Restoring the Judeo-Christian Culture of Liberty
In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. (2Corinthians 13:1)
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Moses and the Apostle Paul, both well-versed in the law, taught this principle of two or more witnesses in the Old Testament and New Testament respectively. So we have two testaments given us from the Old World. But this is not all.
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God, who is the Author of the Law, is not the author of confusion, but of peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33)
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How the Book of Mormon Bears Witness to the Truthfulness of the Bible
(From Epic Stories, pp.11-15)
God has provided us with yet another testament, or witness—
this from the New World or American continents—known as the Book of Mormon.
Introducing Epic Stories from the Book of Mormon
The Epic Story of Brothers Judah and Joseph
The Bible and the Book of Mormon are in the form of epic literature, and they support each other. The prophet Joseph of Egypt prophesied that the record written by his descendants (the Book of Mormon) would convince the world of the truthfulness of the Bible.
In the Bible, the prophet Isaiah said that a remnant of Judah would go out of Jerusalem, and escape the Babylonian captivity. (Isaiah 37:32) One hundred years later, descendants of Judah’s brother Joseph did indeed flee persecution in Jerusalem because of their belief in Christ. They voyaged to Central America, where their leader, a devout Christian prophet, founded a Christian nation.
This people kept faithful records, including an eyewitness account of a visit by the resurrected Jesus Christ a short time after His crucifixion. Having been engraved on metal plates to withstand the ravages of time, these histories span more than a thousand years and reveal scores of historical references that verify and support the Bible. Still intact in the nineteenth century when, through the power of God, it was discovered, translated, and published by the prophet Joseph Smith, this remarkable record bears the title of “The Book of Mormon,” named after the Christian prophet who compiled all the annals in 400 A.D.
Written in epic literary style, it recounts the migration and settlement in Central America of three Biblical peoples. These descendants of Shem, Judah, and Joseph (of Egypt) became the ancestors of Mayans, Polynesians, and other natives of the Americas who were mistakenly called “Indians.”
The Book of Joseph
The prophet Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, testified that a record of his descendants would come forth in the latter days. He further testified that not only would the record of Joseph (the Book of Mormon) come forth, but it would also convince others of the truthfulness of his brother Judah’s book (the Bible.) (2 Nephi 3:11) Lehi, one of Joseph’s descendants, brought records of the house of Israel with him out of Jerusalem to the American continent. From Joseph’s writings, contained in those records, Lehi read the following words.
Yea, Joseph truly said: Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins. . . and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto [thy] seed— and not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them.
And that which shall be written by [thy descendants], and also that which shall be written by the [descendants] of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace. (2Nephi 3:7,11 emphasis added)
The Book of Judah
In the book of Judah (the Bible), the prophet Ezekiel wrote:
The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions; then take another stick, and write upon it, for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim [Joseph’s son], and for all the house of Israel his companions;
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. (Ezekiel 37:15-17, emphasis added)
Another Testament
The Book of Mormon does in fact testify to the veracity of the Bible. Its prophets repeatedly teach of Adam as the first man, created in the image of God. How much today’s confused and discouraged members of the human race need to know this truth— that they are children of God! Furthermore, the Book of Mormon verifies the biblical accounts of
Noah and the flood
The tower of Babel
Abraham’s offering of Isaac
Joseph of Egypt
Moses
The Exodus
Ten Commandments
The parting of the Red Sea
Reign of King Zedekiah
The Babylonian captivity
The prophet Isaiah
John the Revelator
The twelve apostles
Birth, Atonement, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ
This is by no means a complete list.
Most importantly, the Book of Mormon not only prophesies abundantly of the mission of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon also recounts the appearance of Christ to Joseph’s tribe of Israel in Central America, as witnessed by 2,500 persons. This event had such a life-changing effect on those people that they enjoyed a golden age of 200 years after His visit.
So far-reaching was His influence that a thousand years later, when European explorers landed at the shores of
America in their ships with billowing sails, the natives thought that at long-last Christ had returned in a white cloud! This explains their initial worshipful attitude toward their actual conquerors. To this day, many cultures in Latin America still honor a " bearded white god.”
This further validates the Book of Mormon claim that it is indeed Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The eyewitness account of the resurrected Redeemer’s visit on the American continent attests to the universality of Jesus Christ’s pivotal role in history, causing millions worldwide to esteem this record as sacred scripture supporting the Bible.
Even if considered only for its historical or literary value, one cannot read the Book of Mormon without strengthening a testimony of the Bible and feeling the influence of the spirit of Christ. The epic stories therein are about people and events we can all relate to, no matter what our doctrinal persuasions.
