The Book of Mormon

As a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I was assigned to work in Brazil. After teaching a certain woman about the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith, I left a Book of Mormon for her to read, with a chapter in 3 Nephi marked. When I returned, I found that she had read the chapter in 3 Nephi, and then continued to read. She decided to read the Book of Mormon, which is the 13th of 15 books which make up the Book of Mormon. She said she read it because she figured that was where she would find out what the Book of Mormon was really about. At the time, I was slightly surprised, and somewhat disappointed that she had read that particular selection. It focuses on war and the eventual destruction of the Nephite nation.

I just finished reading that same selection, and I have seen it from a different perspective. That particular woman decided she was not interested in learning more about the Church after a few more visits, and I thought it might have been because she had chosen to read the Book of Mormon first. I do not feel that way now; I'm glad she read that, of all the things she could have read. As Mormon watches the Nephite people grow in wickedness, his message is turned to future generations. He urges us to believe in the Gospel, to repent, to follow Christ. That is the way we can avoid the destruction that he was experiencing.

Although it is no the most pleasant book in the Book of Mormon, nor the most easy to read, I believe that the Book of Mormon (i.e. the smaller Book of Mormon inside the larger compilation of the same name) is one of the most relevant books for our time. The people of the world truly grow in wickedness in our days; our days are not so different from the days of Mormon. Why, then, should the consequences of our actions be different?