These last records will establish the truth of the 1st (1 Nephi 13 part 2)

I love the Bible.  In the Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) we can walk where Jesus walked, hear His conversations as a half-mortal here with us on earth.  Christ was half-mortal because his mother Mary is mortal, and his Father, our Heavenly Father, is immortal and Eternal. We'll talk more about His sacrifice being an "Infinite Atonement" later in 2nd Nephi.



Merry Christmas!!!  Today is Christmas Day, the day we celebrate the birth of the Son of God, the Savior of the world.  Millions of people around the world will read Luke chapter 2 from their Bible, which tells the story of His birth in Bethlehem.  My wife gave me the dvd "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for Christmas this morning.  Contained therein is one of the greatest orations ever done of the famous Luke 2 Nativity verses when Linus tells Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about.  I have no idea how to put videos on my blog, so you can go to my friend Middle-aged Mormon Man's blog and see it there.  He's smarter than me :)

Having said that, I must tell you that the Bible is not without its faults.  I met lots of people in Kentucky who would punch me in the throat if they heard me say that.  But, it's true; Parts of it were lost, parts of it were intentionally left out, parts of it were translated incorrectly, etc.  1 Nephi chapter 13 talks about the coming forth of the Bible, the precious truths which were left out of it, and of The Lord's wisdom in bringing forth another record (the BOM) to clarify His gospel. 

1 Nephi 13: 20-23

20.  And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them.
21.  And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?
22.  And I said unto him: I know not.
23.  And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: the book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of The Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of The Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.

Note:  The record carried by the Gentiles (the Bible in it's entirety) is not as large of a record as the Brass Plates Lehi's family carried with them, which only contains the 5 books of Moses and writings of the prophets from Moses up through 600 B.C. 

1 Nephi 13: 24 & 26-27

24.  And the angel of The Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book poceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceedeth forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fullness of the gospel of The Lord.
26.  And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of The Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of The Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of The Lord have they taken away.
27.  And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of The Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.

Don't worry.  The Lord knows everything, and there is not anything, save He knows it.  He saw these things coming from a mile away.

1 Nephi 13: 35-36

35.  For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of The Lamb.
36.  And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation.

In my words:

After the death, resurrection and ascension of The Savior, and the subsequent deaths of the apostles, many of the truths that Christ brought were lost.  Christianity remained a huge part of the development of civilization, and they did amazingly well with what they had, but the missing truths affected them for generations, splintering them into different Christian sects representing vastly differing interpretations of the doctrines of Christ's gospel.  The Lord's answer to this was to bring forth the Book of Mormon, translated by the gift and power of God.  The BOM and Bible work together in enlightening our understanding of Heaven's truths.  A person's study of either of these inspired books will be greatly enhanced by a study of its counterpart.
 

In the words of the BOM:

1 Nephi 13: 40

40.  And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of The Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that The Lamb of God is The Son of the Eternal Father, and The Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto Him, or they cannot be saved.

In the words of the Old Testament:

Ezekiel 37: 16-27
16.  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, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17.  And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

In the words of Geometry:

With one source of Heaven's truth represented here by a single point, an infinite number of lines (or interpretations) can pass through it.

With 2 or more sources of Heaven's truth, only one line (interpretation) can pass through both.

I'm grateful for the Bible.  I'm grateful for The Book of Mormon.  I'm grateful for both of these groovy books of scripture, and the testimonies of the Son of God they bear. 

Merry Christmas.  Peace be with you...