In April 2017, President Monson gave his awesome talk, "The Power of the Book of Mormon," here.
In October 2017, President Nelson gave another awesome talk about the power of the Book of Mormon, summarized here. "These and other truths are more powerfully and persuasively taught in the Book of Mormon than in any other book. The full power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is contained in the Book of Mormon. Period."
The power of the Book of Mormon is undeniable among those who read and accept it.
_______
What prevents people from reading and accepting it?
Disbelief.
And what causes people to disbelieve?
We expect all kinds of opposition from outside. People don't want to change their beliefs or their behavior, so naturally they're going to resist the Book of Mormon, which urges them to do both. Opponents cast doubt on the origins of the Book of Mormon, its historicity, and its relevance.
They always have and they always will.
The more serious problem is what is going on at BYU right now.
______
As an institution, BYU completely embraces the Book of Mormon, as it should.
However, intellectuals at BYU are undermining faith by teaching students that:
- Joseph didn't even use the plates to translate the Book of Mormon, thereby defying his own words and the revelations.
- the Book of Mormon took place in a fantasy land based on the Mesoamerican interpretation of the text, thereby defying both the purported neutrality position and the literal reality of the account. See http://bom.byu.edu/
- if the Hill Cumorah exists at all, it is in Mexico, thereby defying what Joseph and Oliver taught, based on their actual experience with Mormon's depository in the hill in New York (Mormon 6:6).
______
As long as BYU continues to undermine faith by teaching these ideas, how can we expect the power of the Book of Mormon to have its full impact among members of the Church, let alone among nonmembers?
In October 2017, President Nelson gave another awesome talk about the power of the Book of Mormon, summarized here. "These and other truths are more powerfully and persuasively taught in the Book of Mormon than in any other book. The full power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is contained in the Book of Mormon. Period."
The power of the Book of Mormon is undeniable among those who read and accept it.
_______
What prevents people from reading and accepting it?
Disbelief.
And what causes people to disbelieve?
We expect all kinds of opposition from outside. People don't want to change their beliefs or their behavior, so naturally they're going to resist the Book of Mormon, which urges them to do both. Opponents cast doubt on the origins of the Book of Mormon, its historicity, and its relevance.
They always have and they always will.
The more serious problem is what is going on at BYU right now.
______
As an institution, BYU completely embraces the Book of Mormon, as it should.
However, intellectuals at BYU are undermining faith by teaching students that:
- Joseph didn't even use the plates to translate the Book of Mormon, thereby defying his own words and the revelations.
- the Book of Mormon took place in a fantasy land based on the Mesoamerican interpretation of the text, thereby defying both the purported neutrality position and the literal reality of the account. See http://bom.byu.edu/
- if the Hill Cumorah exists at all, it is in Mexico, thereby defying what Joseph and Oliver taught, based on their actual experience with Mormon's depository in the hill in New York (Mormon 6:6).
______
As long as BYU continues to undermine faith by teaching these ideas, how can we expect the power of the Book of Mormon to have its full impact among members of the Church, let alone among nonmembers?
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