The Book of Mormon as a Witness of the Resurrection

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is itself a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Nephi described how it would come forth one day in language that makes us think of death and coming to life again: “For those who shall be destroyed shall speak unto them out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power, that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust” (2 Nephi 26:16). The book was buried in the ground in a stone box “under a stone of considerable size” which was “thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner towards the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground” (JSH 1:51). Jesus died and was buried in a “a sepulchre that was hewn in stone” with a stone covering its contents that was also round since it could be rolled (Luke 23:53, 24:2). The Book of Mormon came forth because the angel Moroni announced it to a boy full of faith. Jesus came forth from the tomb with angels announcing His resurrection to the faithful: “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen” (Luke 24:5-6). It was a rich man named Joseph who put the body of Jesus into the tomb after He died: “There came a rich man of Arimathæa, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus…. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock” (Matthew 27:57-60). And it was a poor boy named Joseph that was the main instrument in God’s hands to pull the book out of the ground and bring it back to life. The Book of Mormon plates were shown only to those people whom God allowed to see them, and the rest of us must trust in their witness and the words of the book that we can all read. The Savior showed His resurrected body only to a certain number of His disciples, and the rest of us must believe their words found now in holy scripture to gain our own witness.

               While the coming forth of the Book of Mormon itself reminds us of the resurrection of the Savior, what is most important is that its authors bore a powerful witness through the Spirit that Jesus Christ rose from the grave. Nephi declared, “After he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 25:13). King Benjamin announced these words of an angel: “And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men” (Mosiah 3:10). Abinadi declared, “If Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection. But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death” (Mosiah 16:7-9). Alma invited us with these words, “Cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection” (Alma 33:22). Mormon wrote to us, “Believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up. And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment-seat” (Mormon 7:5-6). Most importantly, the Risen Lord visited the Nephites in person, making them all powerful witnesses of His resurrection. He invited them with these powerful words, “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 11:14). The Book of Mormon, including its coming forth and the words of its inspired prophets, declares emphatically that Jesus Christ rose from the grave. We rejoice in its message that “the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord” (Helaman 14:17).