The Book of Mormon is the story of a family that leaves Jerusalem around 600
BC, crosses the ocean and settles somewhere in the Americas. Unfortunately
many of us Westerners are extremely unfamiliar with ancient Jewish customs
and culture but as we familiarize ourselves with some of these things, the
Book of Mormon comes to life in incredible ways: Ways that leave you no
choice but to believe that Joseph Smith was either an evil literary genius or a
true prophet of God. Let's take a look at a few examples.
The righteous people of the Book of Mormon lived the law of Moses during Old
Testament times. The wicked were condemned for disobeying the Law of
Moses but it's fascinating how that shows up in the Book of Mormon. It
doesn't just say they disobeyed the law of Moses. Instead, he gets incredibly
specific. Deuteronomy 18 in the Old Testament commands against witchcraft
and sorcery. Alma 1:19 says, "For those who did not
belong to their church did indulge themselves in sorceries..." Deuteronomy 11
and 12 commands not to eat beasts of prey and commands not to drink animal
blood. Jarom 1:6 in the Book of Mormon says the
Lamanites loved murder and would drink the blood of beasts. Enos 120 says, "Now
they became wild and ferocious and a bloodthirsty people, full of idolatry and
filthiness, feeding upon beasts of prey." 2 Nephi 5:24 also says, "They did
become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the
wilderness for beasts of prey. Leviticus 19 commands not to cut off the hair on
the sides of your head. It makes Enos 1:20 even more significant because it
says the Lamanites were wandering about in the wilderness with a short skinned
girdle about their loins and their heads shaven. The Law of Moses says that swine or
pigs are unclean and shouldn't be eaten. It makes sense then that the only verse
in the Book of Mormon where it talks about pigs being eaten comes from the
story of the brother of Jared, who lived well before Moses, had revealed the Law
of Moses. Alma 7 prophesied that Jesus shall be born of Mary at Jerusalem which
is the land of our forefathers. A lot of people mock this verse because Christ
was born in Bethlehem which is technically a five mile walk from
Jerusalem. But anciently the term "land of Jerusalem," not "City of Jerusalem" but land
of Jerusalem was a geographic umbrella term that included Jerusalem suburbs
including Bethlehem. What was once considered a silly mistake in Joseph's
fiction is now actually a cool little nugget suggesting the book's
authenticity. In recent decades, there's been a surge of Jewish people emigrating
back to their ancestral homeland in Jerusalem. I was recently talking to a
fantastic Jewish friend of mine about this and he mentioned that because
Israel is a holy land, when Jews would go there anciently, the Bible would use a
Hebrew word meaning "to go up." When you left Israel, Hebrew
uses a term meaning "to go down." So no matter where you were coming from, you
always go up to Jerusalem and down to anywhere else. Now let's see how the Book
of Mormon talks about Jerusalem. 1 Nephi 4:4, "They did follow me up until we
came without the walls of Jerusalem." 1 Nephi 7:15, "If he will return unto
Jerusalem, he shall also perish with them. And now, if you have choice go up to the
land and remember the words which I speak unto you." 1 Nephi 7:22, as
they're leaving Jerusalem, "We did come down unto the tent of our Father and
after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had come down unto the
tent of my father, they did give thanks." Either Joseph Smith was extraordinarily
familiar with Jewish language and culture and went to painstaking lengths
to intricately weave his knowledge throughout the book without ever calling
attention to it, mind you, or this book is the real deal. Once again, I invite anyone
curious about the Book of Mormon to read it, study it, and pray about it. Check out
the links in the description for more information on this subject. I'll link
over to some other awesome stuff that I think you'll love and have a great day