Week 12 - The Mouth of Two Witnesses

Mormon 7:8-9

8 Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you.

9 For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will also know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them.

There are so many debates about whether there needs to be a second book of scripture after the Bible. Why was another book of scripture needed?

Let's first refer back to the scripture above. This can be a little tricky so make it easier to understand, let's replace the word "this" with "the Book of Mormon" and the word "that" with "the Bible." This will hopefully help make this more clear.

When we understand the purpose of these records, we can understand that there doesn't have to be just one of them. After all "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Corinthians 13:1). For the same reason that we send missionaries out in pairs, God has given us another testament of his word.

The power of having more than one book increases the believe-ability of each of them. They support each other, they testify of each other, and they clarify each other. They are stronger together than they could ever be alone.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that the Book of Mormon is just as much scripture as the Bible is. We believe in them equally and support the teachings of both. We believe that both the Book of Mormon and the Bible have been brought forth by the power of God with the Bible testifying of Christ in the old world and the Book of Mormon testifying of him in the new world.

Having the Book of Mormon does not detract from the power of the Bible. In fact it does the opposite, it allows us to understand its teachings more clearly. Scripture is scripture, and what God has given to his people to help them through this life should be used to our greatest advantage.

But the only way to truly understand what I'm talking about is to read each book for yourself, and ask God, for he will surely answer those who seek his reply.