With this sincere goal in mind, I share with you my testimony of the Book of Mormon— another testament of Jesus Christ.
As a Latter-day Saint, we are encouraged to spend quality time reading our scriptures each day. Since I was about a freshman in high school, I have really tried to do this. I am trying to go deeper in my scripture study; making an added effort to learn what God is trying to teach me personally. I have come to realize there is personal direction and comfort I gain when I do this.
The other day I didn't have that much time to sit down and read, so I decided to listen to some past General Conference talks on my phone (while Will bulldozed around the house!) The talk, "Safety for the Soul" by Jeffrey R Holland came on. He is such a powerful speaker and has an incredible love for God and His word. His talk in part is his testimony and witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. It was easy for me to feel the sincerity of his words; I have come to love and know the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon too.
I have heard that the Book of Mormon is a great stumbling block for people. Some wonder why God would have a young boy translate scripture for our day, others discredit it because it is not in the Bible, some believe spooks and myths about its contents and origin, and others rest on apathetic disinterest. When our young missionaries go out proselyting, they give out copies of the Book of Mormon, share their personal testimonies of it, and ask the investigator (aka person their teaching) to read either certain scriptures they have marked or the book itself. Some people take them up on it. Others choose not to. I can say that the vast majority of those who do take them up on the challenge feel the powerful goodness of the book- even if they don't embrace the Mormon faith.
The Book of Mormon is roughly 527 pages, and is translated in several different languages (of which I do not have an exact list, but if you're interested you can easily find!) I just recently finished reading the book cover to cover for the I-don't-know-how-manyth time (;)), and came away with a deeper, more personal love for the book.
I give you my personal testimony that the Book of Mormon is inspired of God. It testifies of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost whom I love dearly. Through my study of the Book of Mormon I have deepened my personal relationship with God, and fully trust that Christ's grace is sufficient to heal all my wounds, sins, and imperfections. I give heed to its counsel and warnings, trusting they are messages from God through His prophets of old.
The Book of Mormon reassures me that God cares about His children no matter if they were born before, during, or after the time of Christ. The Book of Mormon reassures me that God knows the circumstances into which He sends His spirit children and has thoroughly prepared a way for them to return to live with Him in full glory. The Book of Mormon comforts me that I can be a successful mother, wife, individual, and friend. It teaches me clearly how to seek early inspiration from God through prayer, fasting, scripture study, and temple observance. The Book of Mormon reassures me that good always triumphs evil, and that God will not forsake those who choose Him. The Book of Mormon gives me confidence to stand for what is true- even if it means I stand alone. The Book of Mormon is my source of joy and hope. It is my connection to the eternities.
I believe the words of the Book of Mormon. I believe that it was translated by a servant of God so that we can have additional witness and clarification of God's truths, His nature, and the way to return to His presence. I love this book. It has become a dear friend to me in a way only holy truth can.
Returning to the reference I made to Jeffrey R Hollands talk, I want to share with you an excerpt from it as one of the many reasons why I find the Book of Mormon so convincingly true. His words are my words of testimony and faith.
"When Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum started for Carthage to face what they knew would be an imminent martyrdom, Hyrum read these words to comfort the heart of his brother:
“Thou hast been faithful; wherefore … thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.
“And now I, Moroni, bid farewell … until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ.”
"[These are a] few short verses from the 12th chapter of Ether in the Book of Mormon. Before closing the book, Hyrum turned down the corner of the page from which he had read, marking it as part of the everlasting testimony for which these two brothers were about to die... Later, when actually incarcerated in the jail, Joseph the Prophet turned to the guards who held him captive and bore a powerful testimony of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Shortly thereafter pistol and ball would take the lives of these two testators.
"As one of a thousand elements of my own testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, I submit this as yet one more evidence of its truthfulness. In this their greatest—and last—hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created out of whole cloth?
"Never mind that their wives are about to be widows and their children fatherless. Never mind that their little band of followers will yet be “houseless, friendless and homeless” and that their children will leave footprints of blood across frozen rivers and an untamed prairie floor. Never mind that legions will die and other legions live declaring in the four quarters of this earth that they know the Book of Mormon and the Church which espouses it to be true. Disregard all of that, and tell me whether in this hour of death these two men would enter the presence of their Eternal Judge quoting from and finding solace in a book which, if not the very word of God, would brand them as imposters and charlatans until the end of time? They would not do that! They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon."
My dear friends, truth has a way of penetrating the tests of time. This book fills me with light, hope, and joy. My life acts as a testimony to its goodness; I will forever strive to live by what I learn from this book. Whether or not you choose to read it and come to know the truths in it is a matter of personal choice, but please, trust that when I say its words are good, that they testify of Christ and His divine mission, and that it brings light and hope to my life that I am telling you the honest, most heart felt truth I have come to know.
There is great strength and very little harm to standing together in our mutual love for Christ and His commandments. Life is so sweet when our minds are filled with truth!
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