The title page of the Book of Mormon was penned by, or better said, engraven by Moroni, the final prophet-historian of the Book of Mormon. As the history goes, it was actually included on the last page of the plates from which the Book of Mormon were taken. So having had just summed up the history of his people, Moroni now revisits in abbreviated fashion the central themes of the book with the purpose of introducing it to readers he will never meet in his lifetime.
As an introduction, I'm impressed with the way that Moroni presents certain topics:
The Lamanites - a remnant or descendants of the house of Israel. The target audience for the Book of Mormon.
The spirit of prophecy and of revelation - the means or manner in which the record was edited. Upfront, without really explaining what they are, Moroni is stating that this record was written by commandment, and by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. Is this something that I should already understand? Or is this something that is going to be further expounded upon as get further into the book.
Now granted, I come from a faithful Christian/ Latter-day Saint background, so I've experienced in other settings this power that comes from the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. I've seen it used in effectively teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Essentially, as I see it, when we teach with the spirit of prophecy and of revelation, we are in harmony with Deity. Not only then are we in harmony, but then we are under the influence and power of God.
As a seasoned reader then, I take great comfort in knowing that, in fact, Moroni can confidently say that this book is brought about by way of commandment from the Lord and through the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. In other words, this is a divinely-written text, not the opinion of a man left to his own limited capacity to reason.
This premise, clearly stated up front, elevates the significance of this title page introduction and everything else that follows. Perhaps, feeling the weight of such an expectation, Moroni concludes this introduction with this thought, "if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God..."
As an introduction, I'm impressed with the way that Moroni presents certain topics:
The Lamanites - a remnant or descendants of the house of Israel. The target audience for the Book of Mormon.
The spirit of prophecy and of revelation - the means or manner in which the record was edited. Upfront, without really explaining what they are, Moroni is stating that this record was written by commandment, and by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. Is this something that I should already understand? Or is this something that is going to be further expounded upon as get further into the book.
Now granted, I come from a faithful Christian/ Latter-day Saint background, so I've experienced in other settings this power that comes from the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. I've seen it used in effectively teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Essentially, as I see it, when we teach with the spirit of prophecy and of revelation, we are in harmony with Deity. Not only then are we in harmony, but then we are under the influence and power of God.
As a seasoned reader then, I take great comfort in knowing that, in fact, Moroni can confidently say that this book is brought about by way of commandment from the Lord and through the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. In other words, this is a divinely-written text, not the opinion of a man left to his own limited capacity to reason.
This premise, clearly stated up front, elevates the significance of this title page introduction and everything else that follows. Perhaps, feeling the weight of such an expectation, Moroni concludes this introduction with this thought, "if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God..."
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