Book of Mormon, D & C, Pearl of Great Price

Since the time of Joseph Smith, there have been many who pose the problem of “prove it” to those who would share the gospel with them. That’s a daunting challenge. As it turns out, there are many who are up to the task. They gain greater knowledge almost every day which points to the truthfulness of the gospel. From the beginning, there have been those inside and outside of the faith who actively pursue proofs and validations for what we believe. Copies of the symbols from the golden plates... Read More

Yesterday, I talked a little bit about the ways in which the Mayans first knew, and then corrupted the gospel of Jesus Christ. Today, I'll talk about how this came about. It's a story of sacred records that starts in Jerusalem. Lehi was a prophet living in Jerusalem at about 600 B.C. It was a time of wickedness for these people; the prophets who urged them to repent and return to righteous living were cast out or killed. After trying his best to call the people to repentance the Lord sent Him a warning in a dream. He was warned that he must take his family and leave Jerusalem before those who sought his life could carr... Read More

The history books say that Christianity was introduced among the Mayans by the invading Spaniards. I do not think that this is necessarily true. If you look at their artwork and traditions, you can see that they knew Christ. They did not always understand Him, but he was present among them long before the Catholic priests came. In this blog I will share a few of the things I learned from my guide Helaman about their beliefs in Christ that many do not understand or choose to overlook. The Book of Mormon adds a... Read More

We all have Weaknesses, or things that we don't like about ourselves. Throughout our lives we constantly seek to overcome these weaknesses. Yet, the more we focus on our weaknesses, the worse they seem to get in an ever downward spiral. No matter what we ourselves try to do, we can't seem to overcome these hated weaknesses. In the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Moroni tells us of how he too agonized over his own weaknesses. When he turned to the Lord with his concerns over his weaknesses, the Lord revealed to him the key to overcoming them. "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they ma... Read More

The Book of Mormon begins with the story of a prophet named Lehi, commanded by God to preach repentance to the people of Jerusalem. The people didn’t care for the message, even when warned the city would be destroyed if they chose not to listen. Instead, they wanted to kill the messenger. And so, God instructed Lehi to gather his family and whatever supplies were essential to their survival, and head into the wilderness, toward a promised land God would provide for them. Lehi’s two oldest sons were rebellious. They resented giving up their comfortable live as the son of a wealthy planter. Throughout the course of their lives, they would whine and fuss about everything. After the family had been traveling for some time, God instructed Lehi to send his four son... Read More

One important aspect of faith is that Heavenly Father knows everything. It seems obvious, but sometimes, in our day to day lives, we forget to act on this knowledge. “But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accompish all this works among the children on men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen.” (1 Nephi 9:6) We look at life from a very limited perspective. We see what is happening right now, and we often see it from a perspective of what we think would be best for us. Heavenly Father is looking at the world from an eternal perspective. Our little bit of time here on earth is important to Him because He loves us dea... Read More

The Book of Mormon begins with Nephi. When the story he shares of his life begins, he is the teenaged son of a wealthy man, probably living a life of privilege. His father is a prophet in Jerusalem in 600 B.C. There were many prophets at that time, all preaching the same message: Repent or Jerusalem will be destroyed. The people chose not to hear the message and Lehi, Nephi’s father, found his life in danger by those who didn’t want to believe they were sinners. God instructed Lehi to take his family, and only those items essential for survival, and flee into the wilderness, where, like the people of Moses, they would one day be led to a land of promise. Nephi’s life changed dramatically that day. He went from living a life of privilege to living in tents in a ... Read More

Moroni is most often known to people outside the church as the figure on the statue topping most of the Mormon temples. Have you ever wondered who he is and why he’s on our temples? Moroni was a prophet who lived in the time when the events of the Book of Mormon happened. He was the son of Mormon. It is Mormon whose name is on the Book of Mormon. Mormon abridged the plates (records), written by numerous prophets over many generations, to make them a manageable size. The Book of Mormon chronicles the history of two groups of people, all descendants of the same prophet. The Lamanites, descendants of Laman, a man who chos... Read More

The Book of Mormon tells of the Savior’s visit to a group of people who lived on the American continent during Jesus’ lifetime. This visit was made just after His crucifixion. While there, He organized His church among them. The Nephites disagreed about what the church should be called, so they asked the Savior to name the church for them. Jesus answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing? Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day.” (3 Nephi 27:4-5,... Read More

Recently, a push poll informed people that the church considered the Book of Mormon to be more important than the Bible. Is this true? The belief stems from one of the Thirteen Articles of Faith. These are thirteen statements of belief written by Joseph Smith to explain the religion to a newspaper editor. The eighth Article of Faith says: “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” Some people take this to mean we consider the Book of Mormon to be more important than the Bible. In fact, the Article of Faith says both are the word of God. It does not suggest that anything God says is unimportant or less import... Read More