Does the Bible reference the Book of Mormon?

Answer 1

Two differing opinions presented below

Opinion 1:

No! the reference to Ezekiel 37:15-17 below is misinterpreted. The Hebrew word used by Ezekiel is ets, which means "wood, tree, stick"; translated in this passage asstick, ets is also used in Numbers 15:32; 1 Kings 17:10; 2 Kings 6:6, and Lamentations 4:8, to name a few places. Had God meant "scroll" or "book" here in Ezekiel He would have used the word cepher, which appears in Joshua 1:8; Isaiah 30:8; Jeremiah 36:2; Daniel 12:1, and Malachi 3:16 to cite a few examples.The logical conclusion is that Ezekiel 37:15-17 is to be understood literally. The Lord told Ezekiel to take one stick and carve on it, "For Judah", etc. Then to take another stick and carve into it, "For Joseph", etc. This was all Ezeliel was to write on these sticks and then join them together; it's not at all referring in any way to The Book of Mormon. The union of the two rods (sticks) was a prophecy in action of the brotherly union which is to reunite the ten tribes (Israel) and Judah.

Opinion 2:

Yes, to answer shortly, keep reading. The Bible does not say directly "from the Book of Mormon" or anything like that. After the death of Christ the church was persecuted and the apostles were killed. The church that Christ established did not last more than a hundred years or so. This was prophesied about many times, one reference is 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

The period of time that the Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth is called the apostasy. During this time many evil men took the writings of the apostles and prophets and changed them to fit their beliefs. They started their own churches and taught whatever they wanted. They changed the Bible and took out many things. For this reason the Bible does not speak very clearly about the Book of Mormon.

See Ezekiel 37:15-17 It says

15 ¶ The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

The "stick" it talks about is a book. The stick of Judah refers to the book of the Jews, or the Bible. Much of the bible was written by descendants of Judah, one of the 12 sons of Israel.

We know from the book of Book of Mormon that Lehi was a descendant of Joseph (1 Nephi 5:14). The sons of Lehi married the Daughters of Ishmael. Ishmael was from the tribe of Ephraim, Ephraim being a son of Joseph. The Book of Mormon was passed down through the generations starting with Nephi, son of Lehi, with each generation adding more to the record. We can safely say that the Book of Mormon comes from the descendants of Ephraim, making the Book of Mormon "the stick of Ephraim".

Ezekiel prophesied in this scripture that one day these two books would come together as one. Today in the LDS church we use both The Bible and the Book of Mormon to further our knowledge of Christ.

Other references to the Book of Mormon in the Bible include.

Isaiah 29:4 (4-11)

Malachi 3:1-3 (references Joseph Smith, the translator of the Book of Mormon)

John 10:16 (also see 3 Nephi 15:17) Jesus tells his apostles he has to leave them to go visit other people that are not from a place they know of.

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The debate seems to be about whether the metaphor of the stick refers to joining two groups of people or joining two books of scripture. Either way you are looking at a metaphor or a symbolic prophecy, not a literal inscribed stick.