New Witnesses for God (Volume 3 of 3)Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Religion
New Witnesses for God (Volume 3 of 3)
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Book of Mormon; Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844
There can be no question as to the prophetic character of the passage
from the Book of Mormon--When you receive this record, ask God in
the name of Christ, if it be true, and he will manifest the truth of
it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost. The only question to be
considered after this is, has the prophecy of a promised testimony
been fulfilled. Hundreds of thousands are ready to answer in the
affirmative; scores of thousands who have died in the faith have left
on record their testimony that the prophecy has been fulfilled in their
experience; and back of the testimony of these thousands is their
life of sacrifice, toil, suffering; together with the contumely and
persecution which they have endured for that testimony. Some of the
witnesses to the fulfillment of this prophecy have even sealed their
testimony with their blood--can evidence of a higher or more solemn
character be pointed to in attestation of any truth? [8]
In passing it may be well to call attention to the fact that the Book
of Mormon in this prophetic promise that its truth shall be made known
by the power of the Holy Ghost, as also its assertion "that by the
power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things"--hits
upon a great general, spiritual truth, viz., that the Holy Ghost is
God's especial witness of revealed truth. It was the Holy Ghost in its
beautiful sign of a dove that bore witness to John that the peasant
Nazarene was indeed the Christ. [9] Paul says that "no man speaking by
the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed, and that no man can say that
Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost." [10] John represents Jesus as
saying, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from
the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father,
he shall testify of me." [11] Again, the Comforter is called the very
"Spirit of Truth," and of it Jesus says: "The Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you
all things." [12] Also: "When the Spirit of Truth [the Holy Ghost] is
come, he will guide you into all truth." [13] And so one might continue
to multiply passages to the same effect, but enough is here set, down
to establish the point suggested, viz., that the Book of Mormon hits
upon a very beautiful and universal principle to establish its own
truth by a Divine Witness, viz., the Holy Ghost. Observe also that this
great doctrine is not introduced by way of argument nor as a deduction.
It is mentioned, one might say, in a purely incidental manner. Nothing
especially is made of it by Moroni who sets it down. No appeal is made
to its strength or reasonableness. One feels that it is the statement
of a great truth purely as a matter of fact that has been verified in
the experience of Moroni, without any special consciousness of how it
interlocks with and is supported by all the scriptures that treat of
the same subject. On the theory of the Book of Mormon not being what it
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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