The Book of Mormon is such an amazing book. Right now all of us missionaries here have been challenged to read the entire Book of Mormon in companionship study before the end of October. Kae and I have been reading it for the past 12 days and are in the book of Alma Chapter 12 now. On the side, we have also been reading an LDS historical novel titled: “Out of Darkness”, by Keith C. Terry. It is a fictional story about non LDS scholars who were paid to use their areas of expertise to evaluate and authenticate the antiquity of the B/M. The author uses actual facts and findings that are presented by the fictional characters to teach the reader about the truth of the B/M and how it would have been impossible for Joseph Smith to have written it. The more we read the B/M and all the twists of the time line for Mosiah, Alma, Limhi, Ammon, and so forth it is hard to comprehend how an unlearned farm boy could have fabricated it. He would have had to come up with over 200 original names with an old world connection. Then there are all the visions and prophecies pertaining to Christ and his future birth. Similar to what Isaiah and others spoke of in the Bible when they mentioned Jehovah, Emmanuel, etc., but not mentioning the specific name of Christ.
It is so great to be here in the cradle of the restoration. Yesterday, Saturday, we went to the Whitmer Farm on an exploratory visit (for a future event). We walked into the Whitmer home (cabin) where the Saints gathered to organize the church in 1830. It was on April 6th, 1980 when then Pres. Kimball was in the Whitmer home doing a remote broadcast as part of General Conference. That weekend the Chapel/Visitor’s Center was also dedicated. It was also there that the Three Witnesses to the B/M saw the angel Moroni and the golden plates. So our testimonies have been strengthened by knowledge, but also by the Spirit that whispers its truth to us. We testify that it is true and that a great Nephite prophet, Moroni, did bury the plates in the Hill Cumorah and then gave them to Joseph Smith, Jr. 1400 years later. We have been in the Grandin press, where it was published. Like other church sites, it has been wonderfully restored.
Our challenge to all of you is to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover in the next 3 months, faster is better. We promise you that if you do read it and pray about it, the Lord will bless you with either your first testimony of its truth, or a re-confirmation of your long standing testimony of it. We know that it is true and that it is a perfect match to the Bible. It is a second witness for Christ.
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