{"chapter_no":"9","chapter_title":"Physical Evidence of God: The Book of Mormon","book_id":"5","book_name":"Truth Management","subchapter_no":"0","page_no":"750","page_number":"1","verses_count":0,"total_pages":2,"page_content":"

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Chapter 9<\/p>

Physical Evidence of God: The Book of Mormon<\/h1><\/p>

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The Western Hemisphere was unknown to the great thinkers of the Old World for almost all of the
earth's history—The Book of Mormon differs from the Bible in that it is modern evidence of God that
burst upon the world stage in 1830––America was a chosen land of God long before the landing at
Plymouth Rock.<\/i><\/p>

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Think once again of the great miracle of 1492! A whole hemisphere of the earth went
undetected by the great civilizations of man in the Eastern Hemisphere for most of its recorded
history! With so many unknowns, it was ultimately hope, prayers, and faith––not science––that
won the day in the discovery of America. Columbus and the men serving aboard the three ships
didn’t know for sure what lay before them. They were afraid. Columbus made good calculations
and then let his prayers do the final work. That’s a good recipe for science today as it pursues
new frontiers. Allow prayer to be involved and you will find the promised land.<\/p>

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And we might ask this question: Why did it take so long to find the other half of the
earth? What does that tell you about the state of man’s knowledge only five to six hundred years
ago, and where the men and women of science stand today as they try to understand the
universe? And what does that tell you about those who reject the Book of Mormon and the great
story of America, liberty, and Jesus Christ it contains? <\/span><\/p>

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The Bible does not tell this story. Secular history books also struggle to tell this story in a
powerful way. The position taken by most in the Christian community is that God is limited by
what He has commanded to be written and to come forth to us in the Bible. He is limited how?
He is limited by whom? And, for that matter, might we ask again here as we asked before: Who
is the Lord’s chosen representative of mainstream Christianity today that we can go to for a
definitive answer? The answer to all of these questions helps one to understand why 1820 was
needed, and why the Book of Mormon needed to come forth in spite of the fact that the Bible had
already existed for centuries in the world<\/span>.<\/p>

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Surely, the Savior knew about the Western Hemisphere during his ministry among the
Jews—the discovery of a new land and a new people centuries later by Columbus would not
come as a shock to Him. In reality, it was He who planned all of this out from the beginning with
the Father. Prophets and apostles had been foreordained to come forth and testify of Christ to
people in both hemispheres. Thousands of years of darkness for the peoples living in the Western
Hemisphere––without the teachings of Christ, and without the teachings of prophets chosen by
God––makes little sense. Good Christians of the world should certainly understand that point.<\/p>

America was a chosen land of God long before 1492, and long before the Pilgrims first
arrived at Plymouth Rock. The Book of Mormon is His book, and to reject it is to close one’s
eyes to half of the world's spiritual history and to the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/p>

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The Book of Mormon, and its presence here on earth in modern times, is physical
evidence of God and His purposes on earth. As believers in God, we are asked by science to look
at what man has dug up from the ground in the last few centuries and to perhaps reconsider our
faith. We, in turn, as Latter-day Saints, ask men and women of the world to look at what was dug
up from the ground in 1827, and what was later published for all to see in 1830. We ask all
interested parties to look at what was established first by one man, Joseph Smith, along with
three other witnesses beside him, and then corroborated further by eight more witnesses—the
count of all these men together, twelve, being exactly the same number that often comprises a
full jury in a court of law. These were men of sound mind and good character, including such
honest and well-regarded persons as Joseph Smith, Sr. and Hyrum Smith, the father and brother
of Joseph. Whatever weaknesses in life they had as human beings, they were always true to their
testimonies<\/span>.<\/p>

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The fact that the plates used to translate the Book of Mormon were removed from the
earth afterward by the Lord, rather than left behind as a permanent historical artifact in a
museum or otherwise, is not unlike the circumstances of Jesus Christ Himself. After His death
and resurrection, Jesus appeared to a select number of people, including to His disciples, but then
made the intentional decision not to appear and show himself to all the people of Israel, and to all
the people of the world, even though he could have easily done so. Why? Christians know the
answer. So that we as sons and daughters of God can follow His example in life and learn to
walk by faith. Having the resurrected Christ walk endlessly throughout all nations of the earth
day after day, year after year, and century after century, providing a tangible, direct testimony of
His miraculous rise from the dead, would have been a great sign for everyone to more easily
believe in Him, both then and now. But in so doing, He would have undercut the primary
purpose of man being on earth in the first place, that of having the heavens covered by a veil and
of the people born to this earth learning faith in God. Like the New Testament, the Book of
Mormon follows this same pattern of leaving behind witnesses rather than the more obvious
evidence of the plates themselves, witnesses who can then teach the message of the restoration of
the gospel to all people of the world through the Holy Ghost.<\/span><\/p>

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So, we have twelve first-person witnesses of a major historical artifact—a missing link
that connects the history of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres<\/span>.<\/p>"}