The Lords Words Never Cease

"Wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease." -Moses 1:4
The Bible is the word of God. It is always identified first in our canon, our "standard works." Indeed, it was a divinely ordained encounter with the fifth verse of the first chapter of the book of James that led Joseph Smith to his vision of the Father and the Son, which gave birth to the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our time. But even then, Joseph knew the Bible alone could not be the answer to all the religious questions he and others like him had. As he said in his own words, the ministers of his community were contending—sometimes angrily—over their doctrines. "Priests [was] contending against priest, and convert[was contending] against convert...in a strife of words and a contest about opinions," he said. About the only thing these contending religions had in common was, ironically, a belief in the Bible, but, as Joseph wrote, "the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question [regarding which church was true] by an appeal to the Bible." Clearly the bible, so frequently described at that time as "common ground," was nothing of the kind—unfortunately it was a battleground.

Thus one of the great purposes of continuing revelation through living prophets is to declare to the world through additional witnesses that the Bible is true. "This is written," an ancient prophet said, speaking of the Book of Mormon, "for the intent that we may believe that," speaking of the Bible. In one of the earliest revelations received by Joseph Smith, the Lord said, "Behold, I do not bring [the Book of Mormon forth] to destroy [the Bible] but to build it up."

I know that the Book of Mormon is another Testament of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is not here on the earth to replace the Bible, but to go hand in hand with it. I know that The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. They both testify of Jesus Christ and His marvelous gospel. They both testify of truth, and they both are here for us to study from and learn how to become more like our Savior and Heavenly Father.