Excerpt

Introduction

The Essential Book of Mormon Companion is the first in a new series of scripture commentaries offered by Covenant Communications. Unlike traditional commentaries that provide a verse-by-verse explanation or an in-depth interpretation of the scripture, this Companion is meant to be exactly that—a user-friendly fellow traveler on your journey through the Book of Mormon.
Between its covers you’ll find a two-page spread for each chapter in the Book of Mormon (with the exception of a handful of chapters in the latter part of Alma, which are combined two to a spread). Each two-page spread contains a key scripture from that chapter, a one- or two-sentence explanation of the major concept, a quick list of the prominent people in the chapter, and an overview of what happens in that chapter.
You’ll also find a paragraph giving some interesting facts about something in the chapter, a “Who Was” paragraph about a prominent individual in the chapter, or both.
Of greatest significance are two bulleted lists you’ll find on each two-page spread. The first, “Main Themes,” provides a summary of how that chapter applies to us today—what we can incorporate into our lives from those pages in the Book of Mormon. Read and applied, they will help you “liken the scripture” to yourself. Most important is “Key Insights about the Savior,” a bulleted list of what that chapter tells us about Jesus Christ—His character, His way of dealing with us, His desires, His mission for all of us.
You’ll quickly determine the best way for you to use this Companion. You might find it helpful to get a quick overview of the chapter before you read the actual scripture, or you might find it helpful as a guide while you are reading the scripture. You might also find that it’s a beneficial tool to help you put the scriptures into perspective after you finish reading each chapter. Maybe you’ll find it helpful in all three ways.
I am deeply indebted to Covenant authors and personal friends Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen for their magnificent insights into the Book of Mormon; in many cases, those insights have inspired the “Interesting Facts About” sections in this book. In all cases, their thorough offerings in Book of Mormon Who’s Who and Old Testament Who’s Who were condensed or adapted for the “Who Was” sections of this book. Their scholarship, gifts of expression, and personal example have been powerfully influential in my life, and I express my sincerest gratitude.
But the greatest message of this Companion is that the Book of Mormon is indeed another testament of Jesus Christ. He is called by 101 different names throughout the book, and one of those names is mentioned an average of once every 1.7 verses. An average of one in every eight verses—12.6 percent of the Book of Mormon—contains speech texts from and about the Savior. And its pages confirm the fact that all prophets since the beginning of time—some who have given their lives as a result—have testified of Jesus Christ and His atoning mission. All we are, and all we ever hope to be, we owe to our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Since its first publication in 1830, more than 140 million copies of the Book of Mormon have been published and distributed in 107 languages. It continues to go throughout the world as a testimony of He who has us graven on His palms—He who rose from the tomb with our names on His lips, providing for us the opportunity to repent and return to live in His presence. No matter our failures and weaknesses in mortality, we can become pure again because of His infinite sacrifice on our behalf if we will experience a mighty change of heart. The Book of Mormon shows us how.
It is my hope that as you read its pages and ponder the insights offered in this Companion, your own testimony of both the Savior and the Book of Mormon will become deeper and richer. I know that examining it again to prepare this Companion has given me even greater knowledge that it is a book translated from ancient records by the Prophet of the Restoration, Joseph Smith. Those who wrote and abridged it truly are speaking to us as voices from the dust, bearing their own solemn witness of the Savior and pleading with us to live by its words. It was written not for their contemporaries, but for us in our day—and may we never take for granted the unparalleled blessing of having the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
—Kathryn Jenkins