1And now I, Moroni, proceed to finish my record concerning the destruction of the people of whom I have been writing. 2For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof;

3And that it was the place of the ^aNew Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.

After the close of the millennial reign we are informed that Satan, who was bound during the millennium, shall be loosed and go forth to deceive the nations. Then will come the end. The earth will die and be purified and receive its resurrection. During this cleansing period the City Zion, or New Jerusalem, will be taken from the earth; and when the earth is prepared for the celestial glory, the city will come down according to the prediction in the Book of Revelation” (Joseph F. Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 2:103–6).

Do Mormons Have Scriptures Besides the Book of Mormon?

Brief Answer: yes, three other volumes: the Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.

Detailed Answer:

Doctrine and Covenants
Several years after the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to compile and publish many of the revelations that Joseph had thus far received from the Lord, revelations that Joseph himself had written down or had dictated. In 1835 these revelations were published as the Book of Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of the Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”). Each revelation, referred to as a section, is prefaced with a brief description of the date, place, and circumstance in which the revelation was received, as well as the revelation’s general contents. often within a single section are numerous revelatory concepts (for example, sections 76 and 84). other sections are replete with instructions and procedures (Sections 102 and 136). Some sections brim with prophecy (sections 45 and 89), while others are brief answers to specific doctrinal questions (section 77). Several are highly personal (sections 25 and 121). Most of the revelations appear in the order they were received.

Of the 138 sections, sections 1 through 134 and 137 were revealed through Joseph Smith; section 135 through President John Taylor; 136 through Brigham young; and 138 through President Joseph F. Smith. The Doctrine and Covenants also contains two official Declarations: the first, a reaffirmation of the Church’s discontinuance of the practice of plural marriage and the Church’s strict disapproval of any further contracting of marriages that are forbidden by law. Official Declaration 2 announces that all worthy males in the Church are permitted to receive the full blessings of the priesthood and the temple.

Pearl of Great Price

In 1835, Joseph Smith purchased a number of ancient Egyptian artifacts on behalf of the Church, given that Egypt was a key factor in the history of the Hebrews and the Jews (and hence a key factor in the Bible and the Book of Mormon). Among the artifacts Joseph found a papyrus scroll with writings. Because God had granted him the gift of translation (as demonstrated in the translation of the Book of Mormon), Joseph learned that the writings contained previously unknown explanations and elaborations of God’s dealings with the prophets Adam, Enoch, Abraham, and Moses. These elaborations shed greater light and understanding on the biblical accounts of these influential predecessors of Jesus Christ.

Joseph Smith began publishing these translations in 1842. The title, Pearl of Great Price (referring to Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13:45–46) was coined by Elder Franklin D. richards of the Quorum of the Twelve in 1851. In 1880, the membership of the Church voted to add the Pearl of Great Price to the existing canon of the Church—the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants. In subsequent years, the Pearl of Great Price eventually expanded to include Joseph Smith— Matthew (an extract of the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith in 1831); Joseph Smith—History, (extracts from the history of Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 1, chapters 1–5); and the Articles of Faith (a statement by Joseph Smith published in the Times and Seasons, March 1, 1842, in company with a short history of the Church that was popularly known as the Wentworth Letter).1

Additional Resources:

Learn more about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon at the official site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

Visit a local meetinghouse.

Note:

1. See History of the Church, vol. 4, 535–41.

Source:

D. Lauritsen, Mormons Under a Microscope, (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc., 2010), 139-140.

The Book of Mormon is a record of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It gives an account of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent and God’s dealings with them. There are many passages in The Book of Mormon that testify of the reality of God. In the book of Alma chapter 22, Alma was an ancient prophet of Jesus Christ, in The Book of Mormon, we read of an experience where a missionary named Aaron taught a king about God. We see a pattern for how we can come to know if God is real in this chapter. First we must have a desire to know if He is real.  We must desire to learn more about Him. In this scripture account, the king had recently come across a missionary who had converted his son to the gospel. The king was curious and wanted to learn more. This is what he said:

What is this that ye have said concerning the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, this is the thing which doth trouble me. And also, what is this that Ammon said—If ye will repent ye shall be saved, and if ye will not repent, ye shall be cast off at the last day? (Alma 22:5-6).

Coming to Know God Exists

This scripture then helps us see that we should seek to learn all that we can about God, what his words are, and what He asks us to do–then we can come to know Him more. This should be from a good source, such as the scriptures, an authorized minister of Jesus Christ, and through prayer. Aaron then expounds and teaches the king all about God and His plan of happiness for each of us. He teaches the king question by question, a little at a time. The king showed a desire and determination to believe in his words, and follow Jesus Christ:

And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the king—how God created man after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man had fallen.

And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name.

And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king (Book of Mormon: Alma 22:12-14).

After Aaron taught the gospel of Jesus Christ to the king, the king felt a desire in his heart to be forgiven of his sins and to become clean through Jesus Christ. The king showed a willingness to do the Lord’s will. He had a humble heart, which I’ve learned is important when I want to come to know God and feel His love and guidance in our lives. He said:

What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy (Book of Mormon: Alma 22:15).

Knowing About God vs. Knowing God

Aaron then asked the king to pray and ask God for the hope that He desired. In order to know if God is real, I’ve found that it is so vital that we pray. We can study all the books about God in the whole world if we want to, but if we don’t pray, we will never really know if God is real. When we pray, God’s Holy Spirit witnesses to our spirit that He is real (Holy Bible: Romans 8:16). He communicates knowledge to our souls with a divine impression that helps us know He is real. This is what happened with the king in The Book of Mormon. He knelt down and prayed and asked to know if God was real, and he said that he would “give up all my sins” to know God (Alma 22:18). When the king said this, he had a glorious experience of being overwhelmed with the power and love of God.

This scriptural example helps us see how we can know God is real. It helps me see that we must seek after Him. God has told us:

Ask, and it shall be ^bgiven you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened (Matthew 7:7-8).

Personal Witness that God Exists

I know that as we seek out God and the Lord Jesus Christ, they will make themselves manifest to us. Through the power of prayer, and through studying and living the words of Jesus Christ, I’ve come to feel the power of the God’s love within me. He has told my spirit that He lives and loves me. All of us can have this experience. God is waiting for us to seek after Him, and He will answer.

Additional Resources:

Is there a God? For more information visit the official site for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Request your free copy of the Book of Mormon today.

Attend a local meetinghouse.

Examples in the Book of Mormon do not stand alone. There are several very clear and parallel examples of fathers in The Bible and in the Doctrine and Covenants (modern scriptural record) who deviated from paternal responsibilities. Eli, the priest who raised Samuel, comes to mind, as one who stood by silently as he sons engaged in wickedness. The scriptures record that it fell upon a young Samuel to pass the Lord’s message to his mentor: “In that day will I perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house . . . For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not” (1 Samuel 3:12-13). There are more modern examples of the Lord chastising other fathers, including at one time the entire First Presidency and the Bishop of the early Church (D&C 93:40-50).

The Book of Mormon offers additional insight into fatherhood. In fact, it does more than any other body of scripture. It is the perfect guidebook to men, who – in today’s world – want to become better fathers.

Nephi was “born of goodly parents” (1 Nephi 1:1). Surely, one of the ways his father was “goodly” was by instilling in his son a testimony: “I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father” (1 Ne. 2:16; emphasis added). And we are all familiar with Lehi’s desires for the salvation of his two oldest sons, Laman and Lemeul, exhorting “them then with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words” (1 Nephi 8:37).

Unfortunately, “tenderness” did not seem to always work with Laman and Lemeul. And, so, in verse after verse in 2 Nephi, chapter 1, Lehi repeatedly admonishes his sons to repent with strong language. Just one example will suffice: “Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound” (2 Nephi 1:23).

Jacob followed the example of his father in teaching the gospel to his children. The words of Enos give us a glimpse of Jacob’s role as a father: “Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk keep into my heart (Enos 1:3; emphasis added). While growing up Enos probably did not act like he was listening to or watching his father. But he was – and that made all the difference.

King Benjamin bore testimony to his sons before his bore testimony to his people: “O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true. . . . I would that ye should search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby . . . . And many more things did king Benjamin teach his sons” (Mosiah 1:6-8). What did King Mosiah think about his father? He thought he was awesome: “[I]f ye could have men for your kings who would do even as my father Benjamin did for this people—I say unto you, if this could always be the case then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you” (Mosiah 29:13).

The most poignant example perhaps in the entire Book of Mormon is from the Alma the Elder and Alma the Younger. Alma the Elder, who for a period of time did “many things which were abominable in the sight of the Lord,” later repented and helped convert many hundreds of Nephites (Mosiah 23:9). On the surface, it appears that he was unable to reach his oldest son, Alma the Younger, and that the angel was brought in to do the job that the father could not. But a deeper look reveals a different answer. Alma the Younger later relates to one of his own sons what happened after the angel departed: “[A]s I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sons of the world” (Alma 36:17; emphasis added).

Like Enos, it was the words of Alma the Younger’s father etched in his memory that gave him the faith sufficient to repent and partake of the atonement. Later, Alma the Younger spent considerable time talking to his three sons, Helaman, Shiblon and Corianton – especially Corianton, who must have reminded Alma the Younger of himself (and his father). He did so out of love and because the Spirit of the Lord thus commanded him (Alma 39:12).

The examples continue. In the book of Helaman, Helaman names his two sons Nephi and Lehi after the first prophets of the Book of Mormon and exhorts them to keep the commandments of God. Helaman’s talk with his sons produces perhaps one of the most memorable verses of the Book of Mormon: “And now, my sons, remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation” (Helaman 5:12). And perhaps, equally important, is the response of his sons: “And they did remember his words” (Helaman 5:14).

The ultimate example of a father and son comes in 3 Nephi, which teaches us about the intimate and eternal relationship of the Father and the Son (3 Nephi 11:11 (“I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father has given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.”). Then, talking especially to the fathers in the “multitude” he taught this simple principle, among many others: “Pray in your families unto the Father, in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed” (3 Nephi 18:21; emphasis added). Jesus showed, by example, how to pray to his Father for others in a beautiful series of prayers in 3 Nephi 19.

Little is known about Mormon’s relationship with his father, although we do know that his name was Mormon as well and they were “pure descendants” from Lehi (Mormon 1:5 and 3 Nephi 5:20). But much is written about Mormon’s own relationship with his son, Moroni. Though the two apparently were not around each other very much—Mormon mostly communicated with Moroni through letters from the “front lines”—the exchanges were always tender and loving. One example, which follows the commandment Jesus gave to fathers to pray for their children, suffices: “My beloved son, Moroni . . . I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end” (Moroni 8:3).

And the love was reciprocated. After all, in his declining years when he “wandered” for the “safety of [his] own life,” Moroni kept his father’s letters in his possession and added them to the Book of Mormon after he “had supposed not to have written any more.” (Moroni 1:4.)

It was a loving and lasting testament to the book his father compiled that “was written for us today” (The Book of Mormon is the Word of God, Ensign, May 1975, 63).

Additional Resources:

Get a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

12And there was but little alteration in the affairs of the people, save it were the people began to be more hardened in iniquity, and do more and more of that which was contrary to the commandments of God, in the eighty and ninth year of the reign of the judges.

13But it came to pass in the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges, there were great signs given unto the people, and wonders; and the words of the prophets began to be fulfilled.

14And angels did appear unto men, wise men, and did declare unto them glad tidings of great joy; thus in this year the scriptures began to be fulfilled.

Satan is evil: totally and always. He ever seeks to defeat the gospel plan and ‘destroy the souls of men.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 10:27.) . . .

It’s no surprise that the vision of who God and Jesus Christ really are, becomes blurry as conceptions of Him fade into the background of secularist thought. The adversary is real, and his tactic works from both ends of the belief spectrum: If he blurs the reality of God as a glorified personal Father, and then denies the reality of Satan as one who creates that distortion to keep us from sensing our divine identity, he accomplishes his goal of dwarfing our sense of purpose and our hope of an inconceivably glorious destiny.

A nationwide survey of adults’ spiritual beliefs suggests that Americans who consider themselves to be Christian have a diverse set of beliefs – but many of those beliefs are contradictory or, at least, inconsistent.

Views on Spiritual Beings

The Barna survey asked questions about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Satan, and demons.

All 1,871 self-described Christians were asked about their perception of God. In total, three-quarters (78%) said he is the “all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe who rules the world today.” The remaining one-quarter chose other descriptions of God – depictions that are not consistent with biblical teaching (e.g., everyone is god, god refers to the realization of human potential, etc.).

For the other survey items a four-point opinion scale was used to measure people’s reactions to statements about each spiritual entity.

Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” An additional two out of ten Christians (19%) said they “agree somewhat” with that perspective. A minority of Christians indicated that they believe Satan is real by disagreeing with the statement: one-quarter (26%) disagreed strongly and about one-tenth (9%) disagreed somewhat. The remaining 8% were not sure what they believe about the existence of Satan (Barna).

Mormon Beliefs: Satan is Real

Mormons believe in the reality of Satan. He is real spirit personage who gave up his right to come to earth because of an overwhelming craving to be the king of kings–the one worshipped on the throne. He sought to overthrow the Savior and the Father in a council before birth, in a pre-earth life. In the words of one Mormon leader (apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ):

Satan is irrevocably committed to countering and overcoming the influence of the Spirit of Christ upon men (Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, Apr. 1971, p. 24; or Ensign, June 1971, p. 36).

 

20Behold, thou art Oliver, and I have spoken unto thee because of thy desires; therefore treasure up these words in thy heart. Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love.

The Lord Jesus Christ knows the desires of our hearts and responds to those like no other. With answers to complex problems strewn along our paths like hedges of roses on a summer day, the Lord delights in answering our prayers and supplying our need, as each day demands.  His request for us to obey His commands is the most unselfish of all for it is a spiritual shortcut to our happiness, and He knows that.  It’s us who may be slow to comprehend that until we comply long enough to feel the sweet embrace to which this modern scripture speaks.

The invitation to find obedience “a quest and not an irritation” is extended once again to each of us by a late prophet of God (you may refer to him as “Mormon prophet”; the fullname is prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Savior’s true and living Church on earth. We invite you to learn more of its message:

Be true to your convictions. You know what is right, and you know what is wrong. You know when you are doing the proper thing. You know when you are giving strength to the right cause. Be loyal. Be faithful. Be true. (Gordon B. Hinckley, Stand a Little Taller, 16.)

 

Doctrine and Covenants 42:45

45 Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious resurrection.

True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one’s companion (Gordan B. Hinckley, Stand a Little Taller, 47).