When I first read this story from Elder Burton, I first thought of the translation of the Book of Mormon. A simple stone in the hands of the an average person is just that – a stone. The Lord provided a Urim and Thummim to translate the text of theContinue Reading

This experience goes well with the account in the Book of Mormon where Laman and Lemuel tell Nephi that he is the “bad guy” (1 Nephi 17:20-21; 18:10) – or when the priests of Noah tell Noah that Abinadi is “judging them” (Mosiah 12:9-12; 17:11-12)… so many places where thisContinue Reading

Joseph was elated when others were chosen by the Lord to be witnesses of the Book of Mormon. The following account tells of his relief: The following account from Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph Smith’s mother, describes how Joseph felt after the Three Witnesses had seen the plates: “When they returnedContinue Reading

See also: Joseph Smith used a Urim and Thummim to translate The Book of Mormon Joseph Smith used a seer stone to translate The Book of Mormon The box was filled with tinkertoys 1827 September 21, 1823 – Joseph meets Moroni. Joseph is 17 years old. September 22, 1827 –  JosephContinue Reading

I recently taught the war chapters (Alma 43-63) in Gospel Doctrine in my ward, and as I prepared, I thought how these chapters parallel our day.  We live in a time when it is difficult to discern between truth and error.  There are forces at work attempting to eradicate aContinue Reading

Evidences for the Book of Mormon Occasionally I have conversations with skeptics who ask, “What evidence do you have that the Book of Mormon is really true? How can this really be another testament of Jesus Christ?” Evidence that the Book of Mormon, while good to have, is not the essentialContinue Reading