“Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men” (Doctrine and Covenants 4:1). Doctrine and Covenants section four, section six, section eleven, section twelve, and section fourteen all start with this or a similar phrase. So what is this “marvelous work” that is so important that the Lord refers to it in the first verse of five different sections of the Doctrine and Covenants? It refers to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. But why was this such a great and marvelous work? Well, there are several reasons for that!
First, where did the book come from? It was a record painstakingly engraven on metal plates by the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, preserved by the hand of the Lord for hundreds of years, and then delivered to the boy Joseph by the hand of an angel. That’s not something that has ever happened before in any recorded history that I know of. Sounds pretty marvelous to me!
Second, how was this ancient record (written in a dead, forgotten language called “reformed Egyptian” by Moroni) to be translated? The young Joseph, who had received minimal formal education as a young child, knew nothing of foreign languages and could barely compose a coherent sentence was going to do it! As Martin Harris was convinced when he witnessed the process for himself, it was only by the gift and power of God that such a feat could possibly be accomplished. Again, pretty marvelous in my opinion!
Third, what was to be done with the record once it was translated? The young, impoverished Joseph was to publish this record containing the word of God unto all the world. Eventually, Martin Harris leased his farm to pay for the printing costs, but even after printing the book it still had to go unto all the world. That’s a pretty daunting task! A young farm boy from upstate New York had to get the book all over the world. Although it only made it to a few countries during Josephs lifetime through missionaries to Europe, the Book of Mormon today has truly gone to all the world, translated into more languages than I even know names for and carried by an army of young men to the four corners of the earth. Again, marvelous!
A little aside... While serving my mission in Taiwan, I spent some time in our mission office. One day the senior couple assigned to our mission invited us out to lunch. While at lunch, the senior elder asked us, “Do you know why the church is true?” Well, I obviously knew why the church is true—because it is!—but I didn’t know what his reason was... So, he told us, “Because if it wasn’t, this army of nineteen-year-old boys would bring it to its knees in a day.” I would say that’s another marvelous thing about the Book of Mormon: in spite of all the ... not-so-intelligent things that these young missionaries do, when people read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, they know that it is the word of God and they join the church! That’s actually in fulfillment of another prophecy (that the weak will confound the wise), but I think it’s kind of related to Martin Harris and Joseph Smith too. Like Martin, this brother was amazed that these inexperienced, unlearned young boys can find so much success!
Finally, what is the Book of Mormon? It is another testament of Jesus Christ. It is the voice of ancient prophets crying to us from the dust. It is the keystone of our religion. It is the book that will bring us closer to God than any other. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and it is truly a great and marvelous work.
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