The Truth of the Book of Mormon

by aprayerfulhouse@gmail.com (Jared Tanner) (08/26/2012 12:48 am)

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As he was completing the Book of Mormon Moroni wrote the following exhortation:

“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is. And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.” (Moroni 10:3-7).

Whether or not the Book of Mormon is true is not the question. The question is whether or not we are willing to do what it takes to discover the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. If we pray and ask sincerely, really wanting the answer and with openness to the Holy Ghost, we will know that the Book of Mormon is true. We will never receive the answer that the Book of Mormon is not true. I was once summarily dismissed by someone while I was a full-time missionary when she said that she had prayed about the Book of Mormon and had received witness that it was not true. The fact of the matter is that that is not possible, as audacious as that might sound (but it’s only as audacious as stating that Jesus is the only Way and path to salvation). God will never provide witness that the Book of Mormon is not true.

In other words, the Book of Mormon is True. It’s Truth is independent from us. Our opinions or beliefs or thoughts about its truthfulness do not change its nature, which is Truth. The Book of Mormon is not on trial, we are. It is thus imperative that we deny not the power of God and deny not His word. We can deny His word simply by choosing never to ask about its truth. Many times people make decisions in life by simply choosing not to choose. Choosing never to honestly seek for a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is denying the power of God by choosing to remain in ignorance. Being ignorant of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon does not mean the Book of Mormon is not true, it just means one is ignorant and ignorance is not an excuse, particularly when it is a willful ignorance.

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