Chapter 16: The Power of the Book of Mormon “To a world wavering in its faith, the Book of Mormon is [a] powerful witness of the divinity of the Lord.”

From the Life of Gordon B. Hinckley When Gordon B. Hinckley was a young man, he established a pattern for scripture study. “As a missionary, I read each evening before going to bed a few chapters of the Book of Mormon,” he said, “and there came into my heart a conviction which has never left: that this is the word of God, restored to the earth by the power of the Almighty, translated by the gift and power of God to the convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ.”1 His knowledge and testimony of the Book of Mormon influenced many people after his mission, when he worked as an employee of the Church’s Radio, Publicity, and Mission Literature Committee. He received an assignment to write scripts for a radio series titled A New Witness for Christ. The series brought Book of Mormon passages to life for radio listeners. At the time, he commented to an associate: “I have always thought that we will do our best work when we get people interested in the Book of Mormon to the point where they will read it. It is then that the Spirit can bear witness of its divinity.”2

“The evidence for [the Book of Mormon’s] truth and validity lies within the covers of the book itself. The test of its truth lies in reading it.”

Hand in hand with the Bible, the Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ. It was said of old, it was said by the Savior, that in the mouths of two or more witnesses shall all things be established.4 As the Bible is the testament of the Old World, the Book of Mormon is the testament of the New. They go hand in hand in declaration of Jesus as the Son of the Father.5 The Book of Mormon … testifies of Him who was born in Bethlehem of Judea and who died on the hill of Calvary. To a world wavering in its faith, the Book of Mormon is another and powerful witness of the divinity of the Lord. Its very preface, written by a prophet who walked the Americas a millennium and a half ago, categorically states that it was written “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”6 What are some passages in the Book of Mormon that have strengthened your testimony of Jesus Christ? Why do we need the Book of Mormon? What examples have you seen of the Book of Mormon and the Bible going “hand in hand” in testifying of the Savior?

By the power of the Holy Ghost, we can receive a witness of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon. I have read the Book of Mormon, which [Joseph Smith] translated by the gift and power of God. By the power of the Holy Ghost I have received a testimony and a witness of the divine origin of this sacred record.8 The evidence for its truth, for its validity in a world that is prone to demand evidence, lies not in archaeology or anthropology, though these may be helpful to some. It lies not in word research or historical analysis, though these may be confirmatory. The evidence for its truth and validity lies within the covers of the book itself. The test of its truth lies in reading it. It is a book of God. Reasonable people may sincerely question its origin; but those who have read it prayerfully have come to know by a power beyond their natural senses that it is true, that it contains the word of God, that it outlines saving truths of the everlasting gospel, that it “[came] forth by the gift and power of God … to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ.”10 Moroni 10:3–5 Why do you think the promise in Moroni 10:3–5 is more important than physical evidence of the Book of Mormon? What experiences have you had with this promise?

A testimony of the Book of Mormon leads to a conviction of other truths. Each time we encourage others to read the Book of Mormon, we do them a favor. If they read it prayerfully and with a sincere desire to know the truth, they will know by the power of the Holy Ghost that the book is true. From that knowledge there will flow a conviction of the truth of many other things. For if the Book of Mormon is true, then God lives. Testimony upon testimony runs through its pages of the solemn fact that our Father is real, that he is personal, that he loves his children and seeks their happiness. If the Book of Mormon is true, the Bible is true. The Bible is the Testament of the Old World; the Book of Mormon is the Testament of the New. One is the record of Judah; the other is the record of Joseph, and they have come together in the hand of the Lord in fulfillment of the prophecy of Ezekiel. (See Ezek. 37:19.) Together they declare the Kingship of the Redeemer of the world and the reality of his kingdom.12 How does the Book of Mormon testify of these truths?

The Book of Mormon offers teachings that can help us find solutions to the problems of today’s society. The Book of Mormon narrative is a chronicle of nations long since gone. But in its descriptions of the problems of today’s society, it is as current as the morning newspaper and much more definitive, inspired, and inspiring concerning the solutions to those problems.13 What are some passages in the Book of Mormon that have helped you in times of personal challenge?

The Book of Mormon has the power to change our lives and our perspective. In August 1830, as a lay preacher, Parley Parker Pratt was traveling from Ohio to eastern New York. At Newark, along the Erie Canal, he left the boat and walked ten miles [16 kilometers] into the country, where he met a Baptist deacon by the name of Hamlin, who told him “of a book, a STRANGE BOOK, a VERY STRANGE BOOK! … This book, he said, purported to have been originally written on plates either of gold or brass, by a branch of the tribes of Israel; and to have been discovered and translated by a young man near Palmyra, in the State of New York, by the aid of visions, or the ministry of angels. I inquired of him how or where the book was to be obtained. He promised me the perusal of it, at his house the next day. … Next morning I called at his house, where, for the first time, my eyes beheld the ‘BOOK OF MORMON’—that book of books … which was the principal means, in the hands of God, of directing the entire course of my future life. The Book of Mormon had a profound effect on Parley P. Pratt, who later became an Apostle. If someone asked you about the Book of Mormon, what could you say about how it has influenced your life?