Rely Upon the Things Which Are Written

I love section 17 of the Doctrine and Covenants because we have in it the Lord’s own witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. He said to the three witnesses: “And he has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true” (v6). The Lord declared that as sure as He lives—or perhaps we might say as sure as the resurrection of the Savior took place—the Book of Mormon is true. This was given to them through the Prophet Joseph Smith shortly before they were shown the plates for themselves. In that experience they received again another direct witness from God about the veracity of the Book of Mormon. The Saints book describes their experience: “The men heard the voice of God declare, ‘These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them, which you have seen, is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear.’” They would then declare this in the testimony we now have at the beginning of the Book of Mormon: “We also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true.” The Lord had thus declared twice that the writing of the Book of Mormon is true.

               It is interesting then that in the next revelation Joseph received, what is now section 18, the Lord affirmed again that the Book of Mormon is true. (Note that this revelation was given the same month as when the three were shown the plates—I’m not sure which came first.) He said specifically to Oliver Cowdery, “Behold, I have manifested unto you, by my Spirit in many instances, that the things which you have written are true; wherefore you know that they are true. And if you know that they are true, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that you rely upon the things which are written” (v2-3). The Lord witnessed not just that the record was true but that Oliver knew for himself that it was true, a testimony he had apparently received in “many instances” as he labored as a scribe for the translation process. I believe the Lord could say the same thing for many in the Church who have spent their lifetime studying the Book of Mormon: by the Spirit “in many instances” He has witnessed that the writings of the book are true. I know that for me this is the case.

               Of course, it is not enough for the book to be true; it needs to make a difference in our lives on a regular basis. I love this instruction that the Lord gave to Oliver: because it is true, “Rely upon the things which are written.” We too must rely upon the words of the Book of Mormon. For me that implies several things: we rely on them to understand the doctrine of Christ, we rely on them to develop faith in the Savior, and we rely on them to help make decisions for our personal lives. Nephi gave us a powerful promise of what we would gain from relying on the words of Christ in the scriptures: “Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3). As we rely on these words and make them a foundational part of our lives—just as the Savior told Oliver they would be the “foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock”—we will be guided to know the all things that we should do.