{"id":48,"date":"2012-04-26T19:23:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-26T19:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/2012\/04\/26\/the-book-of-mormon\/"},"modified":"2016-09-07T19:45:33","modified_gmt":"2016-09-08T02:45:33","slug":"the-book-of-mormon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/the-book-of-mormon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Book of Mormon"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I finished up my freshman year, there was one accomplishment that I am definitely most proud of. \u00a0Along with realizing that I had done it, I had made it through the year without any broken bones or empty bank accounts (almost), I had done something much more significant.
\nI read the Book of Mormon<\/a>.
\nI’ve read it before and gained a testimony of it, but never quite like this. \u00a0I read the Book of Mormon in my religion classes. \u00a0Yes, I was tested on it. \u00a0I wrote papers about it. \u00a0I looked at it as if it were literature. \u00a0And you know what? \u00a0It was quite amazing. \u00a0Heck, I didn’t even get an A in Book of Mormon the second semester. \u00a0But I really don’t care, because I learned quite a lot. \u00a0And that’s all that really matters in the end, is how much you learned.
\nI want to tell you why I know the Book of Mormon is true. \u00a0Why I believe with all of my heart that it is the Word of God.
\nThe Book of Mormon comes with a promise.
\nThe prophet Moroni, at the end of the Book of Mormon, gives this promise to its readers:<\/p>\n

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. \u00a0And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Moroni knew what was coming. \u00a0Moroni knew that there would be a lot of skepticism toward the Book of Mormon. \u00a0And that’s completely understandable.<\/div>\n
Let me admit something — I’ve doubted the truth of the Book of Mormon. \u00a0I continue to pray to know of its truthfulness each time I read it and ponder it. \u00a0But that’s the beauty of this promise. \u00a0I don’t remember when exactly, but there would be days at church where I’d leave and be questioning what I had learned that day. \u00a0The questions investigators ask missionaries all of the time were coming to my mind, How do you know it’s true? \u00a0Did Joseph Smith just make this up? \u00a0Friends of mine would ask me these questions, and I’d give the cookie cutter answer, but inside, I knew I had to find out for myself.<\/div>\n
Everyone receives answers to their prayers differently. \u00a0But prayer – prayer is beautiful. \u00a0It does everything \u00a0you’d ever need it to. \u00a0When I need comfort, I pray. \u00a0When I can’t sleep, I pray. \u00a0When I don’t know what to do, I pray. \u00a0When I need to make a choice, I pray. \u00a0When there’s someone I know who’s struggling, I pray. \u00a0When I’m happy, I pray. \u00a0When something super exciting happens to me, I pray. \u00a0When I’m scared, I pray. \u00a0Basically, I pray. A lot. \u00a0It’s that knowledge that I am never <\/i>alone. \u00a0He’s always listening.<\/div>\n
How do I get answers to my prayers? \u00a0Lots of different ways.
\nWhen I pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true, I am filled with love. \u00a0I read it, and I love God more. \u00a0I love my family more, roommates more, my friends more, and even people I might be holding a grudge against that day. \u00a0When I read the Book of Mormon, I am filled with this overwhelming sense, feeling, and knowledge that this is true<\/i>.<\/div>\n
When I read the Book of Mormon this time around, that’s kind of the focus I had in mind. \u00a0How can I get answers to my prayers? \u00a0How can I recognize the Spirit guiding me or comforting me?<\/div>\n
And every time I read – something in there inspired me. \u00a0In some way, I received inspiration. \u00a0But I didn’t really realize that till after, when I reflected on what I read or journaled about how I could apply the scriptures in my life.<\/div>\n
To me, that’s another beautiful part of the promise. \u00a0I strive for a sincere heart, really intent, and faith in Christ. \u00a0Applying the Book of Mormon to my life helps me develop my faith in Christ, and when I saw the changes I could make, or I followed promptings while I read – I was happy.<\/div>\n
When I read the words of the Book of Mormon, I know they are true. \u00a0I don’t hear a voice, and I certainly don’t see any visions. \u00a0I just, know. \u00a0I read it, and everything inside me screams that it’s right, it’s true. \u00a0And when I strive to apply the principles in my life, I know they are true. \u00a0When I read the Book of Mormon, I experience the fruits of the spirit that Paul talks about in Galatians.<\/div>\n
The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. \u00a0That’s why I believe it. \u00a0That is what witnesses the truth of it to me. \u00a0The Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ’s divine sacrifice. \u00a0Of His forgiving grace. \u00a0Of His atonement. \u00a0Here are two of my favorite verses from the Book of Mormon that touch me and remind me of Christ’s infinite love for me:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Moroni 10:32<\/div>\n

Yea,\u00a0come<\/a>\u00a0unto Christ, and be\u00a0perfected<\/a>\u00a0in him, and\u00a0deny\u00a0yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and\u00a0love<\/a>\u00a0God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be\u00a0e<\/sup>perfect<\/a>\u00a0in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.<\/i>
\nSee, this verse is saying that only through Christ’s grace may we become perfect in Him. \u00a0Christ does it all, when we let him. \u00a0Once we accept Him into our hearts, and show that belief through our love toward him, (If ye love me, keep my commandments), then we can be “perfect in Christ”. \u00a0Only through His grace.<\/p>\n

\n
2 Nephi 25:26<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
A<\/i>nd we\u00a0talk\u00a0of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we\u00a0prophesy\u00a0of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our\u00a0children\u00a0may know to what source they may look for a\u00a0remission\u00a0of their sins.<\/i><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This verse really describes the purpose of the Book of Mormon. \u00a0To talk, rejoice, preach, and prophesy of Christ!<\/p>\n

And these verses don’t even skim the surface of the testimony of Christ’s love and atonement testified of in the Book of Mormon. \u00a0 When I read the Book of Mormon, I feel close to God. \u00a0I feel His love, through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ.<\/p><\/div>\n

There’s so much more to it than I can put into words. \u00a0But I believe in the Book of Mormon with all of my heart. \u00a0And I want to share this with the world.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I’ve heard a lot. \u00a0I’ve heard a lot of reasons of why it can’t be true from people. \u00a0I won’t deny my testimony of it. \u00a0And please. Please. Don’t say it’s not true if you haven’t read it. \u00a0That’s not fair. \u00a0Take Moroni’s promise before you tell the world it isn’t. (Click here<\/a> for a free copy of the Book of Mormon<\/a>.)<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I believe in the Book of Mormon; I know it’s true. \u00a0It is something I am absolutely sure of.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I finished up my freshman year, there was one accomplishment that I am definitely most proud of. \u00a0Along with realizing that I had done it, I had made it through the year without any broken bones or empty bank accounts (almost), I had done something much more significant. I read the Book of Mormon. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1217,"href":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions\/1217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}