According to Raymond Treat, the principle, “What is in the Book of Mormon is there for a Purpose,” is a very important principle to understand about the Book of Mormon. The dictionary tells us that a principle is a general truth on which other truths depend. The recognition of the “purpose principle” is the recognition of a general truth about the book of Mormon which in turn will lead to other truths. If we ask the question, “Why has this particular information been included?” Every time we study a portion of the Book of Mormon we should receive insights that otherwise might be missed.
How do we know that what is in the book of Mormon is there for a purpose? Because major writers of the Book of Mormon tell us they were directed by God as to what to put in the Book of Mormon and what to leave out. For example, in 1 Nephi 19:3 Nephi speaks upon the contents of the small plates:
And after I had made these [small] plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates; and that these things which were written should be kept for the instruction of my people, who should possess the land, and also for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord
The chart “The Contents of the Book of Mormon Were Divinely Controlled” (see illustration) is designed to illustrate this point. The chart gives us information about three major Book of Mormon writers--Nephi, Mormon and Moroni. In each case these writers were told both what to put in the Book of Mormon and what to leave out.
For all practical purposes two of these three writers, Mormon and Moroni, controlled the contents of the entire Book of Mormon. Mormon was directed to add the entire contents of the small plates of Nephi to the Book of Mormon… . Nephi was responsible for about 82 percent of the contents of the small plates of Nephi, which strengthens the case even further that the contents of the Book of Mormon were indeed divinely controlled. They also give validity to the principle that what is in the Book of Mormon is there for a purpose. [Raymond C. Treat, “What Is in the Book of Mormon Is There for a Purpose,” in Recent Book of Mormon Developments, Vol. 2, pp. 172-173] [See the commentary on Words of Mormon 1:9]
1 Nephi 19:3 I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them should be written upon these plates ([Illustration] Chart: “The Contents of the Book of Mormon Were Divinely Controlled.” [Raymond C. Treat, “What Is in the Book of Mormon Is There for a Purpose,” in Recent Book of Mormon Developments, Vol. 2, p. 172]
1 Nephi 19:3 I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies … should be written upon these plates ([Illustration] “I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies … should be written upon these plates,” by A&OR [W. Cleon Skousen, Treasures from the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, p. 1162]