Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: swindle@spanky.stanford.edu Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Book of Mormon Message-ID: Date: 6 Aug 90 02:06:28 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 70 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu I noticed your inquiry of a couple of weeks ago on the christian bboard, and thought I would respond. You may ignore this message if your questions have already been answered -- although, as a member of the Mormon church, I may be able to give you some insight about the book that others are unable to provide. A quick synopsis of the book: It begins with a Hebrew prophet named Lehi living in Jerusalem around 600 BC, just prior to the conquest of the city. Lehi has been warning the inhabitants of Jerusalem of its impending doom when he is told in a dream to take his family and another, and flee the city. To make a long story short, they traverse the desert and the ocean and end up in the "New World" (probably South America). Over the ensuing centuries, they develop a civilization, intermingle with peoples already living there, have wars, etc. Much of the Book of Mormon is concerned with the history of this people, with particular emphasis on religious history and the teachings of various prophets and church leaders after Lehi. As you mentioned in your posting, one of the principal teachings of the book is that Christ visited the people (or some subset thereof) of the American continent(s) after his resurrection. He came to America to establish his church (as he had done in the old world), preach his gospel, and ordain apostles. A large portion of the Book of Mormon contains His teachings given at that time. He stayed with them only a relatively short time, then ascended back to heaven. The Book of Mormon continues the story of this people until roughly 400 A.D., at which time the last writer in the book buries the record (written on golden sheets or plates) in a hillside. The record remains buried until the early 1800s, when a young man named Joseph Smith is directed by the Lord to retrieve, translate, and publish it, which he does. The book is named after Mormon, one of its last authors (the record had been passed down from generation to generation), who lived around 350 A.D. The book becomes sort of the cornerstone of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is founded in 1830, only a couple of years after the book was translated. Without bogging you down with too much doctrinal detail, here are some important points about the book and the church: 1) we believe that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon are scripture, and are literally the word of God. The Bible, however, because of thousands of years of translation, re- translation, and mis-translation, necessarily contains many errors. We believe that one of the purposes of the B of M coming forth in our day was to clarify the gospel of Christ, and serve as a second witness to His divinity (\ie "in the mouths of two witnesses shall the truth be made known ... "). 2) we believe that, with the foundation of the Church, the primitive church was restored to the earth; i.e., not only had the doctrines of the Bible been obscured by men (well- intentioned, no doubt), but the original church established by Christ had essentially disintegrated (sort of a slow apostasy). Anyway, I've probably gone on long enough. I hope this has been helpful and not too heavy. If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to respond. In fact, if you'd like, I could send you a copy of the Book of Mormon, or at least tell you where you could find one. Take care, Lee Swindlehurst (swindle@rascals.stanford.edu)