Yesterday was the 200th anniversary of the angel Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, informing him that he had been called to bring forth the Book of Morning, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. After almost two millennia of silence from Heaven, God was speaking to His children again. Angels, new scriptures, miracles - such things would have been hard to believe in any era, but to come forth in the Age of Enlightenment and Industrialization, when the scientific method was scrutinizing every aspect of Creation, God knew that this whole Restoration of the Gospel thing would be a hard pill to swallow. But that is why 200 years ago God sent Moroni to tell Joseph Smith about the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is the book of Scripture for the Age of Reason. People may scoff at the Book's provenance - some uneducated backwoods treasure hunter had a "vision" and found a gold book that talks about Jesus visiting the Americas. It sounds ridiculous. But for those who make the effort to actually read the Book, they will find that they are not expected to believe all of this on blind faith. They are invited to apply the scientific method. "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." (Moroni 10:4). Go ahead, Moroni says. Ask God if this is all a bunch of made up baloney. Ask God if this book is just the ravings of a mad man, or some Bible fanfiction cooked up by a conman. The Book of Mormon is the only book of Scripture that double dog dares us to ask God if it's not true. And millions of people have taken that challenge seriously and asked with a sincere heart and real intent and with faith in Christ. And God has answered. By the power of the Holy Ghost, surgeons and nuclear physicists and Presidential candidates and best selling authors and Jeopardy contestants and truck drivers and farmers and hair stylists have all asked God is this whole fanciful tale of an ancient golden book delivered to a farm boy in the middle of nowhere is not true and they have each discovered for themselves that it is true. And I have discovered for myself that it is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I know more about my Savior - I understand Him more intimately and love Him more deeply and rely on Him and His Atonement more fully and can see and understand His Plan for us more clearly because of the Book of Mormon. I have read the Book of Mormon dozens of times in over six languages and I am still discovering plain and precious truths about my Savior and His gospel and I'm so grateful for all of the men and women who have sacrificed to give me the opportunity to draw closer to God through the words of this Book.
