The Prophet Joseph Smith who translated the Book of Mormon said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” 1 I testify along with the prophet that this is true. This book contains the fulness of the gospel. The lost truths have been restored. The doctrine of Christ is firmly reaffirmed. We learn more about the atonement and resurrection of the Savior. There are treasures of truth that will lead anyone who reads it with sincerity towards our Savior.
Among the many aspects of this book, I would like to focus attention on just three truths.
1. The Book of Mormon has the power to change the lives of people
One of the first things I discovered reading the Book of Mormon is that it has the power to change the lives of people. It changed my life as I read the book when I was a young boy even before joining the Church. Every night as I knelt and prayed to God, there was an outpouring of the spirit upon me. Water freely flowed from my eyes, and I felt the love of my God. I went to sleep each night filled with peace and happiness.
President Ezra Taft Benson said, “It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path.” 2 For this very reason the modern-day prophets have always challenged us to read the Book of Mormon and feel once again the power that flows from it. Families are stronger when they read the book together.
When a child reads the Book of Mormon for the first time and is enamored with Abinadi’s courage or the march of 2,000 stripling warriors, we can gently add that Jesus is the omnipresent central figure in this marvelous chronicle, standing like a colossus over virtually every page of it and providing the link to all of the other faith-promoting figures in it.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
2. Jesus Christ is the center of this book – This is another testament of Him
Even though the book is named after the prophet and historian Mormon who quoted and abridged the words of many ancient prophets, the book is centered on Jesus Christ. One of the main purposes of the Book of Mormon is “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”3 This book is another testament of the Lord Jesus Christ and His ministry among the people in the American continent. The crowning event of the Book of Mormon is the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to the people in Americas soon after his resurrection. He sets forth the mode of baptism with clarity and teaches people love and charity. He also blesses and heals all the sick and the afflicted. He organizes his church and teaches the doctrine of Christ.
Elder Jeffery R. Holland in a recent general conference said, “ When a child reads the Book of Mormon for the first time and is enamored with Abinadi’s courage or the march of 2,000 stripling warriors, we can gently add that Jesus is the omnipresent central figure in this marvelous chronicle, standing like a colossus over virtually every page of it and providing the link to all of the other faith-promoting figures in it.”4 This book is all about the Savior as He remains and will remain the center of this book and the center of our lives.
3. The Holy Ghost bears witness of this book
The purpose of the third member of the Godhead is to bear witness of “the truth of all things.”5 He also “witnesses of the Father and the Son.”6 One can receive sure testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ only by the power of the Holy Ghost. Moroni, son of the prophet Mormon, makes this promise on how one can receive a testimony of the Book of Mormon. He said, “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.”7 The Holy Ghost testifies all truths.
I bear my solemn witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God to us. It is another testament of Jesus Christ. Our lives will change if we read from it every day. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ■
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Notes:
- Introduction, Book of Mormon
- Ezra Taft Benson, “The Book of Mormon - Keystone of Our Religion”, General Conference, October 1986
- Title page of the Book of Mormon
- Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Message, the Meaning, and the Multitude” General conference, October 2019
- See Moroni 10:5
- See 2 Nephi 31:18
- See Moroni 10:4