To anyone who has ever questioned the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon.

If you’ve ever been to a service at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it is a common thing to hear the words “I know the Book of Mormon is true.”  I’ve said them myself many times.

As a child I said those words because my parents said them and I trusted my parents.  Now I say them because action and tested faith has brought belief that is forever written on my heart. 

I’ve been told I am wrong. I’ve been told I’m brainwashed. I’ve been told I can’t possibly KNOW its true. I’ve been screamed at by a complete stranger in the middle of a cafe’ the most hateful words because of my beliefs. I’ve been invited to a casual lunch with friends to find out their real intention was to set me straight in my faith. I’ve been emailed very well crafted videos, letters, and documents all explaining why I am wrong.  I’ve been unfriended, unfollowed, and unliked. I’ve been rejected from Christian groups of women. I’ve even had times that I am the one questioning myself and wondering if I somehow I got it all wrong.

You know what? It’s ok. I can see why what I know to be true is hard to believe.

What I’ve never been asked or able to say in these situations is why.  Why I believe.  I’m curious about other’s beliefs and what makes them tick so maybe you are too.

I will attempt to express why I believe what I do here.  If you are curious for any reason, read on, if not, don’t. 

I don’t mind either way.  

It’s ok if you disagree.  It’s ok if you believe something completely different.

First, it will be easier for me to say what my belief does NOT rest on and why.

Though many historians have made it their quest to prove or disprove the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon these arguments aren’t what sway me. They are convincing on both sides so if this is where I based my belief I don’t know how long it would last. There is so much opinion blurred into “fact” that in the end there isn’t much for “intellectual” arguments to stand on and they could never exceed the power of what the Holy Spirit can prove. 

I learned this shortly after my husband was called to be the bishop (minister) of our congregation. The adversary tends to jump in at pivotal times in our lives and this was one of those times for me. Within less than a month I was hammered with what seemed like every negative thing written about my church from several completely different sources. Many of it I had never heard before and I felt quite shaken. As I examined my testimony I saw many gaps and I started seeking answers. I thought maybe I had been lazy and blind in my belief and I needed to do a little homework.  After talking to my husband and several friends I felt my testimony piecing back together but I still felt something was missing. 

I thought the answer was to educate myself with “facts.” I decided to listen to an extremely long historical book about the prophet Joseph Smith.  I started with determination, resolve, and expectation that if I knew everything there was to know my testimony would somehow be repaired to never be damaged again. 

In the short introduction of the book the author offered his testimony of why he believed Joseph Smith was a prophet. That was as far as I got. As I listened the Spirit bore witness to me with unmistakable power of something I had already known. I felt no need to read the rest of the book because I knew no amount of historical facts could make me believe more or less what was already communicated to me. 

On the other hand I sure did want more of that beautiful feeling that can come from none other than the Holy Spirit. It is beyond description but available to anyone who seeks it with a pure heart. 

I can say right now that one reason I believe The Book of Mormon is true is because I’ve had that same powerful experience when reading its pages.

Is that enough? 

Could I end the explanation of why I believe right here?

Maybe.

Saying, “I know The Book of Mormon is true” is often enough for the Spirit to pierce someone’s heart letting them know they’ve just heard truth. Those words could even motivate someone to simply pick up the book, read it for themselves, and see what all the fuss is about.  

BUT, I won’t leave it at that because it barely scratches the surface of why I believe. If my experiences had stopped with that I don’t know how deep my faith would be. 

I learned three important things as my faith has been tested and as I’ve taken steps to know if The Book of Mormon is true. 

First

There is a stark difference between reading something written by man and crafted by Satan (AKA the incredibly clever and convincing things written against The Book of Mormon) versus something written by prophets and inspired by Christ (AKA the Book of Mormon).  It is a completely different feeling. Anyone who asks for guidance of the Holy Spirit to feel and see would be able to recognize what Moses did when Satan tried to convince Moses to worship him. 

“Blessed be the name of my God, for his Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for it is darkness unto me? And I can judge between thee and God; for God said unto me: Worship God, for him only shalt thou serve.  Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not.”  Moses 1:15-16 PGP

Second

The fact that so many people have taken it upon themselves to try to disprove The Book of Mormon and the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ just works to prove its truthfulness to me.   I expect Satan to do all he can to destroy truth. If no one cared and no one tried to disprove The Book of Mormon I would worry.  Afterall, we’ve been told… 

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” John 15:8 NT, KJV

It is a bit mind boggling to see how so many try to explain how even though members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are loving, kind, and bring about so much good, their foundation is actually not of Christ.

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”  Isaiah 5:20 OT, KJV

“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”  Mathew 20:7 NT, KJV

Third

If you want to know truth it will involve your faith being tested so don’t freak out when it happens!  It is ok and perhaps essential to have our faith tested. I am grateful for that experience because it helped me identify cracks in my faith I didn’t even know were there. It helped me find how to seek learning from sources created by God rather than the counterfeit created by man.  It sharpened my ability to discern between good and evil.  It motivated me to protect my testimony through constant prayer and study. It took me on a journey that drew me closer to my Savior than I’ve ever been which led me to my deeper testimony of The Book Of Mormon.

I have to share a bit of that journey with you to show how I came to believe what I do now.

It began because I needed direction. I felt there was too much in my life I could possibly focus on. So many different goals, so many things I could improve. I knew I couldn’t do everything all at once so I decided to pray and ask what the Lord thought I should do. 

I was a little nervous as I got on my knees. My greatest fear is that the Lord wouldn’t answer.  Just as great was the fear that He would!

I began by simply asking the Lord, “What Lack I Yet?” What would He have me do?  I didn’t hear or feel anything so I decided to list all the possibilities. I started with which weaknesses I could work on.  If I had the chance to list ALL my weaknesses my knees wouldn’t have lasted.  Luckily the Spirit stopped me as I was only a few points down my long lineup of faults. I was interrupted by words and knowledge entering my mind. 

It was a single task, “If you want help with all these weaknesses you only need to do one thing. Improve your scripture study.”

What? How could scripture study be the answer to EVERYTHING I lacked?  I didn’t see how that was possible and my self-improvement, goal-setting, problem-solving self didn’t love the answer.  I did go ahead and resolve to do more than my current program of reading 10 minutes of scripture as I fell asleep every night with an occasional deep study in between.

It took me longer than I’d like to admit but over time my study improved.  I still wasn’t sure how pondering scripture was going to fix everything for me. I finally finished reading The Book of Mormon from cover to cover again and in the final chapter saw the same promise I had read many times.

“ 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. “ Moroni 10:4 BofM

The prompting came to me to ask the question in the promise. I felt a little silly kneeling down and asking a question I already knew the answer to but as I prayed I got an answer I wasn’t expecting. “Amber, it is wonderful you know The Book of Mormon is true but it is more important to know and live what it teaches in its pages.” The answer left me stunned but gave me new resolve.

I shifted how I studied. With every verse I stopped and asked myself questions.

If I really believe what this says do my actions show it?  

Do I need to increase my faith in this? 

I believe this for others, but do I believe it for myself?

I didn’t recognize it at first but little by little I started behaving differently.  Little “sins” I thought weren’t important to give up started to loose their appeal. I didn’t want or need them anymore.  Power that I had never experienced was coming into my life.   Miraculous is the only description that fits. 

I wanted to understand more deeply why this was happening for me and I got my answer recently. 

In the October 2018 General Conference our prophet President Russell M. Nelson asked all the women of the church to read the entire Book of Mormon in the space of 3 months and encouraged us to mark every scripture that mentions or refers to Christ. 

I got a fresh copy free of any markings. I took my new yellow highlighter and began to read. By the time I finished reading all 531 pages I had gone through 2 highlighters and the third was almost out of ink.

It started to click. I understood the prompting to stop focusing on all my weaknesses and just read The Book of Mormon. 

We study the scriptures because we want to learn about Christ. We want to learn about Christ because we desire to be like Him. The more we know about Him the better able we are to emulate Him. The more we try to emulate Him the more faith we have in His power to change us.

“Another testament of Christ” is what it says right on the cover of The Book of Mormon. I didn’t realize how true this was until I ended up highlighting almost the entire book as I searched for references to Christ.  Christ in His great mercy changes people. The Book of Mormon is all about Christ and His mercies, therefore, it has the power to change you and me.

The ever important reminder can be found in the first chapter and in the last…

“The tender mercies of the Lord are over all” 1 Nephi 1:20 BofM

“Remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men.”  Moroni 9:3 BofM

Everything in between shows over and over again God’s love and charity towards us. It paints the most clear and vibrant picture of who our Savior is and His power in our lives when we let Him in. It fills us with love and the understanding that to know God’s love for us and to feel the love He has for others  “is the most desirable above all things.” 1 Nephi 11:22 BofM

It brings us closer to our Savior, the one who gave His life for us. It brings us closer to our Heavenly Father who created us. 

Why are we here?  What do we desire from life? The most common answer is to find and fulfill our purpose. To discover why our Heavenly Father created us and what part He intended us to play on this Earth. Who better to answer that question than our creator himself, who better than our Savior who gave His life so we could reach our potential?

All the most important direction and most clear answers have come to me as I’ve read The Book of Mormon. As I’ve prayed and pondered over scripture, God’s word for me has come in unmistakable ways. It is a treasure I would never give up. To have spiritual knowledge and to have God speak to me, His child, is more precious to me than anything on Earth.  

I thought I knew truth before but now it as if I was child with poor eye sight but had no idea until someone placed glasses on my face. As I continue to draw nearer to my Savior I imagine I will look back on this time and still realize how much I did not see yet. 

I believe in, love, and cherish the words of the Holy Bible; I study it daily as I study The Book of Mormon. My understanding is expanded by having all scripture God has given His children and I would give neither up for all the riches in the world.  

I know some who study the words of the Bible have had the experiences I just described and may be wondering why The Book of Mormon is needed.  All I can say is that it is more treasure. Who would not want more?  Who would not want glasses placed on their eyes to see the beauty that they didn’t even know they were missing? 

I ask you to open your heart and open the book. It has the power to change your life in ways you didn’t even know needed changing. It will help you see potential you never knew you had. It will help you overcome weakness you never thought possible to overcome. It help you come to know the Savior in ways you can’t even comprehend right now. Your only regret will be that you didn’t open it sooner. 

It is TRUTH, 

it is power unknown,

it is light you’ve never seen, 

it is a color you didn’t know existed, 

a most delicious flavor you’ve never tasted. 

It is undeniably given to us by God, no other power could have created it and opened the path to bring it into our lives. No other power but God’s can produce something that creates such miraculous change in one of His dear children. It is the word of God from the first letter to the last.  It has the power to change the world and prepare God’s children to witness the day the Savior comes again. It gives hope, healing, joy, and strength because it shows you Christ’s hope, healing, joy, and strength. It is what you have been seeking.  

It has changed and will continue to change me. It has changed countless others and it can change you.  This is why I know with all my heart that The Book of Mormon is the word of God.  

This is why I believe.

I have lived it.

Have the courage to open it and apply its teachings. Let God’s word reach to and push past every border of your life leaving nothing unhealed, every inch of your soul bursting with light.  It is possible through The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Christ.

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Request a free copy of The Book Of Mormon here.