The Biblical Testimony in Mormon 9

When the resurrected Lord visited His disciples at Jerusalem, He told them this: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:15-18).  It appears that he told the exact same thing to the Nephite disciples when He visited them after the resurrection.  Moroni quoted these words of His: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned; And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover” (Mormon 9:22).  The words are just about identical between the two passages of scripture and seem to indicate that Jesus told the same things to both the disciples at Jerusalem and the righteous Nephites in the Book of Mormon.  This is one more place that the Book of Mormon stands as witness of the truthfulness of the Bible. 

               This chapter—Mormon 9—contains many other passages that have similar language to Biblical verses.  Moroni spoke of “that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll,” likely a quotation from this passage from Isaiah: “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll” (Mormon 9:2, Isaiah 34:4).  He described how “the elements shall melt with fervent heat,” language that is the same as this scripture: “The elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (Mormon 9:2, 2 Peter 3:10).  Moroni wrote, “Ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb,” words very similar to this passage in Revelation: “[They] have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Mormon 9:6, Revelation 7:14).  Another verse in this chapter questions, “Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes?” (Mormon 9:16).  This is clearly a quotation from Psalms: “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23).  Moroni spoke to us in these strong words: “Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish,” language that is very similar to Paul’s: “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish” (Mormon 9:26, Acts 13:41).  The next verse invites us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him,” a phrase that again hearkens back to Paul’s words: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Mormon 9:27, Philippians 2:12).  Moroni also encouraged us, “That ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God” (Mormon 9:28).  This is similar language to a sentence from Paul’s letter to Thessalonica: “Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).  The same verse from Moroni invites us, “Ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken,” phrasing very similar to that of James: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts”  (Mormon 9:28, James 4:3).

               All of these passages from Mormon 9 that have Biblical counterparts are one more evidence that the Book of Mormon does indeed “establish the truth of the [Bible]” as the angel told Nephi (1 Nephi 13:40).  The passages similar to those in the Old Testament were likely direct quotations from the brass plates, and those similar to New Testament passages were likely quotations as well (i.e. both the Biblical write and Moroni were quoting words from the brass plates).  Passages throughout the Book of Mormon attest to the truthfulness of the Bible, and the words here in Mormon 9 are masterfully woven with Biblical passages that join together as two witnesses of Moroni’s message to us.