I Believe- 5

I love the videos that are produced by the church.  Often times as I am thinking about what do write about in this "I Believe" series, I go to MormonChannel.org and find exactly what I want to say already put together in an awesome video.

That is what happened tonight.
In this video, it talks about the origin of Mormonism.
How our church came to be.

I know for some, the story of Joseph Smith is a hard pill to swallow.  I look at my 14 year old boy sometimes and think, "Could it really have happened to someone so young?"

I firmly believe the answer to this question is Yes.

God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ appeared to a young 14-year old Joseph Smith Jr. as an answer to his prayer and scripture searching.

Jesus Christ told Joseph Smith that none of the churches on earth at that time were true.

"They draw near me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."

A prophet found in the Book of Mormon named Moroni, appeared to Joseph Smith and told him about the gold plates that were buried near his home.  Those plates contained an ancient record and scripture.  Joseph Smith translated that record through the power of God and that is what we know as the Book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith could not have written this book by himself.  He had only had 3 years of formal education.  He was 23 years old and had spent most of his life performing manual labor.  He would have had to have known specific details about ancient civilzations:  their money system, transportation systems, their culture.  All things that he had no resource to look up and learn about.  There was no Google, no Encyclopedia Brittanica, no library near his home.  He would have had to have been a perfect writer.  Never using the "backspace"- never correcting what was being written.

The list goes on.  But I don't need to.

I know these things to be true.

If you are curious as to how I could possible believe a story so fantastic, I challenge you to put the Book of Mormon to the test.  Read it and ask God if it is truly another testament of His Son, Jesus Christ.

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Ye shall know them by their fruits...."

Matthew 7:15-16

The "fruit" of the prophet, Joseph Smith, is the Book of Mormon.

Try it...I promise you will like it. :)