1) Encourage Mormons to come out from the Curse of Condemnation (D&C 84:54–57) by leaving the Church; the time to reform has passed.
2) Remind readers about Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life. The Rod of Iron represents God’s Word [Book of Mormon and Bible] and protects one from the Mists of Darkness.
40 Whoso shall declare more or less than this [doctrine of Christ in the Book of Mormon] and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil…and the gates of hell stand open to receive such. (3 Nephi 11)
Do not add to Book of Mormon doctrines, i.e., no temple endowments. No other doctrines or covenants are required to inherit the highest level of God’s Kingdom.
23 And they said unto me: What meaneth the ROD OF IRON which our father saw, that led to the tree?
24 And I said unto them that it was the Word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the Word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they WOULD NEVER PERISH; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.
25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the Word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the Word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things. (1 Nephi 15)
Lehi was shown a Mist of Darkness that represented the trappings of Satan for those who don’t obey Christ’s teachings in The Holy Book of Mormon:
23 And it came to pass that there arose a Mist of DARKNESS; yea, even an exceedingly great Mist of DARKNESS, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did LOSE THEIR WAY, that they wandered off and WERE LOST.
24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and CAUGHT HOLD of the end of the ROD OF IRON; and they did PRESS FORWARD THROUGH the Mist of DARKNESS, clinging to the ROD OF IRON, even until they did come forth and partake of the Fruit of the Tree. (1 Nephi 8)
Those who refuse to heed the instructions of Christ in The Holy Book of Mormon will be trapped by the Mist of Darkness, led into deceptive doctrines (like Temple endowments, plural marriage, eternal marriage—as if being married to Christ isn’t enough):
14 But behold, the
JewsMormonswereare a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. (Jacob 4)
Thus, it’s no coincidence that the curse on those who don’t heed the teachings in The Holy Book of Mormon IS a “darkened mind”:
54 And your minds in times past have been DARKENED because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received [Book of Mormon]—(D&C 84)
3) We echo the warnings of President Ezra Taft Benson:
“Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book? Yes, either to our blessing or our CONDEMNATION.” “Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise he is placing his soul in jeopardy (Ezra Taft Benson, A Witness and a Warning: A Modern-Day Prophet Testifies of the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book Co., 1988, p. 7).