Ask this question:
“If I was a follower of the Book of Mormon, would my walk with Christ change”?
Most Christians are unaware of the fact that not a single “Mormon Doctrine” is contained in the Book of Mormon.
Next, ask this question – “Do I believe in a God of miracles”?
“You can’t believe in the Book of Mormon if you don’t believe in miracles.”
By miracles we mean the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Do you believe in the raising of the dead, prophecy, the speaking in tongues, the interpretation of tongues, dreams, visions, being slain in the Spirit, etc.? If the answer is no, then how could we expect you to believe in the miracle of the Book of Mormon?
Ask this:
“Do I believe God will answer my prayer regarding the Book of Mormon”?
There is a promise in the Book of Mormon guaranteeing that if you read and ask, God will answer. For many people it was this act of asking that first brought them a divine encounter.
Mormons have been using the Book of Mormon these many years to do one thing – gain converts. It is now time for Christians to claim the Book of Mormon as their own, and use the converting power it contains FOR CHRIST, and not for a church or doctrine it does not contain.
Here are Mormon quotes admitting this is the case:
From the religion book review editor at Publishers Weekly, LDS author Jana Reiss wrote in the SkyLight Illuminations Series, The Book of Mormon – Selections Annotated and Explained:
Early Mormons rarely quoted from the book in their speeches and writings; in one nineteenth-century LDS periodical, Elders’ Journal, the Bible was cited forty times more often than the Book of Mormon. Although early Mormons believed that the book was an authentically ancient record and that its miraculous appearance signaled that they were living in the “latter days,” they didn’t strongly emphasize its teachings. When the book was cited, it was usually to support the belief that the LDS Church was the restoration of Israel. It wasn’t until 1961 that a year-long course in the Book of Mormon became required for freshman students at Brigham Young University, and it was the 1980’s before the Book of Mormon was cited regularly in General Conference talks by church leaders. (2005, p. xiii)
LDS Professor Grant Hardy said:
Joseph Smith did not refer to passages from the book in his writings or sermons, nor was it cited very often by early church leaders. (Grant Hardy in Royal Skousen ed., The Book of Mormon, the Earliest Text, Yale University Press, 2009, p. xxii)
LDS Professor Philip R. Kunz:
As a young missionary in the 1950s, before the standardized missionary plan was prepared, we had a discussion on the Book of Mormon, in which we told the people about the book and invited them to put Moroni’s promise to the test. We did not teach from the Book of Mormon, nor did we really refer to it after that. (Phillip R. Kunz, “Moroni’s Promise: The Converting Power of the Book of Mormon,” FARMS Review: vol. 8, no. 2, 1996, p 32)
LDS Professor Terryl L. Givens in his popular book put out by Oxford University Press entitled By the Hand of Mormon said:
It has often been pointed out, however, that those beliefs most commonly associated with Mormonism are nowhere to be found in that text. Those expecting an exposition of peculiarly Mormon doctrine will be disappointed. (2002, p. 186)
And:
…the Book of Mormon a “completely untapped resource” that is regarded more as an icon of Smith’s prophetic call than a theological source. (Kristen Moulton, “LDS don’t get theological respect because they seek and shun mainstream acceptance,” Salt Lake Tribune, Nov 11, 2010)
LDS Professor Richard L. Bushman:
Despite the effort that went into the translation, Joseph Smith did not make the book the foundation of the church. (Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism, 1984, p. 142)
Book of Mormon Scholar J.N. Washburn:
The book under consideration bears no necessary relation to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They could exist quite independently of each other. The book is not the product of the Church, for it was in existence before the Church was. (The Contents, Structure and Authorship of the Book of Mormon, 1954, p. 10)
LDS Professor Kenneth Godfrey:
Mormonism would not have endured had its leaders relied solely on the Book of Mormon. (“David Whitmer and the Shaping of Latter-day Saint History” by Kenneth Godfrey in The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, FARMS, 2000)
LDS Professor Daniel Peterson:
“Studies of Latter-day Saint sermons and curriculum from the earliest period of church history well into the 20th century demonstrate surprisingly little use of the Book of Mormon to establish doctrines or as a text from which to preach. Many Saints were converted by reading it, but, thereafter, they tended to overlook its specific content.”
“Joseph seems somewhat detached from the book after its publication. He betrays little if any ‘pride of authorship.’ Whereas authors typically like to call attention to their creations.”
“It was and is a virtuoso display of revelatory power. Had Joseph Smith been a mere frontier pseudo-prophet, he could simply have produced frequent “revelations” along the lines of the Doctrine and Covenants. He needn’t have created an enormously complex “history” of purportedly lost ancient civilizations – thus exposing himself to huge and unnecessary risks.” (Dan Peterson, “Embracing the power of the Book of Mormon,” Deseret News, January 5, 2012)
NO BOOKS OF MORMON PRINTED FOR 30 YEARS Fact, the Mormons did not print a single copy of the Book of Mormon, in America, between the years 1842 to 1869 (27 years). Finally, after 18 years, an independent publisher printed 4000 copies in New York:
The present edition of the Book of Mormon is an accurate reprint of the third American edition, originally published at Nauvoo, eighteen years ago, under the official sanction of the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ. The apostasy of the great body of the Church, through the influence of false teachers, who privily brought into the Church Damnable Heresies, even denying the Lord, that bought them; together with the fact that they have for a long time suppressed the Book, on account of its pointed condemnation of their practices, has appeared to the Publisher as a sufficient reason for reissuing it; so that the many firm believers of the Book that are scattered through the land, earnestly desiring the spread of truth, may have an opportunity to avail themselves of its precious truths, and put into their own and their neighbors’ possession the real weapon with which to put down Polygamy and its kindred institutions. In this republication, the Publisher has yielded to a general desire for information in regard to the nature and origin of the Book, and has placed in the Introduction a mere synopsis of the evidences of its Divinity, and what it purports to be. (“Advertisement,” Book of Mormon, J. O. Wright & Co., 1858, New York; See also 1, 2, 3)
“This edition of the Book of Mormon was published by Russel Huntley, and known as the Brooks edition, and sometimes as the Huntley edition. Some 4000 copies were printed, as in the imprint shows, by James O. Wright and Company, 377 Broadway, New York (in 1858). The introduction was written by Elder Zadoc Brook (Church of Christ), who labored for a time at Kirtland, Ohio.” (Journal of History, vol. XIV, no. 1, Lamoni, January 1921, p. 19)
The Book of Mormon belongs to the body of Christ. Christians can start using non-denominational copies right now (www.bookmormon.com ), from a public library, or read online.
The best tool that a Christian can use to convert a Mormon to Christ IS the the Book of Mormon.
As we have stated clearly on this site, the Book of Mormon adds nothing new to the Bible, it merely clarifies baptism, and communion; and confirms the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It contains some of the most powerful Preaching on Christ you can find anywhere.
Have you ever wondered why the Mormon Church is one of the fastest growing churches in America?
Answer – the Book of Mormon.
Do you know why 50% – 75% of all those converts leave the Mormon Church?
Because the Spirit they found in the Book of Mormon is not in the Mormon Church.
Do you need some converting power in your church? Then use the Book of Mormon!
Do you want to grow your church?
Then start a small group for ex-Mormons, using the Book of Mormon.
More people believe in the Book of Mormon outside the Mormon Church than within it. Now that’s worth looking into.
As can be seen on this site, the Book of Mormon contains no unusual Mormon doctrine – not one.