Title Page, Introduction, Testimonies & a Brief Explanation

Getting Prepared.
When you first open the Book of Mormon, you will notice the title page followed by an introduction, testimonies and a brief explanation of what this book contains.  Often times these pages sadly get overlooked and go unnoticed; however, contained within these seven short pages is the best description one can find of the Book of Mormon. (Click on the headings to read these pages for yourself!)

First Things First
On our first day of class, we were told to go through these pages and pick out the 4 W's: who, what, when, where and also the how.  Seems easy, but there is more than one option for each question.  Let me walk you through some of them...

• Who: the people of Nephi, and also the Lamanites; the Jew & Gentile
• What: abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi
• When: in due time by way of the Gentile 
• Where:  unto the Lord
• How: by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation; by the gift of God

All of these answers lead up to the most important question, the Y.  These four reasons for the Book of Mormon are so important to us today because it shows that this book truly was written for us.  Here are the four Y's for the Book of Mormon, as given on the title page:

1. To show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers
2. That they may know the covenants of the Lord
3. That they are not cast off forever
4. To the convincing of the Jew&Gentile

A Witness or Two...or Twelve
I couldn't find a link for the pages of the testimonies, but I recommend reading them when you get a chance.  To get a free copy of the Book of Mormon, click here!  The first testimony is  given by Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris.  These three men saw the golden plates and helped  the engravings upon them.  It's interesting to note, all three of these men fell away from the church and only two of them came back before passing on to the next life.  However, not one of them ever spoke against the church or took back what they said.  they truly

The next testimony is given by the eight witnesses.  These eight men also beheld the golden plates in their hands and knew of a surety that Joseph received these plates from Heavenly Father.


The last testimony is that of the prophet of the restoration, Joseph Smith.  In this testimony, Joseph recounts exactly what happened on the night of September 21, 1823.  He then goes into detail of his experiences after including the many visions, finding the plates, and receiving the Urim and Thummim.  Joseph Smith once said, "I don’t blame any one for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I would not have believed it myself."  His story might sound a little crazy or majestic even, but I know it is true and I promise if you read it, you will have the same knowledge of this truthfulness.


Just So You Know
This page contains some facts to help you better understand just what you're about to read.