The Book of Mormon

As a missionary I claim to know a lot of things.  I know that God called prophets such as Moses and Noah. (Amos 3:7)  I know that He sent his son, Jesus Christ to live and die for us. (John 3:16)  I know that when Christ was on the earth he set up his church on the earth. (Ephesians 4:11-14)  I know that after he and his apostles were killed that his true church and the authority to run it were lost. (Amos 8:11-12)  I know that, as he had done in the past, he called another prophet, Joseph Smith. (JS-H 1:15-20)  How do I know all of these things?  Because I have read and prayed about The Book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith through the help and guidance of Heavenly Father translated an ancient record now know as The Book of Mormon.  The Book of Mormon contains in it truths that were lost from the Bible because of the falling away or apostasy that occurred after the death of Christ and his apostles.  The Book of Mormon is also the convincing evidence that all of the things that I have talked about are true.  This is why we call The Book of Mormon the keystone of our religion because, if The Book of Mormon is true then the true church of Jesus Christ has been restored on the earth once again.  It says in the Introduction to The Book of Mormon: "Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah."  But how do we receive that divine witness?  Moroni the last prophet to write in The Book of Mormon gives us this promise: "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.  And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." -Moroni 10:4-5  So I would encourage all that read this to take Moroni's challenge which is to read The Book of Mormon and pray about it to find out for yourselves if the book is true.  I leave you with my firm knowledge and testimony that The Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it will bless all who read it.

What's the point?

Yesterday I had the solemn responsibility of speaking at a funeral.  The death of someone else has often been the cause for many people to ponder the meaning of life.  Why are we here?  Is there more to life then merely working all our lives and then dying?  Well I know that there is.  In the Book of Mormon, Alma teaches us "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." -Alma 34:32.  So there it is, there is probably no simpler way to put it.  Our purpose in this life is to get ready to meet God by obeying the commandments and partaking of priesthood ordinances such as baptism.  This is why the message that we have to share as missionaries is so important, it's a message of hope, that there is something more to this life and that God has a plan for us.

Introduction

Hi, My name is Elder Mull.  I am a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I am part of a pilot program to try using the internet for missionary work.  In this blog I will be writing about my experiences out in the mission field and discussing the gospel.  You can also find me on facebook.  If you ever have any questions feel free to ask me, I would love to talk to you about it.