Pages Turned, A Heart Changed

It had always been hard for me to imagine what others might think about the Book of Mormon until I spent two years in El Salvador inviting people to read it. Now I know a lot of what people think - many hate it; they denounce it as being evil without ever reading it. Others, however, have come to love it, and have increased their relationship with Christ by reading this true account of God’s dealings with His children who lived anciently in the Western Hemisphere.

So why does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints focus so much on the Book of Mormon?

We have the Bible. We love the Bible. It contains two wonderful testaments that God lives, that He loves us, and that He “so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son,” Jesus Christ, that we might live (John 3:16)..

And just as we believe that the testimony of Old Testament prophets does not detract from the testimony of New Testament prophets, we believe that the testimony of Book of Mormon prophets does not detract from the Biblical testimonies that all Christians love and study.

I will not attempt to answer every question concerning the Book of Mormon in this article. I will share with you, however, a promise of how you can come to know if the Book of Mormon is true.

Read it.

As a child, I was often told that I had to at least try the food on my plate before decided that I did not like it. How can we approve or renounce anything concerning the Book of Mormon if we have never read it? This is the first step.

Here is the second step:

Ask God.

There is no surer way. We have learned, time and again, that the wisdom of man fails us. The earth is not flat, but centuries ago the wisest men would have told you that it was. So do not ask man. Do not ask me if it is true! Ask God. He will not lie. He cannot lie. If the book is true, wouldn’t He want you to know, so you could read it and learn more about Him? And if it is false, wouldn’t He want to expose that to you so you would not deceived? So just ask God with faith and He will answer you. I promise.

The Book of Mormon is an evidence that God still speaks to His children. It is an evidence that Joseph Smith, who translated the book, is a prophet of God. It is an evidence that God has established His true Church through Joseph Smith. It is the same Church that was established during Christ’s lifetime, complete with Apostles and Prophets.

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. Please, find out for yourself. It will change your life.

God loves you. He wants to guide you. Let Him guide you, either toward or away from the Book of Mormon, and the Church that it espouses. Ask Him, and follow Him. He loves you. He will answer.