Local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints completed a year-long study of the New Testament in 2019. In 2020, they will begin a year-long study of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, as part of the Come, Follow Me curriculum based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Online manuals are already available for personal and classroom study and can be downloaded at churchofJesusChrist.org.
The Book of Mormon is a companion to the Holy Bible. According to officials, “The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ [to the ancient inhabitants of the Americas] soon after His resurrection” – a visit foretold by Christ in John 10:16 when he said, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
The Book of Mormon was written on plates “by many ancient prophets.” In due course, the plates were delivered to Joseph Smith “who translated them by the gift and power of God.” The introduction states: “We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost (see Moroni 10:3-5).”
The Book of Mormon is filled with many teachings of Jesus Christ and “confirms the truths found in the Holy Bible,” including that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. According to churchofJesusChrist.org, “In its more than 6,000 verses, the Book of Mormon refers to Jesus Christ almost 4,000 times.” As of 2015, The Book of Mormon has been published in over 110 languages with an announcement in 2017 to publish in 34 more languages, which now includes Farsi, Navajo, Arabic and “numerous African and Asian dialects.”
Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon lessons for 2020 will focus on God’s great plan of happiness and Jesus Christ’s central role as the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Lessons invite individuals and families to stand fast in the faith of Christ, to be filled with love towards God and all men, to find strength in the Lord, to remain steadfast and immovable, to be assured that Jesus Christ will redeem His people, to remember the Lord and arise and come forth unto Him, to repent, to lift up our heads and be of good cheer for the glad tidings of great joy that Christ brings to any and all who come unto Him.
Visitors are always welcome at church services held by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the greater Chattanooga area, and elsewhere. We invite all to worship with us as we rejoice in Christ – “the Light and the Life of the world…a Light that is endless, that can never be darkened” (Mosiah 16: 9).