A Confirmation of the New Testament Accounts

As I think more about President Nelson’s invitation from last general conference, one of the blessings of Restoration that I’m grateful for is the illumination of and focus on the Bible in our modern-day scriptures.  In my mind there are no stronger advocates for and witnesses of the writings of the Bible than the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price.  Contrary to many people’s perceptions, the scriptures brought forth by the power of God through Joseph Smith in our dispensation are not meant in any way to replace the Bible but stand as further witnesses of the truths of the Old and New Testaments.  In fact, one of the stated purposes of the Book of Mormon is to confirm the words of the Bible: “These last records (i.e. the Book of Mormon and scriptures of the Restoration), which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first (i.e. the Bible), which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (1 Nephi 13:40).  In so many ways, the scriptures of the Restoration act as companions to the Bible that clarify, confirm, and convince us to believe the inspired word of God contained in the Old and New Testaments. 

               The Prophet Joseph wrote, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”  The account of the death and resurrection of the Savior given by the apostles in the New Testament is the foundation of the gospel, and the books of Restoration scripture provide powerful second witnesses of their testimonies.  This is particularly true of the Book of Mormon.  For example, Nephi witnessed the very events that the gospel writers recorded in their accounts of the death  of Christ: “I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.” He also saw the persecution that those apostles who bore witness of these events would face: “And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb” (1 Nephi 11:32-34).  Nephi further witnessed that these twelve apostles “bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God” (1 Nephi 13:24). 

King Benjamin’s teachings similarly corroborated the gospel writers’ witness of the sufferings of Christ: “And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people” (Mosiah 3:7).  This confirms Luke’s witness: “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).  Thus King Benjamin’s testimony helps us understand that Luke—who surely got his information from Peter, James, and John—was writing literally: Christ did indeed bleed for us in the garden as He atoned for the sins of mankind.  King Benjamin similarly prophesied of the Resurrection: “And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world,” confirming the truthfulness of the gospel writers’ witnesses that Jesus did rise from the third day and overcome death for us all (Mosiah 3:10).                    There are countless other witnesses to the death and suffering and resurrection of the Savior in the Book of Mormon which confirm the gospel accounts.  The most powerful of course is the appearance of the Savior among the Nephites. He declared to them who He was and how the prophets’ words in the Bible were true: “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world…. Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world” (3 Nephi 11:10, 14).  The Nephites were living witnesses to the marks of His death that we read about in the New Testament and saw with their own eyes that He really did rise from the dead as so many in Jerusalem likewise witnessed.  These passages and so many others in the Book of Mormon stand as another witness of Jesus Christ that confirm the reality and validity of the testimony of those early apostles. How blessed we are to have such a clear voice in defense of the New Testament’s witness of the Savior!