Shayne M. Bowen: The Role of The Book of Mormon in Conversion
“Those who gain this divine witness [of the Book of Mormon] 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.”
We are gathering Israel for the last time and are doing so with the Book of Mormon, one of the most powerful tools of conversion.
Read the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith recorded in the Joseph Smith–History every week. He taught us that a testimony of the First Vision would have a direct correlation to our own testimony of the gospel and our testimony of the Book of Mormon.
The Prophet Joseph also declared: “Take away the Book of Mormon and the revelations, and where is our religion? We have none.”
A principal purpose of the Book of Mormon is to gather scattered Israel.
As we better understand who we are and the purposes of the Book of Mormon, our conversion deepens and becomes more certain. We are strengthened in our commitment to keep the covenants we have made with God.
“My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee.
“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations.”
President Russell M. Nelson taught in a recent worldwide broadcast that “these surely are the latter days, and the Lord is hastening His work to gather Israel. That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big part of it. You can be a big part of something big, something grand, something majestic!
“When we speak of the gathering, we are simply saying this fundamental truth: every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They decide for themselves if they want to know more.”
That is what we are doing as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: we are seeking to bring the world to an understanding of–and a conversion to–the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are the “latter-day gatherers.” Our mission is clear.
The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It leads us to the covenants of the Father, which if kept will assure us of His greatest gift–eternal life.
-Sherri Jorgensen
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