The true reason why Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon is the stick of Ephraim, where the Bible is the stick of Judah. This is written in their Doctrine And Covenants, of which is scripture for the Mormon people. It is written, “behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim.” (Doctrine And Covenants 27:5) And there you have it. Moroni, a prophet from the Book of Mormon, supposedly put together the golden plates for this book, which is called the record of the stick of Ephraim. But where oh where does this come from? Oh, yes, the Book of Ezekiel in the Bible, namely, chapter 37. There are three specific verses where we hear him mentioning these two sticks. But could the Mormons be right when it comes to them being the Bible and Book of Mormon? We will find out next.
It is written concerning the stick of Judah and the stick of Ephraim. “the word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.” (Ezekiel 37:15-17) But if we read more, does it explain what all this means? It sure does. Ezekiel continued and said, “and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.” (Ezekiel 37:21,22)
What we just read is the true meaning of verses 15-17, but there is more. Ezekiel further explains the people who are part of the sticks/nations. It reads, “either shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.” (Ezekiel 37:23,24) Therefore, there were two nations divided. The Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Joseph. As was written, these nations would come back together and become one. Israel was divided because of sin and disbelief. How come these kingdoms were divided? It was because of idolatry.
The land of Israel was divided into two kingdoms before David came on the scene, as the verses explain. This ended under King David’s rule. Peace was brought in once again as the people came together as one. So the true meaning of Ezekiel 37:15-17 has nothing to do with the Book of Mormon and the Bible coming together. What it does teach is how Israel was broken in two and would later become one nation once again. Now, to continue to believe that Ezekiel, chapter 37, is about the Bible and Book of Mormon is to believe in a lie. Just because the Mormon Book, aka the Doctrine And Covenants, says that the stick of Ephraim is the Book of Mormon, it doesn’t mean it is true. We must test what people say and understand what the Bible says in context before believing in an assumption like this. The truth of the matter is that when people stop at a verse and don’t read the rest of the chapter, this is when false doctrines get formed. Cherry-picking verses to fit one’s narrative gets a lot of people in cults in trouble like we see in Mormonism. Amen.
The true meaning of the stick of Ephraim and the stick of Judah is right there on the page. It’s not hidden. But, I’ve learned that Mormons take verses and passages from the Bible and make them fit their doctrine. They do this with the ‘other sheep’ and the verse in Corinthians where Paul mentions “they” who baptize for the dead. To do so is nothing short of corrupting God’s Word.