Sacrament Talk: The Book of Mormon and The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
On the last leaf of the gold plates that Joseph Smith translated, there was the Title Page of The Book of Mormon, written by Moroni. On that last leaf, Moroni explicitly states the purpose of the record: "Which 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—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations..." As we have been reading the Old Testament this year, we are knee-deep in reading about these promises, curses, scattering, and gathering of Israel. To make a long point short and risking oversimplification, I quote this summary from Dr. Jon D. Levenson (professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard Divinity School) on those promises made to Israel: "Without the restoration of the people Israel … God’s promises to them remained unfulfilled, and the wor...
