Truth Out of the Earth

The Lord prophesied to Enoch about the last days in these words, "And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men" (Moses 7:62).  The truth that has come forth out of the earth, as I interpret the verse, is the Book of Mormon that was buried and delivered up by the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith.  If that's what is being referred to here, then this tells us one of the main missions of the Book of Mormon: to testify of the Savior, His resurrection, and the resurrection of all men.  I think we can see that this testimony of the resurrection is indeed found in countless passages throughout the Book of Mormon. 

          The various Book of Mormon prophets testified again and again of the reality of the resurrection.  Lehi taught his family that after Christ's death, He "should rise from the dead, and should make himself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto the Gentiles" (1 Nephi 10:11).  Lehi's son Jacob expounded on his teachings and taught of the universality of the resurrection: "The grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.... He suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day" (2 Nephi 9:12, 22).  Nephi affirmed his witness of the resurrection in these words: "After he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings" (2 Nephi 25:13).  Abinadi testified of the resurrection with this powerful language: "There is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.  He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death" (Mosiah 16:8-9).  Alma taught his son that Christ "bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead" and that "the soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost" (Alma 40:3, 23).  Samuel the Lamanite taught the Nephites of his day about the resurrection: "It behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord. Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death" (Helaman 14:15-16).  Mormon wrote to us with this simple reminder: "By the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up.  And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment-seat" (Mormon 7:5-6).  And his son Moroni also left us a witness of the resurrection: "This is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound" (Mormon 9:13).

            The most powerful witness that the Book of Mormon gives, of course, is the account of the resurrected Savior among the Nephites.  He showed them His resurrected body and the people bore first-hand witness that He was really alive.  We read, "And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth" (3 Nephi 11:15).  The people watched him preach, pray, heal the sick, lay hands upon the 12 disciples, break bread, and bless the children.  That account alone is a firm declaration of the reality of His resurrection, for this people were with Him and touched Him and watched Him use His resurrected body.  He even checked their scriptures while He was with them to make sure a proper recording about the resurrection of others that had taken place was there: "How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them?" (3 Nephi 23:11)  These and many other passages show just how well the Book of Mormon fulfills its mission to "bear testimony of... his resurrection from the dead."