The Book of Mormon, Scientific Proof of the Reality of the Messiah
As I have become more and more familiar with the Book of Mormon, its background, its creation and history and have learned about its unprecedented claims and its uncanny ability to win every battle, I have grown extremely impressed with this most unusual book. It is, in my opinion, the most powerful, scientific proof of the reality and divinity of Jesus Christ. The strength of its position in this question is as powerful as any scientific evidence that can be found for any other historical fact.
The Bible is a powerful testimony of the reality of God and Christ. However, it suffers from the fact that it has always been around. Modern sophists can intellectually relegate it to the same status as other old books that are compilations of stories and fables and myths. The thousands of archaeological and historical corroborations of its accuracy notwithstanding, these people say, "Well, like most ancient stories, these stories have gotten better with time." Thus the miracles and the divinity of Jesus Christ can be explained away.
The Book of Mormon presents a situation diametrically opposite in nature from the Bible. Here is a book which suddenly appears on the scene, claiming to be of ancient origin but obviously of very recent writing. No one has ever taken the position that the book that came off Mr. Grandin's press in 1830 came from anywhere but a contemporary manuscript. Neither its proponents nor its detractors have proposed any other explanation of its origin.
What makes the Book of Mormon fascinating is this dichotomy of clearly modern physical origin and its claim of ancient authenticity. If we had the gold plates the Book or Mormon would just be another Bible and subject to intellectual write-off as another book of old stories, fables and myths. The seeker for truth has to deal with the facts. This book is either a fraud or a divine gift. There is no middle ground for the sophists to play their partly-true game.
So here is the problem: there is nothing in our experience in this world more real, more concrete than the Book of Mormon. You can hold it in your hand. You could soak it in water, freeze it and drive nails with it. It cannot simply be ignored. Everyone agrees the first copy came off Mr. Grandin's press in Palmyra, New York, in 1830 and that he worked from a manuscript. So the question is this: What was going on in the mind of the person who wrote that manuscript - was he creating a work of fiction or was he translating an ancient record?
The "acid test" of a scientific theory is whether that theory can predict the results of future investigation. The Book of Mormon has predicted a large number of future events with incredible accuracy. I am not talking here about prophecies coming to fulfillment, although there are many of those also. What I am talking about is archaeological and historical facts predicted by the Book of Mormon and then discovered during the 172 years since 1830. For example, the first three verses of the book read, "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, wherefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians. And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge."
This short passage is just such a prediction. If this book really is the translation of an ancient document and this first portion was really written by an author from the middle eastern culture of 600 BC, then it had better be right. Well, the Book of Mormon predicted, if you will, that someday this passage would be appropriate for the type of author and that time and place. By the time those first copies of the Book of Mormon were 120 years old, scholars of ancient writings had discovered a curious pattern at the beginning of these kinds of records in that region. It occurred frequently enough to get a name - colophon. In a colophon the author identifies himself by name, often with parentage, and explains why he is an authority on his subject. He makes the assertion that his record is reliable and explains why.
Now, 172 years after Mr. Grandin's first impressions, there are many such predictions wherein the Book of Mormon has, like a scientific theory, proven its correctness. There are the elephants and the horses, the hardened copper tools, the chiasmatic structures in the prose, the word prints that proved that there were many original authors of the book, and so on. The most recent such prediction fulfillment of which this author is aware, is the discovery of an ancient place called Nahom in southern Arabia which corresponds precisely with the place Ishmael was buried (I Nephi 16:34).
To postulate, as a scientific theory, that the Book of Mormon was written by anyone in the early 1830's is preposterous. It would require that the author accidentally guessed correctly on literally hundreds of issues.
And so it goes, year after year, things spoken of in the Book of Mormon are discovered in the ancient records, culture and archaeology of the areas described in the book. The theory that the Book of Mormon is the translation of an actual ancient record is in fact proven as well as any theory has ever been proven. When my faith is challenged and I am tempted to wonder if all those sweet, tender assurances of the Spirit are just my own psyche talking, I have found that I reach in my mind for the Book of Mormon and remember that there is nothing in this world more proven, more reliable, more amazing or more inspired than this new Testament of Jesus Christ.
Given that the Book of Mormon can only be what it claims to be, a record of the dealings of God with his people in the Americas, translated by the gift and power of God through the Prophet Joseph Smith, then we are struck with the wonderful, supernal truths that flow from that conclusion: that there is a God in Heaven, that there is a Messiah who paid for our sins and mistakes, that there is a resurrection from the dead, that we are literally the sons and daughters of God, that there are prophets again on the earth, that the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smih, that the kingdom is here and now, and that we can be families forever.
The kind of metallic proof offered in this little essay would be pitiful and ineffectual were it not for the whisperings and assurances that can only come through the Holy Ghost which has told me in my heart many many times, that the Book of Mormon is true and holy and divine. Intellectual confession that the book is the work and word of God is not enough. One must seek the Spirit so that the heart may know as surely as the mind. Thus it is that the Spirit has filled me with this truth which has slowly worn down my self-will and brought my personal agenda more and more into harmony with the Lord's. Each time I have chosen to be a closer follower of the Savior I have been blessed with more strength and a greater assurance that I have made the right choice. That this may be your experience with this beautiful book is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jackson Pemberton, February 24, 2002
Last update: Thursday, 05-Mar-2009 00:28:28 MST