Mormon Myths

There have been some questions and suggestions that I address some Mormon Myths on my blog.  Questions like, “Why can’t Mormons drink coffee?”  or “Why can’t non-Mormons go into Mormon temples or attend their weddings?”  As I have pondered and prayed about this topic I have felt completely under qualified to address all of these questions and give detailed, educational answers.  Instead, I felt like my knowledge and love for the Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel were all the tools I needed to direct others to find those answers themselves. 

Many will stop reading at this point because they want the work done for them.  But, I can testify to you now, no matter what I “tell” you, you will never be satisfied with my answers when it comes to the things of God.  I could go on for days or have experts try to persuade you to understand the commandments, practices, or traditions of the church but with much frustration on both sides of the conversation it will always come back to one question, “Is the Book of Mormon true?”  You may be thinking, “How can that possibly answer my question about coffee?”  I will let Preach My Gospel explain: 

President Ezra Taft Benson taught how the Book of Mormon can be the central resource in responding to such situations:

“We are to use the Book of Mormon in handling objections to the Church. …

“… All objections, whether they be on abortion, plural marriage, seventh-day worship, etc., basically hinge on whether Joseph Smith and his successors were and are prophets of God receiving divine revelation. …

“… The only problem the objector has to resolve for himself is whether the Book of Mormon is true. For if the Book of Mormon is true, then Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was his prophet, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and it is being led today by a prophet receiving revelation.

“Our main task is to declare the gospel and do it effectively. We are not obligated to answer every objection. Every man eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand” (A Witness and a Warning, 4–5).

For example, sincere investigators might object to what you have taught about the Word of Wisdom. Help them see that their real question is whether Joseph Smith was speaking as God’s prophet when this commandment was renewed in this dispensation. You might say: “Having the faith to accept this teaching will require the assurance that this commandment came to us through revelation from God to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The way to know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God is to read and pray about the Book of Mormon.”

Investigators must resolve for themselves their concerns and objections. You can help as you focus them on what will strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ—reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. When they strengthen their testimony of the Restoration, they will have the strength to overcome their objections and concerns.

As you answer concerns, remember that our understanding comes from modern prophets—Joseph Smith and his successors—who receive direct revelation from God. Therefore, the first question for an investigator to answer is whether Joseph Smith was a prophet, and he or she can answer this question by reading and praying about the Book of Mormon.

(https://www.lds.org/manual/preach-my-gospel-a-guide-to-missionary-service/what-is-the-role-of-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng)

I promise you that if you have burning questions about something the church does or doesn’t do you can find your answers in the Book of Mormon.  This is no easy task!  You may need the help of missionaries, family, friends, or ward members to help you on your journey.  I in no way mean to undermine those questions that were asked; I only know that without your own understanding and testimony of the Book of Mormon it would be hard to accept the truth about those things you are seeking.  I promise you that your life will be filled with more happiness, security, and direction if you find out the truth of the Book of Mormon.  

The Introduction of the Book of Mormon states:  

  

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3–5.)

 Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah."

(https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/introduction?lang=eng)

I encourage you to do the same.

The Book of Mormon

I cannot say that my conversion to the Book of Mormon came in one instance.  I don’t have an elaborate experience to share where lightning hit me, a light bulb came on, fireworks exploded, or any other cliché metaphor to compare it to.  But I can say that I believe, with all the knowledge I contain, that God has witnessed to me that the Book of Mormon is revealed scripture and that it represents the fullness of God’s gospel being restored to the earth through a prophet.   My belief in the Book of Mormon is from consistent reading and studying of it and living the principles.  I can say with surety that the Book of Mormon is from God and that when I follow the commandments it teaches I find true joy.  One of my favorite scriptures from the Book of Mormon is in Mosiah when a king is giving his final counsel to his people:

 “…I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.  O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it” (Mosiah 2:41). 

If we want to be happy we must follow God’s commandments.  There’s no other way.  The way, His way, is taught plainly and powerfully in the Book of Mormon.  I invite all of you today to begin to read the Book of Mormon, whether you have already read it or this is the first time you've heard of it, because when you do the Spirit will enlighten your mind and give you the exact answers you have been seeking for.  

 (This is me as a missionary, holding a Book of Mormon, and ready to share

 that glorious news with the people of Ohio) 

A powerful moment in strengthening my testimony of the Book of Mormon came through the testimony of one of God's apostles.  Elder Holland has been one who can always speak to my soul.  I am deeply moved and inspired whenever I hear him speak and his talk "Safety for the Soul" will forever been engrained in my mind as an unforgettable witness of the Book of Mormon.  These are just a few of his words but you must read the entire talk to comprehend the power and impact it can have in your life.  

"For 179 years this book has been examined and attacked, denied and deconstructed, targeted and torn apart like perhaps no other book in modern religious history—perhaps like no other book in any religious history. And still it stands. Failed theories about its origins have been born and parroted and have died—from Ethan Smith to Solomon Spaulding to deranged paranoid to cunning genius. None of these frankly pathetic answers for this book has ever withstood examination because there is no other answer than the one Joseph gave as its young unlearned translator. In this I stand with my own great-grandfather, who said simply enough, “No wicked man could write such a book as this; and no good man would write it, unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so.”

I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work—and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times—until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies. If anyone is foolish enough or misled enough to reject 531 pages of a heretofore unknown text teeming with literary and Semitic complexity without honestly attempting to account for the origin of those pages—especially without accounting for their powerful witness of Jesus Christ and the profound spiritual impact that witness has had on what is now tens of millions of readers—if that is the case, then such a person, elect or otherwise, has been deceived; and if he or she leaves this Church, it must be done by crawling over or under or around the Book of Mormon to make that exit. In that sense the book is what Christ Himself was said to be: “a stone of stumbling, … a rock of offence,” a barrier in the path of one who wishes not to believe in this work. Witnesses, even witnesses who were for a time hostile to Joseph, testified to their death that they had seen an angel and had handled the plates. “They have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man,” they declared. “Wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true.”

Elder Holland- "Safety for the Soul" (Conference October 2009) https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/safety-for-the-soul?lang=eng

Further study of the Book of Mormon: 

Preach My Gospel:  

The Book of Mormon is powerful evidence of the divinity of Christ. It is also proof of the Restoration through the Prophet Joseph Smith. An essential part of conversion is receiving a witness from the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is true.

The Book of Mormon is the keystone in 3 ways:

It is a Witness of Christ

It contains the Fullness of doctrine

It is our Foundation of testimony

Regarding the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph Smith said that “a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (introduction to the Book of Mormon). The Book of Mormon is a springboard to testimony and personal revelation.

President Gordon B. Hinckley declared: “Those who have read [the Book of Mormon] prayerfully, be they rich or poor, learned or unlearned, have grown under its power. … Without reservation I promise you that if you will prayerfully read the Book of Mormon, regardless of how many times you previously have read it, there will come into your hearts … the Spirit of the Lord. There will come a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to his commandments, and there will come a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God” (“The Power of the Book of Mormon,” Ensign, June 1988, 6; emphasis added).

https://www.lds.org/manual/preach-my-gospel-a-guide-to-missionary-service/what-is-the-role-of-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng 

Elder Holland's Mormon Message about the Book of Mormon:  https://www.lds.org/pages/book-of-mormon-an-introduction?lang=eng