Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations—And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.
Translated by Joseph Smith, Jun.
Comments.
The purposes of the Book of Mormon are religious. It uses history as the framework for its essential message, but the purpose is not to recount history. Most particularly, it is written “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.” The importance of that particular sentence is first that it includes both the Jew and the Gentile as the target. The beginning of the paragraph had noted that it was to the remnant of the house of Israel, which was the phrase including the future Lamanites.
The second item of note is that it declares that Jesus Christ is the Eternal God. This is precisely what Nephite theology understood. Jesus Christ was the mortal embodiment of Jehovah, and Jehovah is the God of Israel. They were to be considered as the same person, but referring to different realms of existence.
Also important is the declaration that Jesus Christ is manifest to all nations. Jesus Christ himself appeared to the Nephites. Through revelation and experience with the resurrected Christ, the Nephites knew that his mortal ministry was in the Old World. Christ told them he would visit yet others. Thus, the Book of Mormon stands as the only testament that Christ would be physically manifest to other nations. His atonement was manifest to all nations and peoples.
The final statement addresses the reader. The reader is not to focus on any faults in the text, but rather their relationship to God as defined by the principles taught in the book.
The last sentence on the Title Page notes that Joseph Smith was the translator. The original title page had him as the author, not translator. That was the result of copyright laws that required that the author be listed. It was later changed to the more accurate designation of translator.