As we finish the Come Follow Me year on the Book of Mormon, I’ve noticed something troubling about how members of the church relate to the Book of Mormon. We talk about it a lot. We speak about the Book of Mormon in church (and often without using anything from the Book of Mormon in our talks). We read books and articles about evidences for and proof of the historicity of the Book of Mormon. We listen to podcasts and watch YouTube videos where other people tell us about the Book of Mormon. We quote general authority statements about reading it, and we write articles about it (like this one). In general, we act as cheerleaders for the Book of Mormon. But are we actually reading the Book of Mormon? Or the other scriptures in the Latter-day canon? In recent weeks I have talked with people about what they learned from listening to this podcast or watching that video or reading this article about the Book of Mormon. But hardly anyone commented on what they learned from reading the Book of Mormon.

In an effort to not make that same mistake in this article, I am going to pepper the text of this article with boxed insights I gleaned from actually reading the Book of Mormon.

Mormon’s exhortation on reading the scriptures in 3 Nephi 10:14 “…he that hath the scriptures, let him search them.”

Podcasts, YouTube videos, and commentaries have their place. I have two bookshelves full of books about the Book of Mormon, and I reference them frequently. I also listen to podcasts and watch YouTube videos focusing on the Book of Mormon. And in the Come Follow Me year of the Book of Mormon, an astounding number of excellent resources are available about the Book of Mormon. But first and foremost, I read the Book of Mormon. The true spiritual power comes from actually reading and studying the Book of Mormon, combined with prayer and fasting. In 1995, then Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “Commentaries are not a substitute for the scriptures any more than a good cookbook is a substitute for food.” We must sink our teeth into the spiritual meat of the Book of Mormon to be spiritually fed and truly filled with the Spirit. Otherwise, to paraphrase President Oaks, we might as well read a cookbook instead of eating.

1 Nephi 17:8: “And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.” 

Notice how the ship becomes a symbol of Christ himself: Nephi must construct a ship so that Christ himself may carry his people across the water.

Commentaries, whether books, articles, videos, or podcasts, can help us understand the scriptures. But the Master Teacher is the Spirit, and that comes from reading the scriptures. The act of reading the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, is a catalyst to personal revelation. President Oaks again: “We do not overstate the point when we say that the scriptures can be a Urim and Thummim to assist each of us to receive personal revelation.” And if we ignore the Book of Mormon, we can bring ourselves and the whole church under the condemnation the Lord talked about in D&C 84:54-58:

   54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—

   55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.

   56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.

   57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

   58 That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.

The Book of Mormon neatly settles the debate between works and faith. Alma 7:24: “And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.”

Why should we read the Book of Mormon? The title page of the Book of Mormon tells us about the two purposes of that great book. The first purpose, in Moroni’s words, is “to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.” The “remnant of the house of Israel” refers to those, like Lehi and his band, who have been led away from Jerusalem, willingly, or, like those who were carried away captive into Babylon, unwillingly. But the good news is that they are “not cast off forever.” There will be a gathering. As I have written about elsewhere, that is the purpose of the often-skipped Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon. In fact, this is a major theme in the Book of Mormon. So the first reason is to learn about the scattering, then the gathering of the house of Israel. The gathering of the house of Israel has been a major theme in President Nelson’s conference addresses.

1 Nephi 22:3: “…for it appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be scattered upon all the face of the earth, and also among all nations.” So the house of Israel will be scattered. But they will also be gathered. Nephi gives this promise in 1 Nephi 22:12: “Wherefore, he will bring them [scattered Israel] again out of captivity, and they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.”

The second purpose of the Book of Mormon, also explained on the title page, is to convince “the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.” Christ is omnipresent in the Book of Mormon, with his first mention in 1 Nephi 1 and his last mention in Moroni 10. The Book of Mormon is truly “another testament of Jesus Christ,” as the subtitle says. The fall of humankind and redemption from the fall through Christ’s atonement is the central theme of the Book of Mormon. So we read the Book of Mormon to learn about and get a testimony of Jesus Christ and his divine work.

We know a lot about Mormon the historian and abridger of the Book of Mormon, of Mormon the warrior and general. But what do we know of Mormon the disciple?  Let’s read 3 Nephi 5:15: “Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.”

Another reason? We can gain insights that the commentaries may not be talking about. For example, the Book of Mormon tells us what would have happened to us had Christ not performed the atonement.  Here are Jacob’s words in 2 Nephi 9:7-9:

   7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

   8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

   9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.

Jacob then goes on to talk about how God prepared “a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster, yea, that monster, death and hell…” (2 Nephi 9:10), through Christ’s infinite atonement.

Father in Heaven is the father of our spirits. But Christ becomes our spiritual father, when we are born of him, as King Benjamin explains in Mosiah 5:7: “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.”

Yet another reason: the Book of Mormon sheds new light on the teachings in the Bible, if we read closely. For example, in the New Testament, we learn that Christ was betrayed by Judas and arrested by Annas and Caiaphas and their followers. These Jewish leaders judged Christ and found him guilty of the crimes of sedition and blasphemy, but could not legally execute him, as they were governed by Rome. They had to take Christ to Pontius Pilate to enforce their religious decision. Pilate, though he found Christ innocent, let him be crucified anyway. Christ was then slain for the crimes of blasphemy and sedition. Now, let’s read Nephi’s words about Christ’s crucifixion.

1 Nephi 11:32-33: “And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world” (emphasis added).

Later, in 1 Nephi 19:9, we read: “And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men” (emphasis added).

The resurrected Christ who visits the New World tells us in 3 Nephi 11:14, “I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.”

We learn from Nephi’s commentary that Christ is judged of the world, not by Roman and Jewish courts, and slain for the sins of the world, not for the crimes of blasphemy and sedition. Apparently, “the world” includes you, me, and everyone who has ever or will ever be born on earth. Accordingly, the blame for Christ’s judgment cannot be shifted to Pontius Pilate, Herod, Annas, Caiaphas, Judas or anyone else because, according to Nephi, we all participated in the judgement. Like Pilate, we must ask ourselves, “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” Pilate listened to the Jewish mob, who said, “Let him be crucified” (Matthew 27:22), but the Book of Mormon gives us a very different answer. In the words of Christ himself: “…ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost…” (3 Nephi 9:20).

Alma2 declares, “O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish…” (Alma 29:1-3). But God did grant Alma2’s wish. The Book of Mormon has now been distributed more than 200,000,000 times in 115 different languages, and Alma2’s testimony has been read and heard by millions across the world for almost 200 years.

I guess my point is this: in an era with an unprecedented abundance of books, videos, podcasts, artwork and commentaries about the Book of Mormon, let us not forget to actually read the Book of Mormon. In the immortal words of President Ezra Taft Benson, “We invite each member of the Church to read again and again the Book of Mormon. Those who teach or speak in Church meetings should carefully and prayerfully use the Book of Mormon to strengthen and enhance their messages and presentations. I bless you with increased understanding of the Book of Mormon. I promise you that from this moment forward, if we will daily sup from its pages and abide by its precepts, God will pour out upon each child of Zion and the Church a blessing hitherto unknown… Of this I bear solemn witness.” (Ezra Taft Benson, A Witness and A Warning: A Modern-day Prophet Testifies of the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book, 1988, p. viii).

I wish to acknowledge the influence and teachings of my father, H. Curtis Wright, on this article. He shared insights from his reading of the Book of Mormon that I have rarely seen in other commentaries about the Book of Mormon.

Newell D. Wright is a professor of marketing and international business at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND, USA. He is also a lifelong student of the Book of Mormon.