What is the purpose of the Book of Mormon?

“[The Book of Mormon] is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas
and contains, as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting gospel.” (Introduction to the Book of Mormon)

The purpose of the Book of Mormon is two-fold:

1) The full title of the Book of Mormon is “The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ”.  The Book of Mormon contains the account of Christ’s visitation to the people on the American continent shortly after His resurrection.  It stands as another witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ with the Bible and was written “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations” (Title Page of the Book of Mormon).

2) It provides spiritual evidence of the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The Introduction to the Book of Mormon ends with an invitation and a promise: “We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true (Moroni 10:3-5)…Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in the last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah.”

Other related articles:
The Restoration
What Do Mormons Believe? – The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon Made Simple
Book of Mormon Christians
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon – An Apostle’s Testimony
The Book of Mormon: The Mormons’ Bible?
Book of Mormon Evidence