A Testimony of the Book of Mormon

Recently I finished reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover. As I finished the last chapter, I contemplated the final words of Moroni and the concluding message of the Book of Mormon. In his final words, Moroni uses the word "exhort" eight times. To exhort someone is to urge, recommend, advise, or counsel urgently or strongly. Moroni exhorts the readers of the Book of Mormon to remember Christ and His gifts and goodness to the children of men, to pray about the things contained in the Book of Mormon in order to receive the confirming witness from the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is true, and to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.

The miracle and the wonder of the Book of Mormon is that the readers to whom Moroni speaks are us; we are the target audience of the Book of Mormon. Mormon, who compiled the Book of Mormon hence the name, saw our day and saw the trials and situtations that we would face and chose the counsel from the prophets in the Americas that would help us the most. The Book of Mormon was written for us, to us, "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations" (Title Page of the Book of Mormon).

The Book of Mormon is truly another testament of Jesus Christ. In the 1999 October General Conference, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a talk entitled, "A Testimony of the Book of Mormon," which describes how the primary purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Christ.

The testimony offered by an apostle of the Lord in this week's article is true. I've read the Book of Mormon numerous times in my life and I know that each page is filled with testimony and teachings about Jesus Christ. Living by the teachings set forth in the Book of Mormon help the reader live a more Christlike life. The Book of Mormon is true. The words contained therein are scripture.

Jeremy