What is the Book of Mormon? (A brief summary)

The Book of Mormon is a collection of ancient writings telling about God’s dealings with three groups of people He led to the New World. Only two of the three groups kept records- the Nephites and Jaredites.

The three groups are:

The Jaredites - who came from the great tower at the time when God confounded the languages (around 2400 BC). Their civilization lasted over 2000 years. Their highly condensed story is told in the Book of Ether.

The Nephites - were a branch of the house of Israel, and came from the land of Jerusalem about 600 BC. They divided into two groups, Nephites and Lamanites shortly after their arrival in the New World. The Nephites were the more righteous group, and their story is contained in 14 of the 15 books in the Book of Mormon.

The Nephite record tells of Christ’s visit to them after His resurrection. The Nephites were destroyed as a nation by the Lamanites in 385 AD because they were willfully disobedient to God.

Mulekites - (or the people of Zarahemla) were also of the house of Israel and are mentioned briefly in the Nephite writings. They came to the New World around 586 BC. Mulek was a son of Zedekiah, King of Judah at the time the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem. The Mulekites, as a people, merged with the Nephites around 200 BC.

How did we get the Book of Mormon?

A man named Mormon abridged (or condensed) a thousand years of history. He gave the abridgement to his son Moroni to finish (385 A.D.). Moroni hid it as directed by the Lord sometime after 420 A.D. In 1827, Moroni was sent by God as a heavenly messenger to Joseph Smith, Jr. to deliver the record to him. Joseph translated it by the “gift and power” of God.
And was first published in March, 1830.

The Purpose of the Book of Mormon is to teach the Lamanites that they are a remnant of the house of Israel. It is to restore a knowledge of the covenants of the Lord to the remnant of the house of Israel. It is also to convince Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.

The Book of Mormon is named after the land of Mormon. (3 Nephi 2:96) Mormon was the land where the ancient prophet, Alma, had re-established the covenant (restored the covenant) between God and the people of Nephi.