History of the Church, 2:52; “Take away the Book of Mormon and the revelations, and where is our religion? We have none.” – April 21, 1834
The quote above has always startled me, and left me wondering what if anything might a Mormon of today’s day and age be able to hold onto if the BoM was stripped from them. The following definitions give a dismal, if not downright dark, outlook for Mormons if this were to happen.
Take a look at the following definitions of the word ‘Mormon’ and you decide…
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 300
; “I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation.6 —Before I give a definition, however, to the word, let me say that the Bible in its widest sense, means good; for the Savior says according to the gospel of John, “I am the good shepherd;”7 and it will not be beyond the common use of terms, to say that good is among the most important in use, and though known by various names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and is ever in opposition to “bad.” We say from the Saxon, “good”; the Dane, “god”; the Goth, “goda”; the German, “gut”; the Dutch, “goed”; the Latin, “bonus”; the Greek, “kalos”; the Hebrew, “tob”; and the Egyptian, “mon.” Hence, with the addition of “more,” or the contraction, “mor,” we have the word “mormon”; which means, literally, “more good.” Yours, JOSEPH SMITH. (May 15, 1843.) T&S 4:194.”” – May 15, 1843
