Why We Must Flood the Earth with the Book of Mormon

We cannot express our need to Flood the Earth with the Book of Mormon better than do those called expressly as Special Witnesses of our Savior. Here are their words:

I. Words of Jesus Christ regarding the Importance of the Book of Mormon

Words of the Savior. By [the Savior’s] own mouth He has borne witness (1) that [the Book of Mormon] is true (see D&C 17:6); (2) that it contains the truth of His words (see D&C 19:26); (3) that it was translated by power from on high (see D&C 20:8); (4) that it contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ (see D&C 20:9; D&C 42:12); (5) that it was given by inspiration and confirmed by the ministering of angels (see D&C 20:10); (6) that it gives evidence that the holy scriptures are true (see D&C 20:11); (7) that those who treat it lightly are under condemnation (see D&C 84:54-57); and (8) that those who receive it in faith shall receive eternal life (see D&C 20:14). (ETB, A Witness and a Warning, 15-22.)

II. Prophetic Testimonies of the Book of Mormon

Joseph Smith. “The Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book.” (History of the Church, 4:461.)

Bruce R. McConkie. “Few men on earth, either in or out of the Church have caught the vision of what the Book of Mormon is all about. Few are they among men who know the part it has played and will yet play in preparing the way for the coming of Him of whom it is a new witness. … The Book of Mormon shall so affect men that the whole earth and all its peoples will have been influenced and governed by it. …There is no greater issue ever to confront mankind in modern times than this: Is the Book of Mormon the mind and will and voice of God to all men?” (Millennial Messiah, 159, 170, 179.)

III. Purposes of the Book of Mormon

Ezra Taft Benson. “The Book of Mormon was written for us today. ...the major purpose of the Book of Mormon [is] to bring men to Christ and to be reconciled to Him, and then to join His church-in that order. (See2 Nephi 25:23; D&C 20:11-14, 35-37.) [alsoWords of Mormon 1:1-10; Alma 5:33-34; Omni 1:26; Moroni 10:32).]

…The purpose of the Book of Mormon [as] stated on its title page, “is to the convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.”

…The Book of Mormon brings men unto Christ. ...it tells in a plain manner of Christ and His gospel.

...The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. …The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon is similar to the type we have today. God in His wisdom so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our times.

…There are three ways the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone of our witness of Jesus Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine [see D&C 20:9; 42:12]. It is the keystone of testimony. …

Combined with the Spirit of the Lord, the Book of Mormon is the greatest single tool which God has given us to convert the world.” (A Witness and a Warning, pp. vii-ix, 9-13, 18-20.)

IV. Scriptural and Prophetic Warnings of Treating Lightly the Book of Mormon

D&C 84: 55-59. And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation. And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written— that they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.

Ezra Taft Benson. “...Unless we read the Book of Mormon and give heed to its teachings, the Lord has stated in section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants that the whole Church is under condemnation: ‘And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.’ (D&C 84:56.) The Lord continues: ‘And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written.’ (D&C 84:57).

...Now we not only need to say more about the Book of Mormon, but we need to do more with it. Why? The Lord answers: “That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.” (D&C 84:58.) We have felt that scourge and judgment! (“Cleansing the Inner Vessel” Ensign, May, 1986, 4.)

V. Actions of Latter-day Saints to Remove Judgment, Scourge and Condemnation

Come Unto Christ by Beginning a Serious Study of the Scriptures, Especially the Book of Mormon

D&C 84: 43-45. And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life. For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Ezra Taft Benson. “The Book of Mormon has not been, nor is it yet, the center of our personal study, family teaching, preaching, and missionary work. Of this we must repent.” (“Cleansing the Inner Vessel” Ensign, May, 1986)…

The Book of Mormon must be re-enthroned in the hearts and minds of our people. We must honor it by reading it, by studying it, by taking its precepts into our lives and transforming them into lives required of the true followers of Christ. …

We each need to get our own testimony of the Book of Mormon through the Holy Ghost. Then our testimony, coupled with the Book of Mormon, should be shared with others so they, to, can know through the Holy Ghost of its truthfulness.” (A Witness and a Warning, pp. 31-32.)

Ezra Taft Benson. “I bless you with increased discernment to judge between Christ and anti-Christ. I bless you with increased power to do good and to resist evil. I bless you with increased understanding of the Book of Mormon. I promise you that from this moment forward, if we will daily sup from its pages and abide by its precepts, God will pour out upon each child of Zion and the Church a blessing hitherto unknown—and we will plead to the Lord that He will begin to lift the condemnation—the scourge and judgment. Of this I bear solemn witness.” (“A Sacred Responsibility,” Ensign, May 1986, 77.)

Marion G. Romney. “It is of course obvious that unless we read, study and learn the principles which are in the Book of Mormon, we, the elders, priests, and teachers of this church cannot comply with this direction [of the Lord] to teach them. [D&C 33:16, 42:12] (Conference Report, April, 1960, pp. 110-11.)

Joseph Fielding Smith. No member of this church can stand approved in the presence of God who has not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon. (Conference Report, October 1961, p. 18.)

Come Unto Christ by Cleansing the Inner Vessel

Ezra Taft Benson. As I have sought direction from the Lord, I have had reaffirmed in my mind and heart the declaration of the Lord to “say nothing but repentance unto this generation.” (D&C 6:9; D&C 11:9.) This has been a theme of every latter-day prophet, along with their testimony that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. …
Watchmen—what of the night? We must respond by saying that all is not well in Zion. As Moroni counseled, we must cleanse the inner vessel (see Alma 60:23), beginning first with ourselves, then with our families, and finally with the Church.

A prophet of God stated, “Ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow … until the good shall overcome the bad.” (Jacob 5:66.) It takes a Zion people to make a Zion society, and we must prepare for that. (“Cleansing the Inner Vessel” Ensign, May, 1986.)

Come unto Christ by Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon

Ezra Taft Benson. The Book of Mormon is the instrument that God designed to “sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out [His] elect.” [‘And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.’ (Moses 7:62.) ‘And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts;’ (D&C 29: 7)]…

This sacred volume of scripture needs to become more central in our preaching, our teaching, and our missionary work. …

The time is long overdue for a massive flooding of the earth with the Book of Mormon for the many reasons which the Lord has given. In this age of the electronic media and the mass distribution of the printed word, God will hold us accountable if we do not now move the Book of Mormon in a monumental way. …

We have the Book of Mormon, we have the members, we have the missionaries, we have the resources, and the world has the need. The time is now! (Emphasis added)…

My beloved brothers and sisters, we hardly fathom the power of the Book of Mormon, nor the divine role it must play, nor the extent to which it must be moved. …

Now, my good Saints, we have a great work to perform in a very short time. We must flood the earth with the Book of Mormon—and get out from under God’s condemnation for having treated it lightly. (D&C 84:54-58.) …

I challenge all of us to prayerfully consider steps that we can personally take to bring this new witness for Christ more fully into our own lives and into a world that so desperately needs it. …

I have a vision of the whole Church getting nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon. …

Indeed, I have a vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon. (Emphasis added)…

I do know this: That for the present hour He has revealed to me the absolute need for us to move the Book of Mormon forward now in a marvelous manner. You must help with this burden and with this blessing which He has placed on the whole Church, even all the children of Zion. (“Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon” Ensign, Nov. 1988.)

VI. Blessings that Follow Obedience to the Commandment to
“Remember the Book of Mormon”

D&C 84:61. For I will forgive you of your sins with this commandment—that you remain steadfast in your minds in solemnity and the spirit of prayer in bearing testimony to all the world of those things which are communicated unto you [even the Book of Mormon; v.55-59].

Ezra Taft Benson. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance. (“The Book of Mormon – Keystone of our Religion” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 4.)

Ezra Taft Benson. I bless you with increased discernment to judge between Christ and anti-Christ. I bless you with increased power to do good and to resist evil. I bless you with increased understanding of the Book of Mormon. I promise you that from this moment forward, if we will daily sup from its pages and abide by its precepts, God will pour out upon each child of Zion and the Church a blessing hitherto unknown—and we will plead to the Lord that He will begin to lift the condemnation—the scourge and judgment. Of this I bear solemn witness. (“A Sacred Responsibility,” Ensign, May 1986, 77.)

D&C 20:14. And those who receive [the Book of Mormon] in faith, and work righteousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life.

Are America and the Saints of Zion Being “Scourged” by its Enemies as God’s “Judgment?”

Note: President Benson has preached in hundreds of talks to as many audiences that America is a promised land choice above all others, preserved for a chosen people. He also taught, and Book of Mormon prophets prophesied, that wise and inspired men were raised up to discover and inhabit this nation and that the inhabitants should be free, and that this nation would remain free only for so long as its people remained righteous and served the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ. (Ether 2:12.)

He and other prophets, ancient and Modern, have warned of evil and conspiring men, modern Gadianton Robbers, who are possessed with the same evil designs as Satan in the War in Heaven and the Gadianton Robbers amongst the Nephites and Lamanites, namely, to destroy the agency of man. They are committed in their “secret combinations” to enslave mankind by destroying the our freedoms, freedoms which were recognized by the Founding Fathers as established by God’s Natural Law, and which they articulated and intended be preserved in the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. (An extensive compilation of statements of the living prophets warning us of threats to our freedoms and national survival can be found in Jerreld L. Newquist’s book, Prophets, Principles and National Survival, Publisher’s Press, 1964, currently out of print.) The prophetic warnings are becoming or in some instances have already become a chilling reality.

We have some understanding of the “condemnation” the church and its members suffer for treating lightly the Book of Mormon (see D&C 93:31-32, 39). The “scourge” and “judgment,” which will be poured out upon the children of Zion for failure to “bring forth fruit” (v. 58) may have specific reference to our failure use the Book of Mormon in the manner and intensity envisioned by the ancient prophet, Enoch and the latter-day prophet, Ezra Taft Benson to “sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect” (see Moses 7:62).

“Judgments of God” befall the righteous for righteousness sake, and befall the wicked for their unrepentant wickedness. Some judgments are temporary, conditioned upon repentance, while some judgments are final. “Scourges” are often allowed by God as judgments, and usually are inflicted by the wicked enemies of God’s unrepentant chosen people – and even to their utter destruction when they refuse to repent. (Jews scourged by all other nations for crucifying the God of Israel (see 1 Nephi 19:13); the Lamanites were prophesied would be a scourge unto the Nephites until the Nephites repent and remember Jesus Christ, or to their destruction if they refuse to repent (see 2 Nephi 5:25.)

Could it be that this nation and our people are in the process of being “scourged” by enemies who are presently committed to completely changing our society and destroying our liberties and freedom? President Benson has stated that, “…our nation will continue to degenerate unless we read and heed the words of the God of this land, Jesus Christ, and quit building up and upholding the secret combinations which the Book of Mormon tells us proved the downfall of two previous American civilizations.” He also said, “Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book? Yes, either to our blessing or our condemnation. (A Witness and a Warning, pp. 6, 15-22.)

Could successful efforts to “flood the earth” with the Book of Mormon by a repentant church be instrumental in averting this scourge by helping in a monumental way to gather out the Lord’s elect who will join His church and help bring this nation to repentance and once again serve Jesus Christ who is the God of this land? Should we not seriously consider the warnings and teachings of ancient and modern prophets and the visions of Enoch and President Benson regarding the mandate to Flood the Earth with the Book of Mormon? May the Lord help us to do His will.