What are words?  It’s what you say face to face to other people.  It’s what you say over the phone, through email or text message.  Though God may not use all of those forms of communication, His words have been left in books called scriptures.

Christians accept the Bible as the word of God, as do members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – we being Christians.  We also consider The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ to be God’s word.  These are God’s words for His children – us. 

The Bible is a record of God’s word and dealings with His children written through chosen men called prophets.  It tells the story of the Middle East. 

The Book of Mormon is quite similar to the Bible.  It is God’s word and dealings with His children written through prophets, but on the American Continent.  Six hundred years before Christ, a prophet named Lehi and his family were led out of Jerusalem and sailed to the Americas.  The book covers 1000 years of history of the civilization established by this family.  Not only is it a history, but a book of scripture rich with doctrine and true stories.  The highlight of the Book of Mormon is Christ’s post-resurrection ministry to the American inhabitants (see 3 Nephi 11). 

The book was written on gold plates.  Around 400 A.D., the plates were hidden in a hill near Palmyra, New York until Joseph Smith was divinely directed to their discovery in 1823. (Watch Joseph Smith’s story.)  He had been chosen by God as a modern prophet and translated the plates into what is now known as the Book of Mormon.

Is it really God’s word?  Well, there’s only one way to find out – read it, consider it, and ask God if it is.  For me, studying it (along with the Bible) has given me clarity about life, happiness and an anchor of hope. 

A free copy of The Book of Mormon can be ordered through www.mormon.org