The Book Of Mormon 2
3. Consistency of the Book of Mormon
The Internal Consistency of the Book of Mormon sustains belief in its divine origin. The parts bear evidence of having been written at different times and under widely varying conditions. The style of the component books is in harmony with the times and circumstances of their production. The portions that were transcribed from the plates bearing Mormon’s abridgment contain numerous interpolations as comments and explanations of the transcriber; but in the first six books, which, as already explained, are the verbatim record of the smaller plates of Nephi, no such interpolations occur. The book maintains consistency throughout; no contradictions, no disagreements have been pointed out.
Diversity of Style characterizes the different books. From what has been said regarding the several sets of plates that constitute the original accumulation of records from which the Book of Mormon was translated, it is evident that the volume contains the compiled writings of a long line of inspired scribes extending through a thousand years, this time-range being exclusive of the earlier years of Jaredite history. Unity of style is not to be expected under such conditions.
4. the Book of Mormon Sustained By the Fulfilment of Its Contained Prophecies
Book of Mormon Predictions are numerous and important. Amongst the most conclusive proofs of the authenticity of the book is that furnished by the demonstrated truth of its contained prophecies. Prophecy is best proved in the light of its own fulfilment. The predictions contained within the Book of Mormon may be classed as (1) Prophecies relating to the time covered by the book itself, the fulfilment of which is recorded therein; and (2) Prophecies relating to times beyond the limits of the history chronicled in the book.
Prophecies of the First Class named, the fulfilment of which is attested by the Book of Mormon record, are of minor value as proof of the authenticity of the work; for, had the book been written by human design as fiction, both prediction and fulfilment would have been provided for with equal care and ingenuity. Nevertheless, to the studious and conscientious reader the genuineness of the book will be apparent; and the literal realization of the numerous and varied predictions relating to the fate, then future, of the people whose history is given in the record, as also of prophecies concerning details of the birth and death of the Savior, and of His appearing to that people in a resurrected state, must, by their accuracy and consistency, appeal with force as evidence of inspiration and authority in the record.
Prophecies of the Second Class, relating to a time which to the writers was far future, are numerous and explicit. Many of them have special reference to the last days-the dispensation of the fulness of times-and of these, some have been already literally accomplished, others are now in process of actual realization, while yet others are awaiting fulfilment under specified conditions that seem now to be rapidly approaching. Among the most remarkable of the Book of Mormon predictions incident to the last dispensation are those that relate to its own coming forth and the effect of its publication amongst mankind. Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning the coming together of the "sticks," or records, of Judah and of Ephraim has received attention. Consider the promise made to Joseph who was sold into Egypt, repeated by Lehi to his son Joseph-a prediction that couples the prophecy concerning the book with that of the seer through whose instrumentality the miracle was to be accomplished: "But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins-and not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them. Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord. And out of weakness he shall be made strong, in that day when my work shall commence among all my people, unto the restoring thee, O house of Israel, saith the Lord." The literal fulfilment of these utterances in the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon through Joseph Smith is apparent.
Unto Nephi the Lord showed what would be an effect of the new publication, declaring that in the day of Israel’s gathering-plainly then the day of the fulness of times, as attested by the Jewish scriptures-the words of the Nephites should be given to the world, and should "hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard" unto the house of Israel; and that then the Gentiles, forgetting even their debt to the Jews from whom they had received the Bible in which they profess such faith, would revile and curse that branch of the covenant people, and would reject the new scripture, exclaiming: "A Bible! a Bible! we have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible." Is this not the burden of the frenzied objections raised by the Gentile world against the Book of Mormon-that it is of necessity void because new revelation is not to be expected?
Now, in olden times, two witnesses were required to establish the truth of an allegation; and, said the Lord concerning the dual records witnessing of Himself: "Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also."
Associated with these predictions of the joint testimony of Jewish and Nephite scriptures is another prophecy, the consummation of which is now expectantly yet patiently awaited by the faithful. Additional scriptures are promised, specifically the records of the Lost Tribes. Note this word of promise: "Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. * * * For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth, and they shall write it. And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews."
5. Corroborative Evidence Furnished By
Modern Discoveries
The Archeology and Ethnology of the western continent contribute some corroborative evidence in support of the Book of Mormon. These sciences are confessedly unable to explain in any decisive manner the origin of the native American races; nevertheless, investigation in this field has yielded results that are fairly definite, and with the most important of these the Book of Mormon account is in general accord. No exhaustive treatment will be attempted here, as such would require space far beyond present limitations. For detailed consideration of the subject the student should consult works especially devoted thereto. Among the most significant of the discoveries respecting the aboriginal inhabitants, are the following:
1. That America was peopled in very ancient times, probably soon after the building of the Tower of Babel.
2. That the continent has been successively occupied by different peoples, at least by two classes, or so-called races, at widely separated periods.
3. That the aboriginal inhabitants came from the East, probably from Asia, and that the later occupants, or those of the second period, were closely allied to, if not identical with, the Israelites.
4. That the existing native races of America form a common stock.
From the outline already given of the historical part of the Book of Mormon, it is seen that each of these discoveries is fully sustained by that record. Thus it is stated therein:
1. That America was settled by the Jaredites, who came direct from the scenes of Babel.
2. That the Jaredites occupied the land for about eighteen hundred and fifty years, and that at about the time of their extinction, near 590 B.C., Lehi and his company came to this continent, where they developed into the segregated nations Nephites and Lamanites, the former becoming extinct near 385 A.D.-about a thousand years after Lehi’s arrival on these shores-the latter continuing in a degenerate condition until the present, and being represented by the Indian tribes.
3. That Lehi, Ishmael, and Zoram, the progenitors of both Nephites and Lamanites, were undoubtedly Israelites, Lehi being of the tribe of Manasseh while Ishmael was an Ephraimite, and that the colony came direct from Jerusalem, in Asia.
4. That the existing Indian tribes are descendants of the immigrants whose history is contained in the Book of Mormon, and that therefore they have sprung from progenitors who were of the house of Israel.
Now, let us examine some of the evidence bearing on these points presented by investigators, most of whom knew nothing of the Book of Mormon, and none of whom accept the book as authentic.