The Book of Mormon: Plates vs Records

In Mormon 8:14 it reads, “And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the Lord. For he truly saith that no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great worth; and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless.”

Moroni, as a resurrected being, visited Joseph Smith in 1823 and instructed him about the plates. Young Joseph, who said he’d been tempted by the monetary value of the gold plates because his family was so poor, was forbidden to take them until he was ready to do the work of translation and not be tempted to sell them.

In this scripture, it says that the plates are of no worth. But gold was and is valuable, so what is the meaning of this scripture? We need to understand the context of what qualifies as valuable. The Lord wanted to make sure that Joseph (and we who read the Book of Mormon) understood that the true value was in the record, in the writing contained on the plates.

It is in the record that we find eternal truths and doctrine that will lead us back to our Heavenly Father. While the gold might be valuable for a moment, its value does not last. It is what is contained in the record that offers eternal value to each of us. This is what the Lord wanted to emphasize through Mormon.

Sometimes, we get sidetracked by “plates.” We focus on the “thing” that doesn’t hold the real value. We get lost in church history or what a leader said or a policy or how the Church is organized or something offensive someone said. We spend energy on researching or thinking about something that doesn’t hold the real value, which is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Too often, we put our faith in Church administration or in a particular leader or even a policy, when we should be exercising our faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. We should be building our testimony on Jesus Christ.

President Uchtdorf has said, “And, to be perfectly frank, there have been times when members or leaders in the Church have simply made mistakes. There may have been things said or done that were not in harmony with our values, principles, or doctrine.”

“I suppose the Church would be perfect only if it were run by perfect beings. God is perfect, and His doctrine is pure. But He works through us—His imperfect children—and imperfect people make mistakes.”

“It is unfortunate that some have stumbled because of mistakes made by men. But in spite of this, the eternal truth of the restored gospel found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not tarnished, diminished, or destroyed.” (Come, Join with Us, October 2013)

The Church is run by imperfect people who make mistakes. We need to build our testimony on the rock of Jesus Christ and anchor ourselves to Him, not to imperfect humans. Our faith needs to be in the Lord, not in anyone or anything else. Our focus should always be on the Savior.

Would it make a difference if we could see the actual gold plates? What if they were on display? Would that make a difference and build testimonies? It would be awesome to see the actual plates created so long ago by those mentioned in the Book of Mormon, but seeing them would not convince me any more of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Because the plates are not what is of value, it is the message contained within those plates and we all have access to that message. We don’t even need a physical book, we can access the entire Book of Mormon digitally. And, we are all able to ask God ourselves if the message of the Book of Mormon is true (Moroni 10:3-5).

The truth contained within the pages of the Book of Mormon is for everyone. The record is valuable to all of humankind because it is another witness, in conjunction with the Bible, of the divinity of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. The Bible and the Book of Mormon work together to teach us about the mission of Jesus Christ and His atonement.

I am grateful every day for the Book of Mormon and the message of hope and peace it brings to my heart and to my soul.