Considering that
:...the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” " (bold face added)
and that according to President Benson,
"“The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion... A keystone is the central stone in an arch. It holds all the other stones in place, and if removed, the arch crumbles... It is the keystone of our doctrine." (underline, bold face and italics added)
and that
D& C 20: 8-9: the "Book of Mormon...contains...the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also..." (underline and bold face added)
Here is my thought experiment
What would happen if you were to give 10 people, each unfamiliar with Mormonism, a copy of the Book of Mormon, and offer them this challenge:
Reconstruct the religion derived from the Book of Mormon.
Include, at minimum, the following:
What is the moral theory it espouses? What moral principles do it's adherents live by?
What rituals does it practice? Which (if any) are necessary for salvation?
What is the organizational structure or the Church?
What is salvation?
Earth life--where does it fit in the grand scheme? Was there a pre-existence, and what is the ultimate fate of our souls?
What differentiates this reconstruction from other versions of (Protestant?) Christianity?
Implications:
It seems to me that if the BoM is the most correct book, if it is the best guide for getting closer to God, if it contains the fullness of the gospel, and if the Church would crumble without it, then being able to infer what the Church is like--something that resembles the Church in significant broad strokes--solely from reading the BoM is necessary condition for accepting the claims of the Church about the Book.
If each person who accepts the challenge reconstructs the Church in similar ways, that satisfies at least a necessary condition (though not a sufficient condition) for belief in the claims made by the Church about the BoM.
If each person is unable to reconstruct a church that at least resembles the LDS church, would that not imply that the Church is constructed largely independently of the most correct book, independently of the keystone of the religion, and, indeed, independent of the fullness of the gospel.
