KnoWhy #72 - Was the Book of Mormon used as the First Church Administrative Handbook? (3 Nephi 27:21-22)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrates the anniversary of its founding on April 6. We at Book of Mormon Central want to help celebrate this occasion by highlighting the way in which the Book of Mormon played a central role in the early development of the organization of the Restored Church. One of the book’s many contributions is its divine role in guiding Joseph Smith and other early leaders of the Church in the creation of the Church’s administrative principles.

Readers of the Book of Mormon often direct their attention to its storylines, biographies, doctrines, revelations, or geographic, literary or cultural details. Many do not usually realize the great debt that the Restored Church owes to the Book of Mormon for the myriad practical guidelines for the administration of the Lord’s church that it provided the early Saints.