The Book of Mormon

I am very thankful for the Book of Mormon.  This morning, I watched a short video about a man who came to know that the Book of Mormon was true for himself.  A lot of the passages of scripture he reads are passages that have also had a big impact on me.

Growing up, my testimony came piece by piece.  The first thing I gained a deep and life-changing knowledge of, at the age of fifteen, was that Jesus Christ is my savior.  He knows me and loves me.  He wants me to be happy and he has taken all the steps necessary to make that a possibility for me.  I spent a week at a church youth camp called EFY which left me a new-found vision and purpose in life.

My second most memorable experience came in the form of a confirmation that Joseph Smith was truly a prophet.  I spent many years pondering this and studying to find out for myself if he really was what he claimed to be and really saw what he claimed to see.  Through many important learning experiences and one particularly profound experience, I came to know for myself that he was a true prophet of God, just like Abraham or Moses.

I have had many, many other experiences with prayer and the Holy Ghost that have taught me little by little what is true.  I have learned of kindness and obedience, charity and healthy living.  But one of the most profound truths that I have discovered is that the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God, given to man through ancient prophets.  The reason this knowledge is so monumental in my life is because the belief in this book governs my life.  It guides my every decision and it is the basis upon which I make every daily choice.  My belief in this book leads me to choose humility when I might otherwise choose pride, it helps me to seek out opportunities to serve others, especially those less fortunate than myself, it inspires me to emulate my life after that of Jesus Christ and it helps me to see that although I am weak on my own, I can do all things through Christ.

I had probably read nearly the whole book in chunks at church and in seminary by the time I graduated high school, but the first time I made a conscious effort to read the book cover to cover with the intent to find out if it was really true or not was when I was a sophomore in college attending BYU.  I was finishing some of my last general classes which I did not particularly enjoy.  I hated my history professor because he never tested on what he lectured and was as dry as the Sahara desert.  I thought that statistics was the most ridiculous class anyone had ever invented, especially for an elementary education major, and I spent nearly 10 hours each day on the first floor in the library cramming for these classes.  When I couldn't handle thinking about standard deviation or the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty any longer, I found refuge in writing in my journal and reading the pages of the Book of Mormon.  It helped me to gain a clearer view of important things in life and refocus my efforts in everything I was trying to achieve.  I spent hours reading every page and pondering the lives that so many people had lived to preserve the teachings and encounters with the Savior to future generations; our generation.  

One night in the library, I reached the end of my journey through the Book of Mormon.  My usual study buddies were all around me, deeply engrossed in their text books.  As I read the final pages, I quietly made my way out of the library, leaving all of my things behind besides the book.  I remember running across campus in search of a quiet place to be alone (which could sometimes prove a difficult task on a campus of 35,000+ students).  I eventually found my self in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building atrium.  I sat down on one of the cold stone benches facing the bronze statue of Joseph Smith for whom the building was named.

I thought about what I knew.  I knew that Jesus Christ was the redeemer of the world.  There was no doubt in my mind about that.  I knew that Joseph Smith was a real prophet.  I knew that prayer was real.  I could pray to my Father in Heaven and he would answer me.  I knew this because it had happened many times before.  I thought about Joseph Smith's journey and how he had come to know the things he knew.  He started out just the same as me.  He was young, he knew that Jesus Christ was the savior, and he believed in prayer.  He read James 1:5-6 from his family's Bible and knew he had to pray: "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."

In reaction to this passage he read, Joseph, at the age of 14 went to the woods by his home and did exactly that; he asked God for wisdom that he did not have.  In response to his prayer, he was indeed given wisdom.  This is what he said about the event:

"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me...When the light rested upon me, I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling my by name and said, pointing to the other--This is my Beloved Son.  Hear Him!"

As just an insignificant farm boy, Joseph was answered in a significant way.  He was eventually called to be a prophet and given the power to translate the ancient record we now have as the Book of Mormon, which contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I knew that I was loved by a Heavenly Father and a Savior of the world.  I knew that Joseph Smith was a boy who had been answered when he had questions.  I knew that I could be answered, too.  I reread the last chapter in the Book of Mormon:

"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."

So, taking all of that into mind, along with the months of reading I had done, I knelt to pray, just as Joseph Smith had done as a young boy.  I followed the counsel of the last Book of Mormon prophet, Moroni, who had dedicated his life to the safekeeping of the record, when he wrote that I should ask if the book were true or not with faith.  As I did this, I was overwhelmed by the most powerful and calming feeling I had ever felt. I could not deny that something beyond myself was at work and that it was indeed a confirmation of the question I had asked.  I knew the Book of Mormon was true.

Since that day on campus, I have had the same testimony reaffirmed many times.  It is a continual process that I plan to seek out for the rest of my life.  The Book of Mormon is the most influential book in my life and shows me the way to happiness.  For these reasons, today, I am grateful for the Book of Mormon.