This book has facilitated greater change in my life than any other book making it my all-time favorite book! It testifies of God's goodness and love. It better clarifies His whole plan for us: where we came from, why in the world we are alive, and what happens after we die. It is written by God's ancient prophets in the American continents (whereas the Bible is written by God's ancient prophets mainly in the Middle East). The inspiring words in The Book of Mormon, along with the words in The Bib

This book has facilitated greater change in my life than any other book making it my all-time favorite book! It testifies of God's goodness and love. It better clarifies His whole plan for us: where we came from, why in the world we are alive, and what happens after we die. It is written by God's ancient prophets in the American continents (whereas the Bible is written by God's ancient prophets mainly in the Middle East). The inspiring words in The Book of Mormon, along with the words in The Bible, testify of Christ and teach His gospel. That He died for us that we will live again (be resurrected) and that He made a unique sacrifice for us that we can repent and live with God again (atonement).



The reason why I feel that The Book of Mormon is essential along with The Bible for testifying of Christ is because some parts of the Bible are understood differently probably because through time many important parts of The Bible were changed (I guess to oppress the people and teach them what the leaders wanted them to know). So, sometimes it may be confusing (good thing the Holy Spirit helps us understand truth). Whereas The Book of Mormon is exactly the message the ancient prophets wrote (I think that some grammar/punctuation has been added since that's how we write now in English).



For example, the beautiful message of the creation found in the beginning (pun) of The Bible is better understood with the additional clarification found in The Book of Mormon. As far as I understand, every other Christian religion besides The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that when Adam took of the forbidden fruit he somehow thwarted God’s plan for us and that’s why we live in this terrible state of living. Whereas with the additional explanations from the revelations of other ancient prophets we understand that the fall was an essential part of God’s plan of happiness. Eve understood this when she said “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient” (Moses 5:11). Adam and Eve knew that they couldn’t be obedient to God’s first commandment without transgressing the barrier between the bliss of the Garden of Eden and the terrible trials and amazing growth of mortal life. “The fall could not happen without a transgression—an exercise of moral agency amounting to a willful breaking of a law” (Dallin H. Oaks & Moses 6:59). Everything must have its opposite to provide us free agency. And without free will, salvation is impossible. It is so great to know that God sent us here for a reason and that by struggling through learning and growing here on Earth we are becoming closer to Him.



My favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon is 2 Nephi chapter 2 and it isn’t just because its reference is easy to remember (favorite verse is 22 te he). My favorite verses are really 21-29 (I could just eat them up). I love the explanation of what the fall caused and how relevant it is in our lives!



The chapter is about an ancient prophet named Lehi explaining to his son about Christ redeeming us from our sins, why it is necessary that there is evil and pain in the world, and of course the fall.



Without understanding “the fall” (when Adam ate the fruit and caused both physical and spiritual death to happen on Earth), how can we really understand why we need Christ (the only way we can live again after we die both physically and spiritually). By the way, we die spiritually (meaning we can’t be with Heavenly Father again) when we sin because no unclean thing can be in the presence of God. Christ can make us clean again. Even though it’s work; it’s a good feeling and way worth any sacrifice.



Here is what Mormon.org it says about The Book of Mormon:



"The Restoration of Truth

The Book of Mormon



"As part of the Restoration of the gospel, God brought forth the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. By the power of God, Joseph Smith translated this book from an ancient record written on gold plates. The Book of Mormon is “a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel” (Introduction to the Book of Mormon).



"The Book of Mormon is a powerful witness of Jesus Christ. It helps us understand His teachings, including those in the Bible. Examples of Book of Mormon witnesses of Christ include:



"Nephi, who saw the birth and death of Christ in a vision (1 Nephi 11:13–15).

The brother of Jared, who saw the Lord because of his great faith (Ether 3:7–16).

The prophet Samuel the Lamanite, who prophesied of Christ’s coming and gave the signs of His birth and death (Helaman 13–14).

Christ Himself, who, after His Resurrection, appeared to the people of ancient America and invited them to come forward one by one to see and touch Him until “they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves” (3 Nephi 11:13–17).



"In the Bible, Jesus told His Apostles, “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:16). Soon after He was resurrected, the Lord visited these “other sheep”—the inhabitants of ancient America. During this visit to the American continent (recorded in the Book of Mormon), Jesus Christ:

Invited people to feel the wound marks in His hands and feet and side.

Taught His gospel.

Called twelve disciples to teach His gospel.

Healed the sick.

Prayed for the people.

Performed miracles.



"In September 1823, Joseph Smith was visited by a heavenly messenger named Moroni, in the same way that angels often appeared to Church leaders in the New Testament. Moroni informed Joseph that God had a work for him to do and told him that a record of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent was buried in a nearby hill. He stated that the record contained the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Joseph Smith—History 1:27–34).



"In September 1827, Joseph received the record, which was written on thin plates of gold. Joseph translated the book into English by the inspiration of God and called the book the Book of Mormon. It is named after Mormon, an ancient prophet who compiled the sacred record. The book verifies, as another testament of Christ, the reality and divinity of Jesus Christ. It is, then, a second witness that affirms the truth of the Bible. Since its publishing in 1830, the Book of Mormon has blessed the lives of millions of people through its powerful message about Jesus Christ and His gospel."



Mormon.org has tons of great links too.



I will always have this book on my "currently-reading" shelf along with the Bible because I read daily from these books. When I choose to study them straight through, the very day I finish the book, I start it again. It is really cool that God can teach different or more powerful truths to you the more you read it. Otherwise, how boring would that be to keep re-reading the same books? I've heard it said by many that they hadn't noticed certain passages before even though they had read that chapter many times. The Lord teaches line upon line. When you are ready for another truth to build upon what you know, He blesses you with that knowledge often by you reading the scriptures and have a passage teach you something new.