Another Testament of Jesus Christ

"In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." (2 Corinthians 13:1)

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints get their nickname, the Mormons, from a book called the Book of Mormon. It is called the Book of Mormon because it was compiled, and much of it narrated, by an inspired prophet of the Lord named Mormon. And so Mormon is no different to LDS church members than Moses, in that they were both responsible for compiling and narrating scripture. And so it should be understood that any accusations that Mormons worship Mormon are completely false. Are "mainstream" Christians accused of worshipping John because they have a book of scripture called the Gospel According to John?

Just like the Bible, the Book of Mormon contains the word of God as recorded by His prophets. It is, as proclaimed in the subtitle, another testament of Jesus Christ. One description of its purpose is written in 2 Nephi 25:26: "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

Many contemporary Christians teach that the Book of Mormon cannot be accepted into the canon of scripture because the Bible is the "only word of God." What the source of this teaching is I don't know, but it is not the Bible. It is a preconceived notion. Some men have cited the warning at the end of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, mistakenly using it as evidence that the Bible is the only word of God. John warns that nothing must be added or taken away from "the words of the prophecy of this book," referring to the prophecy found in Revelation, not the Bible as a whole. (The Bible as we know it did not even exist when John wrote those words.) The Lord knew that many people would reject the Book of Mormon saying, "A Bible! A Bible! We have already got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible." (2 Nephi 29:3) He responds:

"Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
"Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
"And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
"Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written." (2 Nephi 29:7-10)

And so, how can we know whether the Book of Mormon is inspired scripture, as LDS church members claim?

"And wen ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true: and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." (Moroni 10:4)

I have read the Book of Mormon. As I read, I felt the same sweet spirit that I felt as I read the New Testament. I prayed and asked my Heavenly Father if the Book of Mormon was true. I testify that He answered my prayer, by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the affirmative. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It serves alongside the Bible as a witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ.