Customer Reviews

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

5 star:		(682)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(38)
1 star:		(195)

 

 

As a sociologist and member of the American Academy of Religion, I find most of the reviews of the Book of Mormon not be helpful, on the one hand, and kind of curious, on the other hand. Clearly, most are from partisans (either strongly for or against) and not about the text itself or as holy writ of a significant world religion to be accorded the kind of respect one would for sacred writings of other religions.
I am among those who (many years ago) received a free copy and read it, both as religious text and as literature. It is not the kind of reading one takes lightly or for fun (altho' apparently some read it for ridicule). But then, neither does one do so for the Bible or Upanshids or Koran, etc. As religious text I found it very interesting and worthy of study, as suggested by some major religious studies scholars, e.g., the eminent Jewish scholar Jacob Neusner and a prominent professor at Harvard Divinity (whose name escapes me for the moment). I found reading the Book of Mormon to be much more akin to the Bible than to such things as Calvin's "Institutes" and other systematic theologizing.
It is something one should read for oneself rather than decide on the basis of critics or supporters. It has many beautiful poetic passages and inspiring moral sermons, like some of the best sermons I have heard delivered by a few Protestant preachers.
Is it historically accurate? Is the Bible? Who knows? But the jury is still out on both of those. However, one should not read it as a history text but as a human story, as something that portrays principles about the human condition and human society as people pursue various values and beliefs.
What I do wish is that the publishers would provide a little more background for understanding its origin and its place in an expanding world religion and as part of global diversity of belief systems, not just the text itself.
Finally, I'm not sure why I would buy this particular edition rather than get another free copy from the Mormon Church.

"Lament"
Ithaca, NY

For the record, I read the entire text. But, as early as the middle of the book of I Nephi, which happens to be the very first, I realized my rating would be 5 stars. How does one rate the Christian bible, the Hebrew bible, the Qur'an, or any other book of theistic beliefs?

Ultimately, each interlocutor will be requested at some point - in most cases at several points - to take a leap of faith. Whether one is willing to take that step is dependent on a litany of factors, many of which may not hold as much meaning for another investigator. Yet, it seems to me the major consideration is to gain some minimal understanding of the diverse concepts that influence different groups at variable levels. It has been recently reported The Church of the Latter Day Saints is the fastest growing denomination of Christianity. That alone is justification enough for me to spend some time with the basic text to their belief system.

The Book Of Mormon is best understood with a conversational familiarity with the Christian bible. For the Mormon, it is Scripture, another testament of Jesus Christ. I am not sectarian, however even if I did subscribe to a specific religious theory, it would be difficult for me to dismiss another based exclusively on the premise at some point in time, the heavenly Father chose to terminate direct communication with his progeny. If the idea Noah could receive divine instruction to build an Ark offers concordance, it seems perfectly plausible alternative blueprints could be proffered to Nephi to cross the expanse of what we now know as the Atlantic Ocean. The New Testament is a new covenant, indicating God is susceptible to a modification of guidelines, who am I to state he didn't hedge his bets at a much earlier juncture?

The book is tedious but so is the Old Testament. It is shortsighted to criticize or dismiss without taking the time to explore. I may not agree yet this holy testimony deserves the same amount of respect and reverence as we typically offer to the wider held beliefs.

The age-old adage, "Don't knock it 'till you've tried it," applies here. Many will post their disgruntled views here about why you shouldn't read the Book of Mormon. Only you can decide whether or not it is true or powerful in your life. I read the book for an assignment as a teenager and prayed about it with no heavenly response. I attended Stanford University and married. I attended law school. I had a child. I was very unhappy in my marriage and in life. I didn't know what I believed in anymore. I read the book again, but this time I did a "critical" reading in the literary sense. What was in those pages and could they help me? I had read the New Testament in high school and had come to love Jesus Christ. I needed more direction in my life than I had. I read the Book of Mormon searching for answers - not to criticize it, not to condemn it, not to judge it. When I finished the book, I put God to the test. I had such an overwhelming feeling of love, light and power come over me after that prayer that stayed with me for at least 20 minutes. In that period of time, I knew that the Book of Mormon was true and that Jesus Christ was alive and my personal savior. From that point in my life I committed to follow Him and help and bless as many people around me as I could. I am still on his path. There are remarkable conversions to the knowledge of Christ in the Book of Mormon, like Saul's conversion in the New Testament. I feel that I had one of those experiences; but, it required a real desire to know with a willing heart to believe what was written. The Book says that those who believe in Christ will believe in these words (the words of the Book of Mormon) because they are his words. I encourage you to read with a believing heart and put God to the test. He always keeps his word.

The Book of Mormon is not just another book, to say it is unique is a gross understatement. Understand that the very nature of this book demands that the reader make a choice to either accept it as the Word of God and therefore be under obligation to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or see it as fiction and avoid the often dramatic change in lifestyle that membership in the LDS Church demands. Of course if one is a member of the LDS Church and no longer wishes to conform to the strict standards of conduct espoused by the Church they must somehow find a way in their mind to disavow the divinity of The Book of Mormon or forever see themselves as hypocrites.

I have read the book of Mormon numerous times, I have no doubt that it is divine in its origins and I accept it as Scripture, revelation from God. I have also read many of the current antagonistic works concerning this amazing book and on a purely intellectual level find virtually all of them to be contaminated by the author's bias and subjective views. The honest scientist or historian recognizes that conclusions are almost always contaminated by subjectivity and does not pretend otherwise. It is my own subjective judgment that most antagonistic works only fain objectivity. Of course apologist works also lack objectivity however they typically do not pretend to be objective.

There are many good honest people who believe the book of Mormon is a fallacy and there are millions who believes it is revelation from God. Where might one find an objective answer to the book of Mormon question? I suggest that you consider accessing the only review that is truly objective, the only review that finally matters, in the words of the book it self;

Moroni 10:3-5
...when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

I was given the Book of Mormon to read about twenty five years ago by my father and I read a chapter or two and put it down. At that time, I was not ready to read this book. Then, 1995, two missionaries came to my home and shared the Book of Mormon with me. I was inspired to read this book to see if it was really true. Over a period of a year I read this book until I had completed it. By the time I finished to Book, I knew that it was the word of God. My scientific training had taught me to be skeptical. My spiritual training had taught me how to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Through these two, I came to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was the true word of God. It changed my life. I joined the LDS Church. It brought me closer to my dad and my family. It made come to understand the power of my dad's testimony of the LDS Church which is documented in his book, [...] Since reading the Book of Mormon in 1995 and 1996 I have read it many times and read it almost daily. It has changed my life for the better and I've come to understand what is happening in the world and my place in it. I recommend this book to anyone who is seeking the truth and is willing to read this book with an open mind.

I have read the Book of Mormon many times and each day that I read, I get a feeling of peace and well-being. I know that this is a true book of God. It will help those that read it get closer to God and his Son, Jesus Christ, than any other book on earth. It is a Second Witness of Jesus Christ and with the Bible helps us to understand God's plan for us. Give it a try and decide for yourself.

I have read this book for the past 24 years. I first read it when I was 18. During that time, I've lost count how many I've read it. Like all great books, classics included, each time I've read it, I've learned something new. I've always walked away a better person.

The book is a history of a people who fall in and out of love with the God of Heaven. These people are taught of Jesus Christ and His eventual coming to this earth to redeem all that believe on His name. Some believe and act on those beliefs while others choose not to. Those choices create a vivid picture of how belief and faith in Jesus Christ or lack thereof shape a nation.

A historical pattern existing in every culture that has ever exists is again reaffirmed in this historical text. Faith, prosperity, pride, and destruction are experienced over and over again. Like all eternal truths or laws which govern all of existence, the principles taught in this book by the lives of these people help me to stand watch in my own life reminding me that Jesus Christ is the only Light by which I can safely be guided.

When I first read the Book of Mormon, I was touched by its power and feeling. There is something special about this book. The sayings and the message of each chapter seems to speak volumes to me. I found the book to be both understandable and yet, very profound. I would recommend this book highly to anyone. It gives you a a better understanding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It teaches each of us to be better people.

I hope that people considering reading this book will disregard what seems to be out right mormon haters posting here.

How will anyone know unless they read for themselves.

If you are curious, why not? It will change your life.

This book changed my entire perception of religion. It provided insights that led to questions about life, God and religion that I was afraid to ask myself. Is much of it the same as the Bible? Yes. That's because the source that inspired its authors is the same that inspired the Bible. There are four Gospels in the New Testament; are they fradulent because they repeat?

The Book of Mormon is so valuable because it restores many things that were lost from the bible during centuries of translation. The Bible has been rewritten so many times, what we currently have can not be considered all that has been revealed to man from God. Ancient scrolls discovered in the Dead Sea show differences, ommisions, and additions when compared to the modern King James text. Does the Book of Mormon fill all the missing gaps? No. But it does certainly provide valuable insights into Christianity. This book is a powerful witness for Christ, it's what the whole book is about.

Read the negative reviews of this book here, and observe the language and tone with which they are written. The anger and bitterness is obvious, and damaging to the claims with which they are made. In fact, some of the claims made against the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith are almost identical copies of the accusations and claims made against the Savior during His ministry among the Jews.

Read this book, it won't hurt you. You just might come away from the experience with much more then you would of thought possible.

This book changes lives, it did mine. I know that it is true, because its messages lead to the only way that makes perfect sense. Years of questioning, experiencing, and searching taught me that.