There will come a time when the Book of Mormon will be
rejected by the non-believer because we have a Bible and that is enough. If they have a Bible, it was by the
Jews. Nephi had seen, in vision,
[The
Bible] 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…
And
it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also
the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the
Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my
brethren.
1 Nephi 13:23, 38
Hugh Nibley discusses those who would limit the Lord.
As no one has a right to limit
God's capacity to speak to men with his own voice whenever and wherever he
will, neither has anyone the authority to say that God may not, when he will,
present his children with his word in writing by dictating scripture to his
prophets, by bringing forth forgotten writings of the ancients, by guiding the
work of an inspired translator, or in any way he chooses. We have said before
that the test of the soundness of men's hearts is their willingness to accept
the message of a living prophet; the same applies to their willingness to
accept God's word in any form. So the Lord has told us through an ancient
prophet how it is when men who reject the prophets because they already have
dead ones are confronted with God's written word.[1]
Why wouldn’t the Lord bring forth other records? He told Nephi He had created all men. He rules in heavens and earth. “Know
ye not that there are more nations than one … I bring forth my word unto the
children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of earth?”
Robert J. Matthews shares with us the impact this scripture
had on him.
I was lying on a couch in my
apartment just off the hill from the BYU campus. It was a Saturday. There was
something about the concept that there is more than one nation and therefore
there ought to be more than one book. That really caught my attention. I can
remember saying out loud, "This is true." I was so impressed with
that concept: if there is more than one nation, there ought to be more than one
record; and God speaks the same things to one nation that he does to another.[2]
Why do people complain that we receive the additional words
of the Lord? I can’t understand this
attitude. I am delighted with the words
the Lord gives us in His own due time.
It will be an exciting day when the Lord sees fit to give us more of His
word.
The Lord gives us the law of witnesses. “Know
ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God…” (2 Nephi 29:8). Nephi was told by an angel,
And
after [the Bible] had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came
forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing
of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews
who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the
prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.
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.
And
they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth
of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of
thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb;
wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd
over all the earth.
1 Nephi 13:39-41
The Savior also gave us this law during His mortal
ministry. “But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more,
that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” (Matthew
18:16).
Writing about the Book of Mormon, Hugh Nibley tells us:
The Book of Mormon foretells its
own reception by the world. Though the critics have always maintained that
Joseph Smith expected it to be a best seller and make him a lot of money, the
ancient prophets knew better—they knew that they were not writing "the
things which are pleasing unto the world" (1 Nephi 6:5); and tell how
"many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible,
and there cannot be any more Bible" (2 Nephi 29:3), and refuse to believe
that God can "remember one nation like unto another," and "speak
the same words unto one nation like unto another" (2 Nephi 29:8). … Its appearance
is not a triumphant one at all, but only marks the first step, the very
beginning, of the latter-day work…[3]
[1]The
Book of Mormon as a Witness, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed December
19, 2013.
[2]A
Conversation with Robert J. Matthews, Maxwell Institute, accessed December
19, 2013.
[3]Prophecy
in the Book of Mormon: The Three Periods, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute,
accessed December 19, 2013.
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