Best book in the world. ( )

I enjoy religious studies, but found it hard getting through this one. A little too hard to believe. ( )

I got this one booby trapped for when mormons come over. ( )

While the language is unfamiliar to modern readers, persistence will yield treasures. After numerous readings, I still discover new insights into God's dealings with His children, and a greater understanding of how following His commandments can bring me greater peace and happiness in my life. This book of scripture includes many illustrative stories from the lives of ancient followers of Christ, as well as doctrinal addresses on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Additionally, there is an account of the visit of Christ to the American continent following His resurrection. Well worth a careful reading. ( )

The Book of Mormon is a history of the people who lived in the Americas prior to 421 A.D. There was more than one migration but the main people of this history came from Jerusalem about 600 B.C. The record was kept on gold plates and were edited by a man named Mormon. The edited version was hid in the ground by his son, Moroni. Joseph Smith, a modern day prophet, was instructed by God to take the plates and translate them. The Book of Mormon is an account of God's people. The highlight of this account is the appearance of Jesus Christ to this people after His resurrection. ( )

Have read it several times through... and still reading! ( )

the book of Mormon is the word of god!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( )

I, in no way, advocate this book for reading to supplement your Christian growth of sanctification. It is not inspired, it is not the Word of God. It is a heresy. Yet, I would recommend all Christians to read it for the purpose of evangelism to Mormons, which is the sole purpose of having it in my library. In this way, we can love those who call themselves "Mormons:" by knowing what they know and giving them the Truth of the Gospel in the ways they need to hear.

The Book of Mormon is the word of God. ( )

It's the Book of Mormon, the word of God revealed through a modern day prophet. The most important book in my library. ( )

1. And it came to pass that I, TANSTAAFL, having been born of Mormon parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; which included the Book of Mormon, and having seen many afflictions and cognitive dissonance in the course of my days because of the fact that I was raised in the Mormon religion and having read the Book of Mormon nigh unto twenty times, nevertheless, yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mischievousness of Loki, therefore I make a book review of the Book of Moron.
2. Yea, I make a record of my review in the language of English, and not Reformed Egyptian - the language of the Book of Mormon, because everyone knoweth that no one speaks Reformed Egyptian anyway. Behold, I make an abridgment of the review upon computer which I have made with mine own hands; (the review, not the computer) wherefore, after I have abridged the review then will I make an account of mine own review and if thou findest this sentence difficult for your understandings to comprehend then thou wilt not enjoy reading the Book of Mormon, for I make the record of my review in the idiom of the book of Mormon author. Yea, verily, it came to pass that more confusing than Yoda-speak it is.

3. And it came to pass that thus were written the first two paragraphs of my review. And I know that the review which I write true; and I make it with mine own computer; and I make it according to my knowledge. And thus passeth away even the third paragraph also.

4. And it came to pass that my review having been limited to 1000 words by the amazon.com web-site, I realized that my choice of writing style, that being the style inflicted upon the reader by Joseph Smith Jr., Author and Proprietor of the Book of Mormon, was not a good choice for one limited to a small number of words, or for that matter an odd choice for the inhabitants of the ancient Americas who supposedly had to inscribe the lengthy and frequently rambling and meaningless prose on gold plates where space was at a premium.

5. And it came to pass that this part of the review, yea even the middlest part, I shall shew unto you the parts of the review that review the book of which I revieweth. And it came to pass that I chose not to detail in this review the thousands of revisions which the Mormons made to the book after Joseph Smith wrote it, which was supposedly perfectly "translated" by a gift from god, or the many anachronisms which the author included, yea not even the horses that the ancient Americans supposedly had despite the fact that the horse arrived with Columbus nor the steel weapons. Nor even shall I comment upon 54 chapters dealing with wars that bear no resemblance to the actual wars that took place in the ancient Americas, yea and I especially shall not comment upon the accounts of wars with nonsensical accounts of million man armies fighting to the last man and their bones and steel weapons disappearing from the face of the earth. Yea, and it followeth that I also chose not to comment on the many plagiarisms and yea, even plagiarisms of mistranslations, which were included in the book. Yea, verily I chose not to comment on the writing or the story of the book, which Mark Twain called "chloroform in print," especially since I find that remark highly disparaging to chloroform. For it came to pass in the commencement of my preparation for the writing of the review, I realized that a review of the book which pointed out its flaws would be so long, yea, so long as to be longer than the book itself. Yea, and thus passeth away even the middlest part of the review, the longest paragraph, even though it merely toucheth upon the thousands of give-aways as to the fraudulent nature of the book. For yea, this review cannot contain even a millionth part of what was so poorly written in the Book of Mormon.

6. And it came to pass that I decided that my review of the book should mention, before concluding, a list of some of the main themes of the Book of Mormon, and yea I verily mention them thusly: (1) Killing is good, if thou art a teenager and thou hearest voices in thine head telling thee to kill someone, preferably someone drunk so they cannot fight back. 1 Nephi 4 (2) If thou disobeyest God, he will curse thee with a dark skin, 3 Nephi 5:21, Jacob 3:5, Alma 3:6, but (3) If thou art a personage of dark skin, God will make thee white and delightsome, if thou wilt consent to join his church. 3 Nephi 3:15 (4) After Jesus, yea even Christ Our Lord, was killed, he camest to the Americas and killed millions of Native Americans, 3 Nephi 8-9, and (5) Women art completely insignificant except occasionally as breeding stock, passim.

7. And there are many things more which transpired in the Book of Mormon which, in the eyes of some, would be considered great and marvelous, but despite having read the book upwards of twenty times, I cannot remember even one.

8. Thus, I make an end to my abridgement of my review, yea, and now I bid unto all, adieu. I soon go to rest in the paradise of mine abode, until my spirit and body shall again recover from the taxing effort of writing in such a nauseating style. Amen. ( )

1. And it came to pass that I, TANSTAAFL, having been born of Mormon parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; which included the Book of Mormon, and having seen many afflictions and cognitive dissonance in the course of my days because of the fact that I was raised in the Mormon religion and having read the Book of Mormon nigh unto twenty times, nevertheless, yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mischievousness of Loki, therefore I make a book review of the Book of Moron.

2. Yea, I make a record of my review in the language of English, and not Reformed Egyptian - the language of the Book of Mormon, because everyone knoweth that no one speaks Reformed Egyptian anyway. Behold, I make an abridgment of the review upon computer which I have made with mine own hands; (the review, not the computer) wherefore, after I have abridged the review then will I make an account of mine own review and if thou findest this sentence difficult for your understandings to comprehend then thou wilt not enjoy reading the Book of Mormon, for I make the record of my review in the idiom of the book of Mormon author. Yea, verily, it came to pass that more confusing than Yoda-speak it is.

3. And it came to pass that thus were written the first two paragraphs of my review. And I know that the review which I write true; and I make it with mine own computer; and I make it according to my knowledge. And thus passeth away even the third paragraph also.

4. And it came to pass that my review having been limited to 1000 words by the amazon.com web-site, I realized that my choice of writing style, that being the style inflicted upon the reader by Joseph Smith Jr., Author and Proprietor of the Book of Mormon, was not a good choice for one limited to a small number of words, or for that matter an odd choice for the inhabitants of the ancient Americas who supposedly had to inscribe the lengthy and frequently rambling and meaningless prose on gold plates where space was at a premium.

5. And it came to pass that this part of the review, yea even the middlest part, I shall shew unto you the parts of the review that review the book of which I revieweth. And it came to pass that I chose not to detail in this review the thousands of revisions which the Mormons made to the book after Joseph Smith wrote it, which was supposedly perfectly "translated" by a gift from god, or the many anachronisms which the author included, yea not even the horses that the ancient Americans supposedly had despite the fact that the horse arrived with Columbus nor the steel weapons. Nor even shall I comment upon 54 chapters dealing with wars that bear no resemblance to the actual wars that took place in the ancient Americas, yea and I especially shall not comment upon the accounts of wars with nonsensical accounts of million man armies fighting to the last man and their bones and steel weapons disappearing from the face of the earth. Yea, and it followeth that I also chose not to comment on the many plagiarisms and yea, even plagiarisms of mistranslations, which were included in the book. Yea, verily I chose not to comment on the writing or the story of the book, which Mark Twain called "chloroform in print," especially since I find that remark highly disparaging to chloroform. For it came to pass in the commencement of my preparation for the writing of the review, I realized that a review of the book which pointed out its flaws would be so long, yea, so long as to be longer than the book itself. Yea, and thus passeth away even the middlest part of the review, the longest paragraph, even though it merely toucheth upon the thousands of give-aways as to the fraudulent nature of the book. For yea, this review cannot contain even a millionth part of what was so poorly written in the Book of Mormon.

6. And it came to pass that I decided that my review of the book should mention, before concluding, a list of some of the main themes of the Book of Mormon, and yea I verily mention them thusly: (1) Killing is good, if thou art a teenager and thou hearest voices in thine head telling thee to kill someone, preferably someone drunk so they cannot fight back. 1 Nephi 4 (2) If thou disobeyest God, he will curse thee with a dark skin, 3 Nephi 5:21, Jacob 3:5, Alma 3:6, but (3) If thou art a personage of dark skin, God will make thee white and delightsome, if thou wilt consent to join his church. 3 Nephi 3:15 (4) After Jesus, yea even Christ Our Lord, was killed, he camest to the Americas and killed millions of Native Americans, 3 Nephi 8-9, and (5) Women art completely insignificant except occasionally as breeding stock, passim.

7. And there are many things more which transpired in the Book of Mormon which, in the eyes of some, would be considered great and marvelous, but despite having read the book upwards of twenty times, I cannot remember even one.

8. Thus, I make an end to my abridgement of my review, yea, and now I bid unto all, adieu. I soon go to rest in the paradise of mine abode, until my spirit and body shall again recover from the taxing effort of writing in such a nauseating style. Amen. ( )

Even if you don't believe it's divinely inspired--as I believe it is--this book has a one-of-a-kind history and tells a fascinating tale. I'm surprised more non-Mormons don't read it out of sheer curiosity. ( )

This is a book that I read daily to understand more about God and his people. I know that the people in this book are real and add their life story for me to learn from. Lehi and his family traveled to America to start a new life. They all were met with hardships and trials, but half of their families stayed true to the gospel and were blessed. I believe that Christ did visit this land to teach the native Indians about Heavenly Father. This is the story of my ancestors. ( )

I haven't actually read this one properly yet, it was pushed through the door by England Leeds Mission Techno Centre (whoever they are) and the dog didn't eat it so it ended up on the bookshelves. It has some nice colour illustrations at the begining.

ETA - having read more of this (and now finished it) I found it an interesting look at a faith and has given me some things to ponder. I have not given it a star rating because I don't think it is quite appropriate to rate books of faith.

Much better than the bible ( )

The Book of Mormon is neither as bad as the critics say, nor as good as the fanatics insist. Why did I give it 5 stars? For the way it has influenced my life. Obviously, it was in a good way, or I would have given it a lot less!

The book itself (no matter what you may think of its author) is a charming tale from the point of view of 19th century Americans. Many of it's themes which are odd today, were common ideas for the time period. Some examples of this include Hebrews in the Americas, Masonry, Polygamy (believe it or not), and the idea of a religious restoration.

The tone of the book is more like fables quaint mythology than a novel - intertwining history (sometimes boring) with religion and the tales of heroes (although few (like two) heroines).

A final note - to those who point out the absurdity of the Book of Mormon being written in King James English: how better to gain the trust of a KJV saturated society than to present your new scripture in that familiar tone?

Vive la rationalité! ( )

Moroni came to the Prophet Joseph Smith, Junior, and gave instruction concerning the delivery and "coming forth of the Book of Mormon", with four subsequent and completely identical iterations.

Moroni is the "last of the Nephite prophet-historians". In 421 AD he sealed the sacred record of engraved golden plates until "brought forth in the latter days", which was then done in 1823 by his "resurrected personage" visiting Prophet Smith. The plates were translated and then re-delivered to Moroni who "has them in his charge" UNTIL this day May 2, 1838. See Pearl of Great Price, and History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol 1, Ch. 1-6.

Two stones were buried with the metal Plates, apparently to assist with "translation" into modern speech [Smith Intro 3]: URIM and THUMMIM. How important are the "rocks" in the story? We associate stone with Hard Evidence. They are actually named! Perhaps a breeding pair.

Compare, the "pearl" of Great Price, a euphemism for reproduction by means of polygamous child brides. Smith knew we cannot BUY this form of credibility. The import and importance cannot be overstated. However, linguistically, the composition shows direct influences of Smith, not Aramaic (Christ), Syriac, or Hebraic, and no possible connection to a prophet in "a tribe of Joseph", of whom the Indians are still remnant. It has no grammatic or cultic associations with Amerindians or native proto-languages.

The Book of Mormon is a "history" of a Tribe which has no archeological or linguistic corroboration.

Doctrinally, the work emphasizes pre-existence, perfection, the after-life, and Christ's second coming.

Some Pearls: "To be learned is good" and "Woe unto the rich" [2 Nephi 29-30 @75].

The authorized Pamphlet on the text quotes Pauline teaching -- "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, temperance..." Galatians 5:22-23 -- as "feelings" communicated from the Spirit and urged as "personal revelation" that the gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through Joseph Smith is true. "You will then need to choose whether you will live in harmony with the knowledge you have received." Excellent choice.

Like the Bible and the Quran, the Book of Mormon is almost never read, rarely quoted in any context, and when recited, almost certainly misunderstood. ( )

As this book is currently on the top on the list of books LibraryThinger's can't agree on here:
http://www.librarything.com/zeit...
25 books people can't agree on:
The book of Mormon
I decided to write a review.

I'm sure Latter-Day-Saints give the book 5 stars, as it is the Word of God translated by Joseph Smith.
I'm sure Evangelical Christians give the book 0 stars as it is the words of Satan written by the spawn of the devil.

Since I am neither, and I believe neither about the book, I will look at it from a different viewpoint.

It is difficult to read, the language is like Shakespeare or the King James Bible but the words do not flow as well.

It tells the stories of several cultures on the American Continent and their experiences with God, Jesus, and each other.

I give it 3 stars.

I give it better marks than 0 because some passages (such as 3 Nephi 12, for example) are truly compassionate, and would be good reading for anyone from any religious background, if they can fight through the awkward "translation." ( )

The most profound book in the world today. Ranks with the Bible, which I love, but is much easier to absorb. ( )

See comments on other edition

Unlike most non-LDS members, I have read the entire Book of Mormon. Like most non-LDS members, I do not believe it to be scripture. ( )

This book is purported to be a translation of tables found by Joseph Smith after being directed to them by an angel named Moroni. This is supposed to be the story of Tribes of Israel in the Western Hemisphere.

Admittely I do not believe this nor accept it - neither historically nor religiously. Aside from that, as a book, I was struck by how stiff and boring it is. It doesn't read at all like the Bible, except it the most superficial (and to my mind, worse) ways. It has archaic language and repetitive formulaic phrases; but is simply is dull, draggy, and lacks interesting stories. What's worse, for a religious book, it is not inspiring. ( )

A very good book I read commonly. ( )

It will change your life forever by bringing you closer to Jesus Christ. Contrary to popular opinion, I found that it strengthens the Bible rather than replace it. ( )