The first page we want to look at is the Title page, which was written by Moroni and translated by Joseph Smith, Jun. It reads: It states that the Book of Mormon was “written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile.” Then mentioning the purpose of the Book of Mormon, it says, “And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD.” That statement confirms that Jesus Christ is in fact, GOD – as Joseph Smith was monotheistic in his beliefs when he wrote it or translated it. Now you ask any Latter-day Saint – “who is Eternal God?” – and they will tell you that Eternal God is Heavenly Father. Whereas here on the Title page it says Jesus Christ is “the ETERNAL GOD.” The page ends with this disclaimer: “And lnow, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.” A correction was made from the original 1830 edition which read in part, “now if there be any fault, it be the mistake of men.” It was changed in the 1964 edition which reads in part, “now if there are faults they are the mistakes of men.” Let’s move on to the next two pages that are simply called the Introduction . In the 2013 edition it states: “The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains as does the bible the fulness of the everlasting gospel.” This has been changed from the 1981 edition which stated: “The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains (here’s the change), as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting gospel.” The Book of Mormon we have today doesn’t include the Bible as containing the fulness of the everlasting gospel. What does the “fulness of the everlasting gospel” mean anyway? The Apostle Paul described it in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”In contract, here is the gospel as described by LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie: “The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan of salvation. It embraces all the laws, principles, authorities, and keys necessary to save and exalt men in the highest heaven hereafter… the gospel is concerned with those particular religious truths by conformity to which men can sanctify and cleanse their own souls, thus gaining for themselves salvation in the eternal worlds.” – Mormon Doctrine, pg. 331.The Third Article of Faith says: “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” We see that the gospel preached by the Apostle Paul didn’t have a single law or ordinance mentioned in it. Paul warned about those who would attempt to distort the good news of the gospel. Galatians 1:6-8 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you unto the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” When you add “laws” and “ordinances” to the gospel, you’ve just turned the good news into bad news because – no one ever got saved through keeping laws and ordinances as scripture makes clear. Paul taught in Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law
