Why Is the Book of Mormon Such a Powerful Missionary Tool?

The Know

When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was first organized in 1830, Joseph Smith’s family and friends had already begun telling people about the Book of Mormon and the imminent restoration of the Church of Christ in its fullness. They especially focused on the Book of Mormon as they eagerly awaited its publication. Joseph later recalled, “Whilst the Book of Mormon was in the hands of the printer, we still continued to bear testimony, and give information, as far as we had opportunity; and also made known to our brethren, that we had received commandment to organize the Church.”1

One way Joseph and others could do so was distributing pages of the Book of Mormon as they came off the printing press to interested parties. Thomas B. Marsh, for example, was gifted one of the first proof pages of the Book of Mormon by Martin Harris. After meeting with Joseph Smith, Marsh and his wife, Elizabeth, decided to move from Boston, Massachusetts, to New York to be close to the Prophet. Thomas and Elizabeth were baptized shortly after arriving in New York on September 3, 1830.2 Thomas B. Marsh, having built on his testimony of the Book of Mormon, would become the president of the newly organized Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835.

Another example is found in Solomon Chamberlain, a preacher traveling through New York to get to Canada. He had published a pamphlet of his own spiritual experiences in 1829 and was intrigued by the news of a “Gold Bible,” reporting that whenever he heard about the work “there was a power like electricity went from the top of my head to the end of my toes.”3 After meeting with some members of the Smith and Whitmer families in Palmyra, he was given proofs for sixty-four pages from the Book of Mormon.

Solomon took those pages with him on the rest of his journey and became one of the first missionaries to preach from the Book of Mormon: “I preached all that I knew concerning Mormonism to all, both high and low, rich and poor, and thus you see this was the first that ever printed Mormonism was preached to this generation. . . . I exhorted all people to prepare for the great work of God that was now about to come forth and it would never be brought down nor confounded.”4 He was baptized soon after the Church was organized.

When the Church was organized on April 6, 1830, eleven days after the Book of Mormon had first become available in the Grandin Bookstore, Joseph Smith received a revelation that explained why the Book of Mormon was such a critical prerequisite for the restoration of the Church. According to the Lord, the Book of Mormon proves “to the world that the holy scriptures are true, and that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:11). Language from the Book of Mormon would also influence many of the early doctrinal and administrative teachings of the Church.5

The Book of Mormon, in short, provides tangible evidence and sacred ordinances crucial to the Restoration. As so many early converts recognized even before the book was published, it points readers toward the Lord’s great work done through His Church. It was during the translation process that Joseph and Oliver Cowdery learned about the priesthood authority needed to baptize and perform other saving ordinances. Thirteen revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, including many on missionary work, were also revealed during the Book of Mormon’s translation.6

For these reasons, it should be no surprise that, as Casey Paul Griffiths has observed, “the Book of Mormon soon became a key tool in the work of spreading the gospel” after the Church was organized as well.7 Following the Lord’s instructions to “teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel,” missionaries have shared and continue to share the Book of Mormon with everyone who will listen to their message.8 As John P. Livingstone and Richard E. Bennett have observed, those converted by the Book of Mormon “were powerfully converted and retained by the spiritual depth of their reading and pondering experiences, even in the earliest days of missionary work at the outset of the Restoration.”9

As individuals read the Book of Mormon, they recognized the role that the Book of Mormon itself would have in the gathering of God’s people into a restored Church from all the peoples of the earth. Many passages in the Book of Mormon teach that the Nephite record was written specifically to help gather scattered Israel and ultimately to fulfil the covenants God made with His ancient people.

When Enos prayed in the wilderness, he requested that “the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites; even if it so be by the power of his holy arm, that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might be brought unto salvation” (Enos 1:13). This was not a request made only by Enos, as “the Lord said unto me: Thy fathers have also required of me this thing; and it shall be done unto them according to their faith; for their faith was like unto thine” (Enos 1:18).

The resurrected Jesus Christ even told the Nephites, “These sayings which ye shall write [preserved in the Book of Mormon] shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed [the Israelites] . . . may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer. And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfil the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel” (3 Nephi 16:4–5).

Additionally, many passages in the Book of Mormon discuss priesthood authority, covenants, and ordinances. All these doctrines point readers to the need for a restored church and restored authority, just as they did for Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery as they were translating the Book of Mormon. Thus, those who gain a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true will more readily recognize the need to be baptized by proper authority. As modern Church leaders have summarized in the introduction to the Book of Mormon, these individuals will also come to know “that Joseph Smith is [God’s] revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah.”

The Why

From the earliest days of the Restoration, the Book of Mormon was rightfully understood to be a powerful tool in missionary work and gathering in scattered Israel into a covenant community. The Book of Mormon’s title page even expresses that one of the book’s purposes is specifically “to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.” As people accept the restored gospel and join the Church, they are able to see the fulfilment of these promised blessings in their lives.10

John P. Livingstone and Richard E. Bennett have observed, “More than a mere symbol of the Restoration, [the Book of Mormon] was a powerful instrument of conversion. When it was put into the hands of genuine investigators, the Lord spoke to them through the Book of Mormon.”11 This is true today just as it was true in 1829, when sincere investigators only had printer’s proof pages to read and cherish.

This principle has also been taught repeatedly by apostles and prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a call for members of the Church to “flood the earth with the Book of Mormon,” President Ezra Taft Benson taught in 1988, “The Book of Mormon is the instrument that God designed to ‘sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out [His] elect’ (Moses 7:62). This sacred volume of scripture needs to become more central in our preaching, our teaching, and our missionary work.”12

Currently, President Russell M. Nelson has similarly taught missionaries to focus on the important words of Jesus Christ, especially those found in 3 Nephi 11, when teaching interested individuals the gospel. These are, after all, “words that promote baptism, prayer, the doctrine of Christ, the sacrament and seeking the kingdom of God.”13 Similarly, Elder D. Todd Christofferson has taught, “While our invitations [to accept the gospel message] are without compulsion, we hope people will find them compelling. For that to be so, I believe at least three things are required: first, your love; second, your example; and third, your use of the Book of Mormon.”14

Elder Christofferson has also called the Book of Mormon a missionary’s “most precious tool” and “the ultimate tool in your missionary toolkit.”15 Similar sentiments have been shared by a number of Apostles. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught that the Book of Mormon is “the heart of missionary proselyting;” Elder Holland taught that it is “the most effective conversion tool” a missionary possesses; and Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught that God “has . . . placed in our hands the most effective, compelling, and persuasive missionary tool ever given to any people in any age. The name of this tool is the Book of Mormon. . . . If the Book of Mormon is true, our message to the world is truth; the truth of this message is established in and through this book.”16

Joseph Smith taught that the Book of Mormon “would open the eyes of more than eight hundred millions of people, and make plain the ‘old paths,’ wherein if a man walk in all the ordinances of God blameless, he shall inherit eternal life.”17 These “old paths” have been restored in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.18