The prophet Nephi saw in a vision that the spiritual record of his people (the Book of Mormon) would “establish the truth” of the spiritual record that predated it (the Bible). (See 1 Nephi 13:35-36, 40.)
His father Lehi also emphasized the complementary nature of these two books of scripture. Quoting a prophecy of Joseph in Egypt, Lehi said that the Book of Mormon would not only bring forth God’s word, but would also convince us of His word which had already gone forth among us. (See 2 Nephi 3:11.)
According to Lehi, the Lord made the following promise to Joseph:
The fruit of thy 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 fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.
2 Nephi 3:12
This prophecy echoes a passage from the book of Ezekiel, in which the Lord commands the prophet to write on two sticks, one for Judah and one for Joseph (or Ephraim). The Lord then commands him to join these two sticks together, “and make them one stick; and they shall be one in mine hand” (Ezekiel 37:15-19).
According to Joseph, God’s purpose in combining these books was to correct false doctrines, overcome contention, and establish peace. As we study these two books together, learn how they relate to one another, and internalize their combined message, we grow in love for all of God’s children and learn to live in peace. By recognizing the unity of God’s word given to different people in different parts of the world, we can learn to overcome cultural barriers and build relationships based on universal principles.
President Russell M. Nelson explained:
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what does the Lord expect of us?… We should be personal peacemakers. We should live peacefully—as couples, families, and neighbors. We should live by the Golden Rule. We have writings of the descendants of Judah as now merged with writings of the descendants of Ephraim. We should employ them and expand our circle of love to embrace the whole human family.
“Blessed Are the Peacemakers,” General Conference, April 2002
Today I will allow the unity of God’s word to bring more unity into my life. I will apply principles taught by prophets through the ages in order to strengthen relationships and serve the people around me.
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