President Tad R. Callister of the Presidency of the Seventy, gave a powerful talk in the October 2011 General Conference about The Book of Mormon titled, "The Book of Mormon--a Book from God."
President Callister began his talk with these words:
"Years ago my great-great-grandfather picked up a copy of the Book of Mormon for the first time. He opened it to the center and read a few pages. He then declared, 'That book was either written by God or the devil, and I am going to find out who wrote it.' He read it through twice in the next 10 days and then declared, 'The devil could not have written it--it must be from God.'"1Later on in his talk, President Callister gives the following illustration as to the importance of the Book of Mormon as another witness of Jesus Christ.
"The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is this second witness so crucial? The following illustration may help: How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite. For a moment, suppose that single point represents the Bible and that hundreds of those straight lines drawn through that point represent different interpretations of the Bible and that each of those interpretations represents a different church.If you watch the video of his talk, President Callister's illustration of the Bible and the Book of Mormon is shown, similar to the image I've created and posted here, which you can click on to enlarge.
"What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point representing the Book of Mormon? How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Only one. Only one interpretation of Christ's doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses."
Just as President Callister testifies that the Book of Mormon is of God, I too have read and come to know for myself that the Book of Mormon is true, that it was written for us and is the word of God.
I highly recommend reading or watching President Callister's entire talk online at LDS.org, and learn how "Together with the Bible, the Book of Mormon is an indispensable witness of the doctrines of Christ and His divinity."
Learn more about the scriptures and how to study the word of God.
Notes:
1. Willard Richards, in LeGrand Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, rev. ed. (1972), 81, 82. Quoted by Tad R. Callister, "The Book of Mormon--a Book from God," October 2011 General Conference.
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An interesting thought, however I would ask you to consider that the Bible is 66 books written by 40 authors and that if you draw a line through the 66 books, you get one straight line, not many different lines.
I am active and PROUD to be LDS but sadly the analogy of one line thru the BoM I feel is not right. There are several breakaway groups, each with its own interpretation of the BoM.
To Larry:
Unfortunately your observation is challenged by the many commentaries on the Bible written by various authors at various times, and their discrete conclusions, some of which are irreconcilable.
While each of us may draw a straight line through the Bible itself, there are certain statements that have been unable to be reconciled with each other.
The central message of the Holy Bible is that God lives, that Jesus Christ is his Son and our Saviour and Redeemer, and the Book of Mormon confirms those central eternal verities.
As a theologian once said, “Christianity rests ion certain historical events, including the creation, the incarnation, the atonement, and the resurrection, all else is commentary.”
It is the nature of the commentary surrounding these historical events that throws spanners into theological and denominational works, and puts sand in the bearings of Christianity.
We can agree that God lives and that Jesus Christ is his Son. Anything that confirms these is entirely consonant with the revealed word of God, and this is what the Book of Mormon does.
I wish it were otherwise, but we know from experience that it is not.
God bless you.
Ronnie
I am presently investigating the Mormon Church, and I can not sing the hymn hail to the prophet, as it takes glory away from JESUS. to him be ALL THE GLORY NO ONE ELSE IS WORTHY. Hail Mary Hail Joseph what is the difference NONE. And where is the proof that these ancient people exists? not a trace of a city, not a trace of coins, pottery,jewellery, graves, and native people DNA are traced to Asia not Middle East. Please do not give me the usual a but, yeah but. I want proof, according to BOM they where millions of them, in great cites with metal, horses ect? even before horses were sent to the US ? help.
Islam has a prophet that requires good works
and according to what I am being told at Mormon Church, you have to earn your way to the top kingdom same as Islam .
James,
I am so happy to hear that you are investigating the church. I hope the missionaries you meet with will take the time to address these concerns in depth. However, I am happy to offer what insight I can.
There are many incredible prophets who have lived on the earth since the time of Adam. Each has born powerful testimony of Christ and worked to convince men and women of His divinity. Those who have believed their witness and have been brought to Christ through these prophets, have surely felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to these men. Surely they feel great love and even reverence as they remember the Lord’s servant who brought them to the light.
The hymn Praise to the Man, is in no way meant to detract from our worship of God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. As we sing “hail to the prophet’ we remember with great love in our hearts a man who worked tirelessly and eventually gave his life so that we could each have the opportunity to know that Christ is our Savior.
It seems you have misunderstood the doctrine of good works as taught within the church. In the Bible in the book of James, we read that “Faith without works is dead, being alone.” Surely Christ would not have taught things such as he taught if it were not important that we strive to be like him. We must strive to keep the commandments and to serve him every day of our lives. Then, as the Book of Mormon teaches, we are saved by His infinite grace “after” all we can do. We must diligently seek the kingdom as well as embrace his forgiveness and atonement in order to attain exaltation.
As far as wanting proof of the Book of Mormon’s truthfulness, I hope you would agree that a confirmation from God himself that the book is true, is far more powerful than any kind of scientific evidence. Study Moroni 10:3-5. I offer you my testimony and pray that you will gain your own. It will be the best thing to happen to your life.
Very best wishes,
Jill