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To: two_sticks@egroups.com
Subject: The Growing Together of the Bible and the Book of Mormon
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 23:59:21 GMT
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From: "Yosef Liahona" <yosef613@h...>

All,

This paper seemed so perfect for this list:

The Growing Together of the Bible and the Book of Mormon
                      by Raymond C. Treat

In Second Nephi 2 we find a list of five things that are going to happen as
the writings of the fruit of the loins of Joseph of Egypt (the Book of
Mormon) and the
fruit of the loins of Judah (the Bible) grow together:

And that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins,
And also that which shall be written by the fruit of the
loins of Judah,
Shall grow together

I Ý Ý Unto the confounding of false doctrines
2 Ý Ý And laying down of contentions
3 Ý Ý And establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins
4 Ý Ý And bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the
latter days
5 Ý Ý And also to the knowledge of my covenants saith the Lord
                             [numbers added].

                             2 Nephi 2:20-23

We need to know that this process of growing together has already begun and
is accelerating at a faster pace than most of us realize.

All Book of Mormon believers should be aware by now that the Lord is
bringing forth more new enlightenment about the Book of Mormon than ever
before. This new enlightenment has covered a whole range of subjects
including geography, archaeology, linguistics, manuscripts and editions and
spiritual topics.

Probably the most significant new information that has come forth deals with
the Hebrew nature of the Book of Mormon, including poetry, Hebraisms, Hebrew
culture and the importance of the ancient Hebrew covenant.

Has anything similar been happening with the Bible? New information about
the ancient Hebrew nature of the Bible is definitely reaching a wider
audience than ever before.

For example, the Hebrew nature of the Old Testament has always been
acknowledged because it was originally written in Hebrew. Nevertheless,
Bible scholars are continuing to discover new information about the Hebrew
nature of the Old Testament in several areas, including Hebrew poetry.

However, one of the most dramatic Biblical developments is probably the new
information on the ancient Hebrew nature of the New Testament (see "The
Significance of Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus" p. 49).

What does all this mean to Book of Mormon believers? We know that God is the
ultimate author of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Therefore, the
more the world knows about the ancient Hebrew nature of both books, the
closer the books will "grow together" and the easier it will be to recognize
that both have the same author.

The challenge of the five-part list of Second Nephi 2 to all those who claim
to be Book of Mormon believers is clear-repent of your half-hearted approach
to the Book of Mormon.Ask the Lord to show you your Book of Mormon work. If
you ask the Lord in faith, believing that you will receive (Mosiah 2:36; 3
Nephi 8:51; 13:6; Mormon 4:84; Moroni 7:26), you will get an answer.

Make full use of all that the Lord is revealing about the ancient Hebrew
nature of the Bible and the Book of Mormon. He's revealing this information
to bring these two books together.

Learn all about the ancient Hebrew covenant so you will know better how to
keep your own covenant. Then you can look forward expectantly for the
additional enlightenment needed to assist in the purpose of the Book of
Mormon and of the Restoration Movement-restoring the knowledge of the
covenants to the house of Israel.

by Raymond C. Treat

This article taken from Recent Book of Mormon Developments
vol. 2 p.215.

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