The Bible Compared to the Book of Mormon

Today I read Jeremiah 3 where Jeremiah laments the wayward nature of the Israelites.  As I was reading today, I could not help but think about those people who prefer to read the Bible instead of the Book of Mormon and as I had that thought, I considered my own preference for the Book of Mormon over the Bible.  When I thought about it more, I reflected on the feelings I have when I read each book.  I will openly admit that I feel the Spirit of the Lord much more often, and strongly, when I read the Book of Mormon.  It seems to speak to my soul more than the Bible does.  I think this is the case for a couple of reasons.

First, the Bible is more concerned about the history of the Israelites than it is the doctrine of Christ.  The Book of Mormon is just the opposite.  It's main focus is the doctrine and the sermons of the great American prophets.  The New Testament is better than the Old Testament in this regard.  The Old Testament is almost entirely a history lesson on the generations of the Israelites.

Second, the Old Testament seems to all say the exact same thing, over and over again.  I really feel that if you were to remove half of the Old Testament, you would still have the exact same reading experience.  Case in point, the book of Deuteronomy is a summary of the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.  It's the cliff notes.  Jeremiah has spent the first two chapters calling Israel to repentance, and according to the chapter heading for chapter 3, that is what I am going to read about tomorrow too.  So it's extremely repetitive.

Finally, the Book of Mormon is easier to understand.  As God Himself has explained, the plain and precious truths of the Gospel have been removed from the Bible.  The Book of Mormon still contains all the truths and teachings it did when it was penned.  I prefer to read about the doctrine of Christ as opposed to being constantly reminded of the folly of the Israelites, and mankind as a whole, as I am in the Old Testament.

Now, of course the Old Testament has many plain and precious truths to offer and it is worth reading.  I am merely stating that given the choice between the two, I feel I would choose the Book of Mormon most often for my personal study.  Perhaps others feel differently and since it is a choice, neither is better than the other.  I think as long as we are studying the words of the Lord, we are doing the right thing.  Until tomorrow.