What does an Apostle have to say about the Book of Mormon?

                                                                 
What more could I say? Well, I know the book is true. Pray and find out if it is for yourself.
 Love.

The Book of Mormon: The Way to Know

So out of all the testimonies throughout the history of the world, there are those that will never be forgotten; Job's testimony of his Redeemer, Isaiah's prophetic vision's about our Savior's birth, life, and Atonement, Peter's powerful testimony of Christ's divine Messiahship, Steven's martyrdom and dieing testimony, or perhap's all of those martyr's whose testimonies have been sealed with their blood. Out of these it is very safe to say that the key point in the testimony is the conviction the Spirit gives as it is manifested to you in whatever form it may come in, but it is the Spirit that carries that testimony of Jesus Christ into your heart. Well, it is not surprising then that to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, which book also testifies that Jesus is the Christ, it must come by the Spirit. If one truly wishes to gain a knowledge of the Book of Mormon they must do so by studying it, praying about it with faith that you will receive an answer and the knowledge will come by the power of the Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 2). So if you haven't guessed on what I'm going to be blogging about today I'll help you out. How can I know if the Book of Mormon is true?

If you remember my blog about the Book of Mormon being the keystone of our religion, then you will remember that if the Book of Mormon is true the Joseph Smith is a prophet as well. So I will address what steps a person must take in order to gain a knowledge of the truthfulness or falsehood of the Book of Mormon. Well let's start with number one, you can't gain a testimony of something you have no idea about, this is where studying comes into play. Just by simply reading and pondering the message it contains in your hearts one may come to know of the truthfulness of it for themselves.The next step is a prayer. It is getting on your knees and asking our Father if this record is true or if it is not. I promise you that a loving Father in Heaven would not mislead you, if you genuinely ask He will manifest the truth of it unto you. You will not be wondering about anything, if you ask in faith ready to receive and act on that answer you get, you will receive a witness more vivid than sight. I have and you can too.

The Book of Mormon: What Does It Teach?

A lot of people have heard about what Mormon's might believe and maybe have wondered themselves what do they believe, but I'd like to answer this question with what I feel is the most important belief we have. That belief is Christ. In the very first page in the Book of Mormon the title page written by the prophet historian, Mormon, It says that the whole purpose of the book is to convince all people, Jew and Gentile, that Jesus is the Christ. There is a testimony from the 1st page to Moroni's final words that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God and that He alone is the Savior of all mankind.

 One of the most straight forward basic doctrines I feel the Book of Mormon teaches is Faith in Jesus Christ. Mosiah 4:8-10 reads the following;

8 And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you.

 9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

 10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.

This is the main message of the Book of Mormon that we believe that Christ and that His Atoning Sacrifice allows us to return and live with Him and Our Father in Heaven again as well. Not this alone, but through repentance we can become clean through His blood and find true comfort and peace in Him and a remission of our sins. These are the main things the Book of Mormon teach of, but there is a lot more that is taught as well.  But, I testify that the Book of Mormon is true and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

The Book of Mormon: The Keystone of Our Religion

I've heard the Book of Mormon explained this way and I know it is absolutely correct. The Book of Mormon is similar to a keystone, if you are unfamiliar with a keystone, when a stone arch is made the very center top stone in it is called the keystone. The stone if removed would bring all the other stones crashing down.

We can and of necessity have to take the exact same stance with the Book of Mormon. After all that has been said concerning the truthfulness or falsity of the Book of Mormon this is what is left. If the Book of Mormon is NOT true then; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or LDS Church) is not the Lord's Kingdom once again established on the Earth, Joseph Smith and all of his successors which followed him are false, and the revelations and doctrines which proceeded from all the prophets in these last days are like their originators and are false as well. We now begin to see that everything the LDS Church teaches believes and professes as true, literally stand or fall on the veracity or falsity of the Book of Mormon. But, just as everything falls if the Book of Mormon is not true, everything stands if the Book of Mormon is true. If the Book of Mormon is true then; the LDS Church truly is the Lord's Kingdom on the earth today, Joseph Smith was a prophet and all his successor's were and are prophet's, and all the beliefs and doctrines of the LDS Church are true as well.

I testify that the Book of Mormon is true and that it is God's word. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I know that that Jesus Christ of whom it testifies is the Christ, the Anointed One, the One Who is the Author and Finisher of our Salvation, the Living Son of the Living God. I know that Joseph Smith was visited by that same Father and that same Son in the early spring-time of 1820 and that he was a prophet and was called of God just like every prophet before.This is why we take the Book of Mormon to the world as another testament that Jesus is the Christ and that God has spoken again today and that there are prophets today just as in days of old. My hope in blogging about this is to bring a greater understanding of what it means if the Book of Mormon is true. God bless you all.

The Book of Mormon: What Is It?

A lot of people have questions concerning what people of the LDS faith believe and one thing that I have seen come up more than others is the Book of Mormon. Many wonder questions like; What is the Book of Mormon, Who wrote the Book of Mormon, Why is it necessary or important, Does it replace the Bible, What's it about, How can I know if it's true? And the list goes on and on. Well, my goal in my next few blogs will be to answer these questions through scripture and explanation.The first question I would like to answer is What is the Book of Mormon and all questions that are appendages to it.

Simply put, the Book of Mormon is another testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But, to go a little more in depth the Book of Mormon is scripture, it's the word of God, written by prophets in the America's. It testifies that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of the living God. The book, is a record of God's dealings and interactions with His children in the America's, just how the Bible is a record of God's dealings with the Jews, and testifies, just like the Bible, that Jesus Christ would come down from Heaven would minister among the children of men would die and live again, for us. The Book of Mormon does not replace the Bible, instead it makes the word of God even sharper in it's effect of penetrating to the soul.
 
The book's accounts are a record of two epic civilizations, the first group coming over when the Lord confounded the tongues at the tower of Babel, through disobedience and apostasy they eventually were all destroyed through civil and revolutionary wars. They are known as the Jaredites. The latter group came much later at around 600 B.C., it is an account of a family leaving Jerusalem and fleeing to the "promised land". Over time the fell into patterns of wars and peace, but the crowning event in the Book of Mormon is the personal appearance of Jesus Christ to the people in the Americas, but a few centuries after His visit the more righteous group, the Nephites, fell into an apostasy and were eventually destroyed leaving only the Lamanites who are among the ancestors of the American Indians.

The Lord Jesus Christ

A recent experience has been causing me to reflect more and more on the Saviors mission and purpose that would cause Him to, as the hymn "I Stand All Amazed" wonderfully states, "descend from His throne divine. To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine." For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the Book of Mormon, may I submit this as the sole purpose of the Book of Mormon, to testify that Jesus is the Christ. That He through His atoning sacrifice has paid for the sins of all men and that His mission in coming to Earth was to redeem, to save, and to purify us. In fact the Book of Mormon begins with the testimony of three witness'; Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah, that all bear testimony of our Saviors purpose and His and our Father in Heaven's love for us. Nephi says, speaking of the mission of Christ, " And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for this sins of he world." (1 Nephi 11:33), Jacob proclaims shortly after that, ", it must needs be expedient that Christ..., should come among the Jews; and they shall crucify him...", he says later " Wherefore may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement..." (2 Nephi 10: 3, 25) I testify that it is only through the love, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ that we may be saved and His purpose always was and always will be, "To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." To even suggest that He ever had any other alternative motives than to bring salvation to the human family and the perfection of man, carries a deep offense. His love is endless, the message of the Book of Mormon is that His love and purpose is unfailing. He didn't just die for the people who accept Him and serve Him nor did He die solely for those who may have taken those unforgiving roads. No, He died, He suffered and He lives for each and every person who has ever lived or ever will live. I know He lives and loves us. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that it was given to bring hope and peace to the heart of every human soul. I love you all and may God bless each of you in your endeavors.

The Agency of Man

 "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given unto them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Nephi 2:27) Emphasis added.

 

What we learn from Lehi in those verses in that chapter of Nephi's second book is this: that we were created to act, move, and choose. To choose what though? To choose Christ, to choose Christ and his ways. His commandments, His atoning sacrifice, His perfect example and walk in the path He did. Or, we are free and are equally enticed to follow Satan. To choose him who was found unworthy before God. To choose him that now corrupts the hearts of men and the same being who is the author of death and sin. To choose to yield to sin, mingle with temptations, to give in,or even worse to give up. These are our choices, this is what Christ was teaching us when He said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." this wasn't a good suggestion or even a possible other way of showing our love for Him who so loved us. This was a commandment. Jesus said , "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment." And if it is the greatest commandment shouldn't we abide by it? And how do we abide by it? By keeping the commandments. People often have the false notation that we believe that it is by our works, our merits, our grace, and our power that we are saved. That is absolutely completely false. Christ is the Author and Finisher of our Salvation, not me. I propose the question how can one be "saved" by God and Jesus Christ if they don't love either of them? They can't, at least not in the fullest measure. Our actions effect not only this life, but the next. Paul understood and taught this doctrine,

"Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5: 9-10) We "work", to please God. To show Him that we choose Him over Satan. What better or other way can we show our love for God than by keeping His commandments? We can't there is no other way this way was set by the Master Himself and is unfailing. To believe we are not capable of keeping the commandments is a false doctrine. Yes, they are hard and they are challenging and we will fail, but he didn't say, "If you can't be perfect then don't try at all." In fact He said the opposite, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 10:22) Enduring to the end is simply failing, getting up and trying again. We are here on Earth to grow, to become better and to make the right choices that qualify us for eternal life. I love you all and may God bless you in your personal endeavors to come closer unto Him who created you.