The divinity of the Book of Mormon

So, I guess I'm a good example of self-fulfilled prophecy. I haven't been good about keeping this blog at all. However, today I read Mormon, Chapter 8; and I couldn't get it's powerful message out of my mind. The Book of Mormon was prophesied by Moroni to come in a day such as today:

28 Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be ^adenied, and ^bchurches become defiled and be ^clifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts, even to the envying of them who belong to their churches.

29 Yea, it shall come in a day when ^athere shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and ^bvapors of smoke in foreign lands;

30 And there shall also be heard of ^awars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers places.

31 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great ^apollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be ^bmurders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it ^cmattereth not, for the Lord will ^duphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the ^egall of bitterness and in the ^fbonds of iniquity.

Although the pure word of God would come in such a time, it would break forth as a light:

"yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be done by the power of God."

I know that it was brought about by the power of God. Joseph Smith was called of God to bring forth the word of God, to share it to his fellow brethren and sisters so that they would repent and come unto Christ. I know this is true. The Book of Mormon brings us closer to God because it teaches us the commandments and principles of Christ. As Nephi explained:

"26 And we ^atalk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we ^bprophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our ^cchildren may know to what source they may look for a ^dremission of their sins."

As you dwell upon the message of Christ during this holiday season, remember His words and the truth they speak to our hearts when we are willing to receive them. Give a gift to Christ this year by becoming more like Him.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

To view a video about the promises and divinity of the Book of Momon, look at these links:

(Elder Christensen)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9cVyTbX1kM

(Elder Holland)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_ac3tWeV3I

Why I'm starting this blog

Hey, all! This is your friend Stephanie, writing. I woke up one Sunday morning thinking about how I could share my testimony more often- and decided to start this blog. I know I'm not the greatest writer in the world, and I hope you know that I don't think that I have a greater capacity to share the gospel than others. I simply want to share what I know. I don't have a black name tag, or a missionary "status" of any kind, but I decided to pick the title of this blog from one of my favorite scriptures- Alma 29:1. This is where Alma, a prophet of the Book of Mormon, wishes to declare the message of the gospel to all people. I'm going join Alma in sharing my testimony, and you can feel free to comment and share your testimony too.

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored on the earth for the salvation of God's children. The purpose of His mission, His message and His life, which He gave up for all of us, was to bring us back to our Heavenly Father. He has called his servant, Thomas S. Monson, the living prophet today, to relay to us the purposes for His kingdom on earth. He called Joseph Smith, Jr. the first prophet of this dispensation, to bring forth the gospel in a marvelous way, and through the translation of the Book of Mormon. This book comes from God! And how do I really know that this is true? Alma says it best- "they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lrd God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me." I also know these things to be true because I have done my best to live the principles of the gospel every day of my life, and they have brought me so much happiness! I am far from perfect, but I know that living the way of Jesus Christ is the only way to go! I promise that if you do your best to live the commandments, you will know that they are of God. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I hope this is a place where you can also feel free to share your testimony. Testimonies aren't only strengthened on Fast Sunday, but through the small and simple things that happen throughout our lives everyday. So feel free to share at any time. If, for any reason, any comments appear to be unkind, contentious or inappropriate, I'll delete them immediately (you never know who will show up and try to make things difficult). The gospel is true!