Come, Follow Me 2024 – January 1-7
President Ezra Taft Benson taught, “There is a power in the [Book of Mormon] which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path.”1
What is this power, what does it do for us, and how can we access it?
The power of the Book of Mormon
I experienced the power of the Book of Mormon for myself in 1996. I was attending study abroad at the BYU Jerusalem Center. From January through May, 1996, I took 18 credits that were all focused on religion. I had an Old Testament class, a class that focused on the four gospels, one class that was solely on the Gospel of John, one class on the writings of Paul, a class on Jewish history and culture taught by a Jewish Rabbi, a class on Palestinian culture and history taught by a Palestinian, and a class on Hebrew and Arabic. It was fascinating, and I loved it.
With all the religious study, I didn’t spend any time in the Book of Mormon. But one day, I followed a footnote from the Bible, and read a passage in the Book of Mormon. I don’t remember the passage, but I remember feeling something different. I felt that power that had been described by President Benson. It is hard to explain, but it was not just confirmation by the Holy Ghost of the truthfulness of the book. It was not just inspiration to help me understand the passage. It felt more like the Lord’s teaching that is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 84:57, that we shall are under condemnation for not remembering “the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written.”
In that moment, I felt how important it was not only to study the Book of Mormon, but to learn how to live the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught in the Book of Mormon. As we do that, the power from the Book of Mormon will flow into our lives, giving us a greater capacity to resist temptation, avoid deception, and stay on the strait and narrow path.
Academic versus spiritual study
In that moment at the BYU Jerusalem Center, I learned the difference between an academic study of the scriptures, and a spiritual study. I believe that academic study is vital, as it allows us to gain knowledge and learn things we wouldn’t otherwise understand without significant effort. However, a spiritual study allows us to learn the lessons that we need to live the gospel.
Example of academic study
I love the Book of Mormon. I love learning the names of the people, the chronology of events, understanding who is saying what, the context of the teachings, and other details that I call the “story” of the Book of Mormon. But I also love studying the history of the Book of Mormon.
A stated purpose of my website is to help others discover faith in Christ by studying Church history. I am in the process of writing several posts about the history of the Book of Mormon, which can be found under the category “History of the Book of Mormon.” I currently have 18 posts under that category, and am planning on writing significantly more.
One topic I love is the translation of the Book of Mormon. Many scholars have studied original documents and eye witness statements, and have written about their findings. Several great articles include the Gospel Topics Essay titled “Book of Mormon Translation“; John W. Welch’s study about the timing of the Book of Mormon translation, summarized in an article published in BYU Studies titled, “Timing the Translation of the Book of Mormon“; Royal Skousen’s work on the textual studies of the Book of Mormon, discussed in a book titled “The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text,” summarized in a review published in BYU Studies by Robert L. Maxwell; and Grant Hardy’s study of the “Book of Mormon Translation Process,” published by BYU Studies.
From these and other scholars, and from my own work in researching original documents and witness statements, I have learned a lot about the translation of the Book of Mormon. It is fascinating to me that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from April 7, 1829, through June, 1829. Joseph Smith had no formal education. That timing of that work is miraculous, particularly considering Joseph’s education level at the time. His wife Emma said the following about her brief time acting as his scribe during the translation (for the manuscript that was lost by Martin Harris):
“Joseph dictated each sentence, word for word, and when he came to proper names he could not pronounce, or long words, he spelled them out, and while I was writing them, if I made a mistake in spelling, he would stop me and correct my spelling, although it was impossible for him to see how I was writing them down at the time. Even the word Sarah he could not pronounce at first, but had to spell it, and I would pronounce it for him.
“When he stopped for any purpose at any time he would, when he commenced again, begin where he left off without any hesitation, and one time while he was translating he stopped suddenly, pale as a sheet, and said, ‘Emma, did Jerusalem have walls around it?’ When I answered, ‘Yes,’ he replied ‘Oh! I was afraid I had been deceived.’ He had such a limited knowledge of history at that time that he did not even know that Jerusalem was surrounded by walls.”2
With the limited education he had, how could he have dreamed up the Book of Mormon? And how could he have done it in less than three months? It’s impossible. The Book of Mormon has been analyzed by scholars ever since its publication, and there is no way Joseph Smith could have created that out of his own imagination.
Another fascination for me is that the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon has no editing marks. The evidence and historical documentation shows that Joseph simply dictated in a stream of consciousness, and when he would end for the day, he would pick back up the next day without asking where they were, without asking his scribe to read back what they had written the day before, and without including any punctuation of any kind. When it was time to publish the book, it was their printer who added punctuation and sentence and paragraph structure. The manuscripts can be seen at the Joseph Smith Papers website: Original Manuscript; Printer’s Manuscript.
This information is fascinating to me. I love studying it. But the question could be asked (and several people have asked me): what does it matter? This information might be interesting, and to me it is evidence that the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, but what do I do with it? How will this help me change my life?
Example of spiritual study
A spiritual study of the Book of Mormon includes learning principles that we can live in order to change our lives.
For a significant part of my life, I struggled to know the difference between my own feelings, thoughts, and emotions, and the impressions of the Holy Ghost. When I felt like I was receiving inspiration from the Holy Ghost, I would always think, “how can I be sure? How do I know it’s not just me?”
I began to find answers by studying 2 Nephi 31 and 32. In those chapters, we read about Nephi’s teaching of the doctrine of Christ, which is that we must exercise faith in Christ, repent, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. In 2 Nephi 32, Nephi teaches more about receiving inspiration from the Holy Ghost:
“And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your hearts?
“Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
“Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.”3
As I struggled to discern between my own thoughts and the Holy Ghost, I pondered these verses over and over. I began to see in them that Nephi taught the Holy Ghost as if it were a language. He talked about speaking with the “tongue of angels,” and that “Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost.” As I thought about the comparison between the Holy Ghost and learning a foreign language, I began to have some ideas about what I could do to better understand the Holy Ghost.
I served my mission in the Chile Osorno mission from February, 1993 through February, 1995. When I came home, I became a student at BYU and got a job teaching Spanish at the Missionary Training Center. As a missionary, I had to learn how to speak Spanish. And as a teacher of missionaries for over three years, I taught Spanish to hundreds of missionaries. Learning a language is a pretty simple process: you have to memorize words, learn the rules of grammar and construction, and practice. It’s not easy, but it’s a simple process. You just have to do it. As a teacher at the MTC, I would have missionaries ask me what they could do to better learn the language. I would tell them, “you just have to speak it. There is no shortcut.”
As I studied 2 Nephi 32 and reflected on my time as an MTC teacher, I began to compare learning the Holy Ghost with learning a language. If the Holy Ghost is like a language, I didn’t need to worry about whether I was understanding it. Instead, I needed to focus on what I needed to do to learn the language. I needed to learn the rules of the language of the Holy Ghost, which are found in the scriptures and the words of the prophets. As I learned the rules of that language, I needed to practice. I needed to do those things that the scriptures taught would invite the Holy Ghost into my life. And I needed to trust that as I did those things, I would begin to understand the Holy Ghost, just as I began to understand Spanish only after spending time trying to do it.
That passage of scripture has changed my life. It helped me worry less about whether I was understanding the Holy Ghost, and instead work on doing those things that would invite the Holy Ghost into my life. I now have a testimony of the reality of the Holy Ghost, and am much more confident in my ability to receive and understand revelation.
How can we improve our spiritual study?
Everyone is different, and so all of us need to determine how we can best learn from the Book of Mormon. But there is one major principle that we can all apply, and it’s taught by Nephi: feast upon the words of Christ.
As we study the Book of Mormon, we should approach it by seeking revelation. We should pray whenever we study, asking the Lord to teach us. We should ponder questions that we have, and ask the Lord to give us answers as we study. We should ask for guidance, praying for the Lord to show us what we need to learn. The study of the Book of Mormon can be a powerful experience, but only as we seek to learn by the power of the Holy Ghost.
We cannot think that we can just read the Book of Mormon without any effort and get something out of it. The power to be found in the Book of Mormon will only be found if we humbly make an effort to live the doctrine of Christ as taught in the Book of Mormon.
One example of someone who got nothing out of the Book of Mormon is Mark Twain. I think that everyone likely knows about Mark Twain’s comments about the Book of Mormon. In his book “Roughing It,” he wrote a whole chapter about the Book of Mormon, which he introduced by saying, “All men have heard of the Mormon Bible, but few except the ‘elect’ have seen it, or, at least, taken the trouble to read it. I brought away a copy from Salt Lake. The book is a curiosity to me, it is such a pretentious affair, and yet so ‘slow,’ so sleepy; such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print. If Joseph Smith composed this book, the act was a miracle — keeping awake while he did it was, at any rate.”4
Why didn’t Mark Twain see the brilliance and inspiration of the Book of Mormon? I can only guess, but there are many others who have most definitely felt its power. One is Parley P. Pratt, who recorded his first experience reading the Book of Mormon:
“I opened it with eagerness, and read its title page. I then read the testimony of several witnesses in relation to the manner of its being found and translated. After this I commenced its contents by course. I read all day; eating was a burden, I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when the night came, for I preferred reading to sleep.
“As I read, the spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I knew and comprehended that the book was true, as plainly and manifestly as a man comprehends and knows that he exists. My joy was now full, as it were, and I rejoiced sufficiently to more than pay me for all the sorrows, sacrifices and toils of my life. I soon determined to see the young man who had been the instrument of its discovery and translation.”5
Why did Mark Twain think the Book of Mormon was “chloroform in print,” but Parley P. Pratt was so enthralled that he read all day, and eating and sleeping were a burden? The point of this is not to question others, but instead to demonstrate that if we want to experience the power of the Book of Mormon, we have to read it as more than mere literature.
I have a testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon, and its ability to change our lives as we embark on a serious study of the book.
Pray with real intent
At the end of the book, Moroni encourages us to pray with real intent: “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. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”6
What is real intent? Elder James B. Martino of the Seventy taught the essence of real intent:
“Moroni tells us that ‘by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things’ (Moroni 10:5). But he does not promise that you’ll know something is true just because you’re curious. You have to have a sincere heart and real intent. You have to be willing to make a commitment to change once you receive your answer. Revelation is a gift from God, and it’s not to be taken lightly. When we receive revelation, we also receive a responsibility to do something with that revelation.
“I believe that Heavenly Father, in a merciful way, does not give us revelation when we’re just curious and not willing to act upon it, because then we’d be held accountable if we failed to make the change. In His own way, as a loving Father, He’s given us the opportunity to find out for ourselves if these things are true, but we have to be willing to say, like Lamoni’s father, the king of the Lamanites, ‘I will give up all that I possess’ to know that these things are true (Alma 22:15).”7
As we study the Book of Mormon this year, let’s make a commitment to study spiritually, to learn and live the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that can change our lives, and to pray with real intent that we can not only know it’s true, but that we can have the strength through the atonement of Jesus Christ to live in a way that will help us experience the power of the Book of Mormon.
References
- President Ezra Taft Benson, “The Book of Mormon – Keystone of Our Religion,” Ensign, November 1986, 7, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1986/11/the-book-of-mormon-keystone-of-our-religion?lang=eng&id=p27#p27. ↩︎
- John W. Welch, “The Miraculous Timing of the Translation of the Book of Mormon,” in Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844 (Second Edition), page 79, https://byustudies.byu.edu/online-chapters/the-miraculous-timing-of-the-translation-of-the-book-of-mormon/. ↩︎
- 2 Nephi 32:1-3. ↩︎
- Mark Twain, “Roughing It,” Chapter 16, as found on the Project Gutenberg ebook, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3177/3177-h/3177-h.htm. ↩︎
- Parley P. Pratt, “Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt,” $1 LDS Books, Kindle Edition, Chapter 5. ↩︎
- Moroni 10:4-5. ↩︎
- Elder James B. Martino, “A Sincere Heart and Real Intent,” Ensign, July 2013, 42, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2013/07/a-sincere-heart-and-real-intent?lang=eng&id=p12-p13#p12. ↩︎