A Mormon missionary knocks on your door and asks to share a message with you. You’ve heard a lot of stuff about the “Mormons” and you’ve probably even slammed the door on them a time or two over the years. You can’t figure out why they wear white shirts and ties on a daily basis. You can’t miss them as they ride by you on their bikes with their funny helmets. Some ride in the 115 degree Arizona heat and some ride on the 0 degree Michigan ice. But today, for some reason…when they knocked on your door, you give them a break and hear them out.
At some point in your life, you might have heard a saying that goes something like this: “Don’t pray about the Book of Mormon. That’s when they get you.” So you’re proceeding with caution…
They’ll start with a firm handshake and an introduction. “Hi…I’m Elder Johnson. Thanks so much for taking the time.” Then they’ll silently ask the Spirit to guide them to say the things that God would want said. Most of the time, the first thing out of their mouth is going to be about Christ and about the importance of prophets. They’re going to testify to you that you are loved by a Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is His Son. Then they’re probably going to show you a pattern found in the Bible wherein God calls prophets at various times in order to “restore” a correct knowledge of Himself back on to the earth after a period of “apostasy”.
At this point, you’re standing on your doorstep kind of zoned out, just trying to be nice to these guys…waiting for them to finish their pitch…
But then they ask you a question. “Do you believe that God answers prayers?” You think about it for a second and unequivocally answer with a resounding YES. The missionaries smile, and slowly open their Bibles to James 1:5 where it says “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally…”
So it’s you and these missionaries, standing on this doorstep with a Bible in hand. Each of you agree that God answers prayers. One of the missionaries slowly reaches into his backpack and grabs another book. Its blue…with gold writing on the front. “What is that!”… you might ask. And then you read the title. “The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ”.
The missionaries then begin to bear their testimony of the book. They ask you if you would read the book and most importantly pray about the book. Why have they just asked you to pray and ask God if the book is true?
We all find ourselves in the position of the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate on a regular basis asking, “What is Truth!” (John 18:38) With so much noise…and a cadre of revolving self proclaimed “experts”, it seems impossible to get to the bottom of anything. James E. Faust said that “today we are barraged by multitudes of voices telling us how to live, how to gratify our passions, how to have it all. At our fingertips we have software, databases, television channels, interactive computer modems, satellite receivers, and communications networks that suffocate us with information.” Voice of The Spirit, So where do we turn?
Mormons believe that God is the source of all truth, and that buried within all of us is a piece of divinity. They believe that we all lived with God before we came to this earth just as Jeremiah did. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jer 1:5) Mormons literally believe in what the Bible has to say about the role of the Holy Ghost. They believe that he “will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13) and that each one of us has the “light of Christ” (John 1:9) as an instrument whereby the Holy Ghost can testify directly to the spirits we brought with us from heaven. They believe what Christ told His apostles 2,000 years ago that “he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance” (John 14:26) so that you can find a clear signal amidst the steady stream of noise. That was the promise that Christ left with His apostles and with us.
[Tweet “Mormons believe that God is the source of all truth, and that buried within all of us is a piece of divinity”]Truly…there are 1000 different opinions on anything under the sun. Theories being proved and then disproved. Textbooks being printed and then shelved within 2 years. The Book of Mormon is no exception to this opinion phenomenon. It is impossible to prove the Book of Mormon by scientific or circumstantial evidence…for now. It is just as impossible to prove the Bible using the same guidelines. One google search on Biblical archeology will take you in one of a thousand directions, none of which will give you a solid testimony of the Bible itself. No…Christ knew of the confusion we would go through here on earth. He knew that we could not rely on our intellects alone in order to learn truth. So he gave us the Holy Ghost. The “still small voice” if you will. (1 Kings 19:12)
So…when a Mormon asks you to pray and ask God whether the Book of Mormon is true, it is not because they are trying to trick you into some kind of emotional experience for lack of logical explanation. It is because they have studied the teachings of the Book of Mormon and experienced the “fruits of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22-23) first hand as a result of reading that Book. They don’t expect you to believe them or take their word for it. They are asking you to read it with an open heart and then to ask God as the Bible suggests. Then…at the end of the day if its just not for you, they’ll want to remain friends. In fact…they’ll probably ask you if they can pick weeds in your yard, polish your shoes, or have you over for dinner.
Regardless of what you’re wanting to know, God sent the Holy Ghost to comfort us through the reveling of truth in a confusing world. God is the fountain of all knowledge and the source of truth. Google…though a great and wonderful place, is a maze of opinions just like this article. So when you’re seeking truth… ask God, not Google.
I enjoyed the comment ask God not google. It’s the only place to get first hand truth. All other sources are relying on man for truth. How many things in life do we actually know truth? We must rely on someone else for it.
That’s not the case with the Book of Mormon. You can know for yourself. As Elder Holland stated. “No good man would write this book, and no evil man could”
Thanks Jim!
I’m not saying not to research something…but if you believe the Bible…its important to go to God for answers that cannot be explained on Google.
I never could understand the confusion on this one. If you have math questions, you talk to a mathematician. If you have health questions, you talk to a doctor. Etc. So if you have questions about God, wouldn’t the first person you’d seek answers from be God, Himself?
Great article, Greg! The title is great too!
Awesome thoughts!
I have read your Book of Mormon and I find it odd that I am asked to pray if it is TRUE; however the Book of Mormon tells us to ask if it is NOT true….so when a person prays, what answer are they really receiving?
Moroni 10: 4 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;
interesting you should ask, seeing as you already know the answer…Do you not believe that God can answer prayers?
Does it matter?
Well, you brought it up, so…
Here’s what I think: no, you don’t, because you don’t seem to care whether or not you do.
Or maybe the “not” in my question threw you off. You don’t seem to get that asking two different questions will yield two different answers. It’s not like an 8 ball, where the question you ask or the way you word it doesn’t matter. It’s like asking a person- which, you are when you’re praying.
“can I have a cookie?”-“no”-hmmm,well “can I NOT have a cookie?”-“yes, you can NOT have a cookie”. End of story. No cookie for you. Have an apple.
Maybe you are more interested in being a trouble maker than in sincere inquires.
Thanks!