picture the Bible gives of what Christianity is, and the accumulation of centuries of tradition that went in the wrong direction in many ways. Mainstream Christianity has retained some core principles – it gets important things right, and is generally good for this reason – but not the whole thing; and the rest it has gotten confused.
So the Book of Mormon is needed, right now, to clarify what Christianity is; what God’s message is. (Interestingly, mainstream Christianity, or parts of it, has taken on some of the truths restored through Joseph Smith, over time, or some of the perspectives he provided). It is, therefore, the keystone of our religion, because our religion is the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ – as understood by Nephi and his descendants, and by Joseph Smith due to his revelatory experiences and familiarity with the book and its authors. Our religion is built on that clear knowledge of the truth that Nephi gained, and which his descendants retained. Without the Book of Mormon, we would be like any other Christian church.
So we can see (taking a leaf from Mormon here) that The Book of Mormon really does hold a keystone position in the Restored Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ. Our religion is (a) to bring salvation to any and all who will hear and follow its message, and (b) to show the world that God is still there; still revealing, still doing His work of salvation; concluding what was shown to many prophets through the ages, including John the Revelator, Isaiah, Daniel, Nephi, and Ether. And if God is still there, then the world has to take account.
The Book of Mormon is God’s message to the world, today. It is evidence of His mercy, His Plan, His justice, His dependability and His ongoing work. Too many people are caught up by the seeming strangeness of its coming forth (of course it’s strange; restoration and revelation after apostasy always has been; if the world’s gone wrong and has to be woken up, it’s not going to happen with things remaining comfortably as they are); by the fact that it’s additional scripture, as though this should be something to resent and suspect, instead of cause for rejoicing; and by all the myths that have sprung up around it since it was first revealed to Joseph by Moroni. The problem is easily solved: humbly read it, consider its messages, and seek to know if it is as I’ve described it. That is the invitation to all who are interested or even curious.
How will we treat this treasure, brought to us with such dedication, purpose, and difficulty through time?
Peaceable Treasures 