What Is the Purpose of the Book of Mormon?

I was reading the very last chapter of the Book of Mormon the other day and the third to last verse in the last chapter stood out to me. It reads:

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."
Moroni 10:32

Here as Moroni concludes the Book of Mormon he summarizes the central purpose for the book. The purpose of the Book of Mormon is to bring us (the readers) to Christ. Why? So that we can ultimately be saved by returning to the presence of God.

The Book of Mormon's title page also lists 3 purposes for the Book of Mormon, including the central purpose I mentioned above:

1. "To show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers."

2. "That they [the House of Israel] may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever."

3. For "the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations."

Book of Mormon Title Page

So, once again we see that the central purpose is to bring us to our Savior, Jesus Christ! What a wonderful goal. I know that this book has greatly helped me come to know my Savior and trust in Him.

I found a lot more information about the Book of Mormon here . Usually the best place to get information is from the source, so that link (from the Mormon (LDS) Church is a good source).

Matthew 13:11-12 Why Did Jesus Teach in Parables?

Often we think of parables as unclear, difficult ways to teach or understand important doctrines? If the Savior knew that some people would not understand his parables, why did he then choose to teach this way? When his disciples asked him why he taught in parables, this was his response, as recorded in the New Testament Book of Matthew:

"He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath."
Matthew 13:11-12

Basically, verse 11 tells us that Jesus did not want everyone to understand what he was teaching. If his teachings are important doctrines, required for salvation, then why wouldn't he want everyone to understand them? Verse 12 reveals his reasoning. He wants to "give" this additional knowledge and understanding to those who "have" some already, or in other words, to those who are already learning his doctrine and making an honest effort to know more, he will give more. This is probably along the lines of not throwing pearls to swine.

Jesus continues by explaining that with those who don't have any (including those who have some but are not doing anything to further increase it), the little that they have is more than they should have, so nothing will be given them, rather what they have will be taken away. This is such a truth in our lives!

If we want to understand one of Jesus's parables, we need to put in some effort- just like the Jews. Many of the Jews heard Jesus speak and faithlessly disbelieved or tried to discredit his teachings. He was not there to teach these disbelievers. He was there to teach the faithful, those who would take the time to study and understand his parables. It makes perfect sense. So, if you want to understand what Jesus was teaching, take the time to prayerfully study it. In our time, we can find many resources on the internet and in books that will also help us understand, but not without effort.

Keep in mind, the truth that Jesus taught about receiving knowledge in general. If we want to continue progressing spiritually, we can't stop studying the scriptures! If we do, it "shall be taken away even that [we] hath." And as we continue studying, it will be given to us, little by little, to understand the doctrines and teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So keep studying the scriptures and learning- there will always be more you can learn!

No more animal sacrifices? So, what now?

Animal sacrifices were part of the Law of Moses. When Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law of Moses, he commanded us to give a different kind of sacrifice- a broken heart and contrite spirit.

The Lord commanded the Nephites:

"And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost..."

3 Nephi 9:19-20

How do we offer a broken heart and contrite spirit to the Lord?

I believe this means we must be humble, repentant, and willing to do God's will at all times. To be broken hearted, we must not allow ourselves to set our hearts on things of the world with know eternal significance. Our spirits will be contrite when they overcome the sins of the flesh to be in perfect harmony with God's will.

We are not perfect, so this means we will slip up from time to time. To have a broken heart and contrite spirit we must recognize our shortcomings and feel sorrowful enough to fully repent to the Lord.

This is really what Christian living is all about, and this is the sacrifice that is now required of all followers of Christ.

Why Do People Sin When They Know It's Wrong?

After a short period of righteousness among the Nephites, they began to become wicked again. This verse describes their actions:

"Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them; therefore they did wilfully rebel against God."
3 Nephi 6:18

Why do people sin when they know it is wrong to do so? I would love to hear any thoughts that readers of this blog might have- feel free to leave a comment!

I know there are dozens of reasons. Pride, for example, could cause someone to do something wrong knowingly because he or she has a reputation to keep. Someone may justify sins as he or she seeks for power, riches, or prestige.

Satan is a tricky devil, a very good devil at that. He has been doing what he does for a long time, and he has learned how to put attractive wrapping paper and flashy ribbons on the most dangerous packages. One may think that a single pornographic image is harmless, one drink of alcohol won't hurt, or a few slots at the casino is "just for fun". However, any of these actions would allow Satan to tie a small, weak string around your wrists. It is easy enough to break free at any time, so it doesn't worry you. When you take another look at that picture, go out for another drink, or move to the poker table, another small, weak string is added. You know you can break free of those weak strings so you disregard them. As this pattern continues, you find yourself trapped, imprisoned to the father of all lies, the devil. Though it's easy to break free of a couple weak strings, it is near impossible when it becomes a rope.

I guess to summarize that story in a way that answers the question, we too often underestimate "little sins" because we underestimate the devil who is working full time to bring us into captivity to himself.

This reminds me of what the prophet Nephi taught:

"And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell."
2 Nephi 28:21

Too often we have a sense of false security and allow ourselves to be led "carefully down to hell." We don't realize it until it's almost too late.

It is never completely too late, unless we die in our sins, because Jesus Christ atoned that we might be forgiven of our sins if we will repent and follow His gospel.

We can never say "the devil made me do it" but most of the time we can say "the devil convinced me to do it, but I made the choice." Satan won't pay the price of justice for the sins we commit, we will.

Let us open our eyes and realize what little things we may be doing in our lives that put small, weak strings around our wrists. Let's discover the tricks that Satan uses to deceive us and "convince" us to sin.