MOTO NGANTOK BLOG

    16 "Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of srael his companions: then take another wstick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions;

    17"And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand."

    From this we learn of two sticks, or books, if you will. One is the stick of Judah and the other is the stick of Ephraim. The stick of Judah is referring to the Bible. We know this because the writers of the Old Testament were the Jews and the main character of the New Testament was Jesus Christ, a Jew. So where in the world is the stick of Ephraim? Looking in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 5:14, Nephi tells us that "my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers; wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea even that Joseph that was sold into Egypt, and who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve his father, Jacob, and all his household from perishing with famine." From this scripture we see that the writers of the Book of Mormon were the descendants of Joseph, making it the stick of Joseph.

     Knowing these two scriptures has strengthened my belief in the validity of the Book of Mormon greatly, but it still does not quite answer the question of why. Why do we use the Book of Mormon if the Bible truly is the word of God? For this we'll turn to 2 Nephi 3:12. Just as background information, when this scripture talks about "fruit of the loins" it is referring to posterity or children of somebody. Also to give the setting of this scripture, it is the Prophet Lehi quoting Joseph's prophecy and promise from the Lord. The same Joseph that was sold into Egypt.    

    12 "Wherefore, the fruit of the loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the friut of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowlede of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord."

    At any rate, the reasons for having the Book of Mormon are made clear in this verse. The reason is to counfound false doctrine, lay down contentions, and establish peace. Among these stated in this particular verse, there are countless others such as God speaks to everyone, it is a second witness of Jesus Christ, and the way it was brought about teaches of God's nature.
    Whatever reasons there are for any scripture, the Bible included, we must develop faith in the words and teachings they give us, or they are nothing more than a history book. We must find for ourselves the truthfulness of the teachings in any scripture so that we can testify of Christ as did His prophets. The only way to do that is through studying, experimenting, and praying about it. When God answers those prayers, we will know without a doubt that the Bible and Book of Mormon are true. We will find our own reasons for having the scriptures and they will help us through anything that we will face in this life. I have asked and found for myself that the Book of Mormon is true and that it can help us through the greatest of lifes trials and I testify of this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.