Difference between pages "My Testimony of the Bible" and "My Testimony of the Book of Mormon"

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'''<big>To all who may find their way to this page, Greetings!</big>'''
 
'''<big>To all who may find their way to this page, Greetings!</big>'''
  
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It is 21 January 2021, and I've just started to realize that I'm getting "up there" in age (I'll be 70 years old in October), and it seemed to me that I should write a bit about the Bible and record my testimony of it as the word of God.
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It is 21 January 2021, and I've just started to realize that I'm getting "up there" in age (I'll be 70 years old in October), and it seemed to me that I should write a bit about the Book of Mormon and record my testimony of it as the word of God.  
  
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If you've read my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, then you'll know that I have a strong testimony, received from God Himself, that that book is of divine origin, and is God's word. My testimony of the Bible is similar, but not of the same origin.
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In plain English, I will say that I know that it is true, to be of divine origin, and that it is what it says it is. I urge all to read it and pray about it. You can find it online here: '''[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng The Book of Mormon]''' Of course, it's also available in print and in other places in electronic format, from various sources.
  
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My mother died when I was seven years old, and my father didn't at that time have a home suitable for my brother and I to live in during school hours (because he had to work, and getting me ready to go to school was not something he could do at the same time). My grandmother Irene, my father's mother, lived only a few blocks from her own mother, my great-grandmother, and as I was very quiet boy but my brother was much more rambunctious, I was sent to live my great grandmother, and my brother went to live with my grandmother.  
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I first became aware of the Book of Mormon around 1962 or 1963, having received a copy in a box of books that my mom gave to me that she had collected from relatives. This came about because everyone knew that I loved to read, and I guess they were giving up their "cast offs". I was not particularly interested in the book at that time, but I took a moment to read the first page of the book of First Nephi, which would have consisted of 1 Nephi 1:1-4. Then I put it back on my shelf and never opened it again, until a few years later. I only first seriously read in it around the summer of 1965, after a young man, a classmate of mine, introduced it to me and told me about the stories in it, and invited me to visit with the missionaries at his house.  When he first told me about the book on our first conversation, telling me the story of the Nephites and Lamanites, I immediately felt that what he was telling me was real. I took things slowly, however, and it wasn't until about a year later that I was baptized. This was in July 1966, and although I "believed" (there was something about the Book of Mormon that called out to me), I didn't acquire what I would call a "testimony" of the book until a few years later. I can't pinpoint "the" moment this happened. But I can identify the moment at which I discovered I already had a testimony of it, however.
  
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My great grandmother, Rose Whitney, was a Christian and a member of the Church of the Brethren in our city of Lakewood, California. However, she was no longer spry enough to attend services. Nevertheless she took care to send me to her church, which was only a few blocks away. She also regularly read to me out of the Bible and told me Bible stories. So I received my first religious education from her, and in reading to me (as well as obtaining books at my level to read) she gave me a love of reading that has persisted to this day. Also, by her example, she gave me my first belief in God and Jesus Christ. I don't recall ever thinking in such concrete terms, but if anyone had asked me, I would have said that I was a Christian. And I believed that the Bible was the word of God, though I didn't read much in it after my father remarried and I was back in his household. He was a bit of an agnostic, and though he occasionally sent my brother and I to a local church when we lived with him (during the summers only, until he remarried), he never attended church himself. At least to the best of my recollection. He always said that he "hoped" the was a god, but didn't know.
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This moment of discovery was during early 1972 when I was preparing to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It had occurred to me that it was important that I should finally read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover, which I hadn't to that point ever done, oddly enough. I had probably read the vast majority of the book, in bits and pieces over time, but never first page to last. It was a matter of integrity, though: how could I, as a missionary, urge others to read the book, if I hadn't yet done so myself? So off I started. It was quickly done, and took about a week, reading for a few hours after dinner every evening. When I finished the last verse in the last book, the book of Moroni, I was ready (the final step in my plan), to kneel down in prayer to ask God if the book was true. This was also according to my desire for integrity: how could I ask others to pray about it, when I hadn't done so myself? Or so I thought. And so I knelt down next to my bed.
  
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My stepmother was a Baptist, but not particularly church-going. She attended church only a few times per year in the Baptist congregation that her parents attended, and she always took us when she went. Whenever we went, it seemed like there was something called an "altar call" when young people were encouraged to stand up and declare themselves Christian (after which they would presumably be baptized), but I never did so declare myself. I actually don't recall if they ever held baptismal services, but I assume they did, otherwise why would they be Baptists?
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And got nothing. I was a bit perplexed, but not too discouraged. After all, Enos in the Book of Mormon had to pray all day before he got what he was seeking from the Lord. So a little persistence was in order! The next night before going to bed, I knelt again in prayer, and the night after that, too. But got no answer! I was now not only perplexed, but a bit annoyed. "Where's my revelation?" might have been the demand I had of God. And then it hit me: I already knew. In fact, I had known ''before'' I started reading the book that week. Upon further contemplation, I realized that my testimony had been delivered to me quietly years before, and had grown in me over time until there really wasn't any doubt about it. In asking God for a revelation of the book's truthfulness, I was asking for what I already had! No wonder the Lord was silent at my request.
  
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So here I was a "nominal" Christian who didn't know a great deal about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and who knew only a little about the Bible. This was the state of affairs when I encountered my very first "Mormon", or member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After that, things were never the same again, for now I learned who Jesus Christ really was, what the Bible was, and then acquired a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.  
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This came particularly to my attention when I recalled that while I was reading the book of Alma chapters 13 and 14, that Alma had preached a sermon in the city of Ammonihah about Christ's coming, and about repentance. And that while some of those who listened had believed, most did not. These unbelievers were incensed at Alma's teaching, and took him and his missionary companion, Amulek, prisoner. And later they sought out those who had believed Alma and Amulek's preaching, and burned many of them alive, forcing the two men to watch. And then there were these two verses, in '''[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/14.10,11?lang=eng&clang=eng#p10,11 Alma 14:10,11]''':
  
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But what about the truthfulness of the Bible? Was it really God's word? How would I know if it was? This was a problem easily solved, however! The solution was in the Book of Mormon. I read in the book of First Nephi that the prophet Nephi was shown a vision by an angel, and in the vision Nephi is shown a book which would be carried by the Gentiles who would come to the land that Nephites were migrating to, and that book was clearly recognizable as the Bible.
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<blockquote>10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.<br>
  
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In 1 Nephi 13 it reads:
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11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.</blockquote>
  
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<blockquote>20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they <nowiki>[the Gentiles]</nowiki> did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them.<br>
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I recalled that when I had read Alma's words in verse 11, I broke down in tears over what had happened, both horrified at what had happened to those people, and amazed at the Lord in receiving them to Himself in glory. What happened to me at the moment I read this, although I didn't realize it until a few days later, was that I knew this and other events in the book had happened, for real, and that I had known this already for years. This knowledge of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon had been living in me for quite some time already. This may sound strange, but at least now ''I knew that I knew''.
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21 And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?<br>
 
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22 And I said unto him: I know not.<br>
 
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23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass <nowiki>[the sacred record that the Nephites carried with them, containing parts of the Bible]</nowiki>, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.<br>
 
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24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.<br>
 
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25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.</blockquote>
 
  
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The important thing about the above, without going into further detail about the quality of the Bible that would come down to "the Gentiles", is that the Book of Mormon here testifies of the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible as the Word of God.
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Yes, I had borne testimony of the Book of Mormon in Fast and Testimony meetings before this. And I did believe in it at those times. But now I knew that I actually knew, and I didn't just believe.
  
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And since I knew that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and it testifies of the Bible, therefore the Bible is the word of God also.
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This testimony of the Book of Mormon has continued to grow in me to this day, and I witness this to all who should read this testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ.
  
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However, since the Book of Mormon makes clear in the verses following those quoted above that our Bible today has omissions and inaccuracies, we must rely upon prophecy (or the sure word of prophecy) to know where the Bible is to be trusted.
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But, what about the Bible? See here ==> [[My Testimony of the Bible]]
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[[Category: Theological Writings]]
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[[Category: My Writings]]

Revision as of 08:37, 22 January 2021

To all who may find their way to this page, Greetings!

It is 21 January 2021, and I've just started to realize that I'm getting "up there" in age (I'll be 70 years old in October), and it seemed to me that I should write a bit about the Book of Mormon and record my testimony of it as the word of God.

In plain English, I will say that I know that it is true, to be of divine origin, and that it is what it says it is. I urge all to read it and pray about it. You can find it online here: The Book of Mormon Of course, it's also available in print and in other places in electronic format, from various sources.

I first became aware of the Book of Mormon around 1962 or 1963, having received a copy in a box of books that my mom gave to me that she had collected from relatives. This came about because everyone knew that I loved to read, and I guess they were giving up their "cast offs". I was not particularly interested in the book at that time, but I took a moment to read the first page of the book of First Nephi, which would have consisted of 1 Nephi 1:1-4. Then I put it back on my shelf and never opened it again, until a few years later. I only first seriously read in it around the summer of 1965, after a young man, a classmate of mine, introduced it to me and told me about the stories in it, and invited me to visit with the missionaries at his house. When he first told me about the book on our first conversation, telling me the story of the Nephites and Lamanites, I immediately felt that what he was telling me was real. I took things slowly, however, and it wasn't until about a year later that I was baptized. This was in July 1966, and although I "believed" (there was something about the Book of Mormon that called out to me), I didn't acquire what I would call a "testimony" of the book until a few years later. I can't pinpoint "the" moment this happened. But I can identify the moment at which I discovered I already had a testimony of it, however.

This moment of discovery was during early 1972 when I was preparing to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It had occurred to me that it was important that I should finally read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover, which I hadn't to that point ever done, oddly enough. I had probably read the vast majority of the book, in bits and pieces over time, but never first page to last. It was a matter of integrity, though: how could I, as a missionary, urge others to read the book, if I hadn't yet done so myself? So off I started. It was quickly done, and took about a week, reading for a few hours after dinner every evening. When I finished the last verse in the last book, the book of Moroni, I was ready (the final step in my plan), to kneel down in prayer to ask God if the book was true. This was also according to my desire for integrity: how could I ask others to pray about it, when I hadn't done so myself? Or so I thought. And so I knelt down next to my bed.

And got nothing. I was a bit perplexed, but not too discouraged. After all, Enos in the Book of Mormon had to pray all day before he got what he was seeking from the Lord. So a little persistence was in order! The next night before going to bed, I knelt again in prayer, and the night after that, too. But got no answer! I was now not only perplexed, but a bit annoyed. "Where's my revelation?" might have been the demand I had of God. And then it hit me: I already knew. In fact, I had known before I started reading the book that week. Upon further contemplation, I realized that my testimony had been delivered to me quietly years before, and had grown in me over time until there really wasn't any doubt about it. In asking God for a revelation of the book's truthfulness, I was asking for what I already had! No wonder the Lord was silent at my request.

This came particularly to my attention when I recalled that while I was reading the book of Alma chapters 13 and 14, that Alma had preached a sermon in the city of Ammonihah about Christ's coming, and about repentance. And that while some of those who listened had believed, most did not. These unbelievers were incensed at Alma's teaching, and took him and his missionary companion, Amulek, prisoner. And later they sought out those who had believed Alma and Amulek's preaching, and burned many of them alive, forcing the two men to watch. And then there were these two verses, in Alma 14:10,11:

10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.

I recalled that when I had read Alma's words in verse 11, I broke down in tears over what had happened, both horrified at what had happened to those people, and amazed at the Lord in receiving them to Himself in glory. What happened to me at the moment I read this, although I didn't realize it until a few days later, was that I knew this and other events in the book had happened, for real, and that I had known this already for years. This knowledge of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon had been living in me for quite some time already. This may sound strange, but at least now I knew that I knew.

Yes, I had borne testimony of the Book of Mormon in Fast and Testimony meetings before this. And I did believe in it at those times. But now I knew that I actually knew, and I didn't just believe.

This testimony of the Book of Mormon has continued to grow in me to this day, and I witness this to all who should read this testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ.

But, what about the Bible? See here ==> My Testimony of the Bible

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