Moroni’s Ambiguous Promise

Moroni’s Ambiguous Promise
Hi, I’m Danny. For 60 years, I was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During that time, I served a two-year mission as a young man, served as a ward 70, in a Stake Mission presidency, as a Ward Mission Leader, and taught Mission Preparation Class in two different Stakes. I was also a full-time CES instructor for a time. I mention all of that to let you know, I was no stranger to the missionary efforts of the LDS Church.
The primary missionary tool of the LDS Church is The Book of Mormon, which since 1982 added the subtitle – “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” It is recorded in the Introduction to the Book of Mormon that Joseph Smith said, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”
At the end of the Book of Mormon we have what is referred to as “Moroni’s promise.” It is found in the Book of Moroni chapter 10: where he writes, 3 “Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”
Vs 4 says to ask God if these things or teachings in the Book of Mormon are “NOT true.” I always thought that it was a strange way of stating it. If you are praying to know if these things are NOT true and the Holy Ghost confirms they are not true – well there’s your answer. I wonder how many people thought they received confirmation from the Holy Ghost that it was true, but didn’t understand the real answer was that it’s NOT true. Perhaps, that is why many Latter-day Saints who thought it once was true, later discovered the Holy Ghost was trying to convince them otherwise. I imagine even the Holy Ghost would be confused about that one. Something to ponder!
During the 6 decades I was in the Church, I didn’t see a big percentage of active members who honestly had a manifestation from the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon was true or not. They simply took it for granted. And as far as a conversion tool in the mission field, I don’t believe a significant percentage of investigators joined the LDS Church based on a prayerful answer that the Book of Mormon was true. They became members mostly for social reasons or were converted to the culture.
Getting back to “Moroni’s promise” in Moroni 10:4 – a person has, to assume that the Book of Mormon is true to begin with, when Moroni urges them to pray with sincerity, true intent, and faith to know the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. It is using circular reasoning to assume the Book of Mormon is true in, order to find out if it is true.
Question is – By what means will the Holy Ghost “manifest the truth of it unto you?” Missionaries will tell the investigator that they will feel a burning feeling in their bosom, or heart. But notice, Moroni didn’t say that. So, where did that idea come from? It is taken from a revelation in 1829 through Joseph Smith to Oliver Cowdery, who had a strong desire not just be a transcriber for Joseph during the Book of Mormon translation, but to do some of the translation himself. It’s recorded in Doctrine and Covenants Section 9. This is supposedly God speaking to Oliver, 7 “Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. 8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.” So, Moroni in 400 AD doesn’t tell us exactly how the Holy Ghost will manifest the truth of the Book of Mormon, but the LDS Church decides to borrow from the context of D&C 9:8 about translating, which say’s “if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall FEEL that it is right.” Mormonism not only uses this method to convey how the Holy Ghost will manifest the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, but of anything related to Mormonism. It all comes down to a feeling in the bosom that it is true.
The problem with “Moroni’s Promise” is that it asks the reader to default to their feelings and emotions, instead of any meaningful examination of the argument or search for truth. It manipulates, to some degree, the recipient’s emotion – risking possible self-deception. And, that can be dangerous!
Anyone who does put the Book of Mormon to the test and thoroughly researches it against known reality and evidence will most likely reject it – and not even bother to pray about it – as common sense alone will confirm the truth of the matter to them. God does not expect to answer things we can quite easily determine ourselves. Joseph Smith himself confirmed this approach in D&C 9:8 when it says, “you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right. So, study it out, do the research, ask the critical questions, and put it to the test. You may discover you won’t even need to bother God about it.
When you read the Bible, you find there is no where in the Old or New Testaments when anyone including Yeshua told people to ask God in prayer for a feeling about the truthfulness of Scripture.
When it comes to knowing if a teaching is true, we have an excellent example of what happened, when apostle Paul and Silas entered the town of Berea and taught the Jews who were gathered at the synagogue. Paul praised those Bereans for not merely accepting what he taught as fact. Instead, they searched the Old Testament to know if Paul’s teachings were true and in agreement. Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Paul didn’t commend them for praying to know if the things he taught were true. Instead, he praised the Bereans for searching their Scriptures. Paul teaches in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
When seeking to know the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, rather than praying for an answer – or at least in addition to praying for an answer – we need to examine it in, light of the great body of knowledge God has already blessed us with in His word – the Holy Bible. It should be no different for us today. That is what a person should do with the Book of Mormon. Examine it carefully and search the Bible to see if what it teaches is true. If it doesn’t align with the Bible, then it should be dismissed.
It says in, James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.” It’s wisdom to know by studying – not through a heart-burn emotion. God’s truth is revealed in His Word to our mind, not through our subjective feelings. The heart is the seed of our emotions, and our feelings can fool us. We should ask for wisdom in understanding the truth.
As Christians, we might read the Book of Mormon to see what it says. If it contradicts the Bible or has plagiarisms or anachronisms, or lacks complete archeological support, then we know it is not from God.
Asking one to pray to know the truth regarding the Book of Mormon or the Joseph Smith story is merely a tactic the LDS Church employs because of a lack of evidence for either.
A reality based solely on emotion and on warm feelings is not enough. God gave us a mind, so that we might come to know what is true. Latter-day Saints base their beliefs on a spiritual witness rather than facts or reason.
Moroni 10:4 assumes the one asking for confirmation must believe it is true. It is a “no win” proposition for the investigator. If a person does not feel that the Holy Spirit testifies that the Book of Mormon is true, then it’s implied that the investigator must not have a sincere heart, real intent, and have faith in Christ. It also follows then that everyone who does not believe in the Book of Mormon must be dishonest at heart, lack proper intentions, and lack faith in Christ. It’s their fault. The passage has not left room for any other options such as – that the Book of Mormon is false or made up, or that the experience attributed to the Holy Spirit could be a result of wishful thinking or coming from another source such as an evil spirit.
God has already warned about our human nature and tendency to rely on feelings coming from the heart. Deuteronomy 11:16 “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived.” Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” What seems right and feels right isn’t always right. Sometimes we convince ourselves things are a certain way only to find out later they are not. Case in point – as a teenager, ever thought you were in love? Proverbs 28:26 “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.” Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
The heart is the seed of our emotions, and our feelings can deceive us into thinking something is right or true, only to find out later we should not have listened to our heart.
Yeshua told us in, John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” Yeshua doesn’t say to pray about truth, He commands us to search the scriptures for the truth.
There are millions of people in the world who believe in their “holy books.” The Muslims believe the Quran to be the word of God written by their prophet. Have Latter-day Saints considered reading and praying to find out if the Quran is true? I doubt it! The Hindus have their Bhagavad Gita, the Christian Scientists have their Christian Science Monitor, the Jehovah Witnesses their Watch Tower, and the New Ager’s A Course in Miracles? If you did read these religious texts and found some beautiful teachings but recognized some of their teachings were wrong – would there, be a need to go to God in prayer for confirmation about their truth? No, you made your decision based on logical reasoning and evidence, not a feeling.
Probably millions of people around the world have read the Book of Mormon and realizing the content is not in agreement with the Bible, saw no point in offending God by asking in prayer to confirm truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. Your rational mind tells you it’s not true. And what about the other books Latter-day Saints put their trust in? How many have prayed about the Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, or for that matter the Bible? I dare say, no one.
Have you heard of “Elevation Emotion?” It is a term psychologists use to describe that burning in the bosom feeling that is mentioned in Mormonism. Instead of the Holy Ghost, it could be mistaken as a physical reaction to elevation emotion that tells a person they have been moved or inspired. A hormone in the brain known as oxytocin is released, creating feelings in your chest of joy, satisfaction, calm, and peace.
Psychologists described Elevation Emotion as a physical sensation of warmth, glowing, or openness in the chest, and sometimes a tingling in the skin. The feelings you have when reading the Book of Mormon can be similar to the feelings you have watching a touching seen in a movie, or hear a beautiful song, or witness an act of compassion. Any of these circumstances can move a person to have a warm feeling in the bosom. But such events don’t necessarily convey spiritual significance. We can be told fictional stories in a movie, or a book, or presentation and feel our emotions get elevated. Film makers and song producers are experts at creating elevated emotions to move us to tears or cause our chest to swell within us. Stories can touch us, uplift us, and inspire us.
Remember, LDS General Authority Paul H. Dunn who gave General Conference talks and wrote books about heroic stories of his life that were so inspiring. Only to find out in time they were either embellished or totally fabricated, which resulted in him getting released in 1989 from his church leadership position. So, if elevation emotion is effective in witnessing false stories as true, then we must be very careful. Religions will utilize this elevation emotion as a sign of truthfulness to promote their message.
We need to be aware that men with evil intentions will try to deceive us into believing what they say or write. John warned us about this in 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
To demonstrate how Mormonism and biblical Christianity determines truth, I’ll use a metaphor called the “testimony train.” Picture, three parts to this train – the engine, middle car, and caboose. Got it?
The testimony train in Mormonism often starts with the engine or locomotive represented by Feelings pulling and leading the way. In Mormonism, feelings often determine what is truth. These emotional, feelings often lead to increased Faith in Mormonism, which is the middle car. Then following at the caboose of the testimony train, we have Facts or evidence which may or may not support the truth of a person’s feelings. Many times, for LDS the facts cause cognitive dissonance, which leads to derailment of the testimony train. Facts or objective truth is often the least important factor in Mormonism. Latter-day Saints are faced with ignoring the facts and evidence and relying on their subjective emotions and feelings to carrying them along.
On the hand, the testimony train in Biblical Christianity, leading to objective truth starts with the engine or locomotive represented by Facts driving or leading the way. Those facts and evidences increase a believer’s Faith in God and the Bible – represented as the middle car. Following, as the caboose of the testimony train, we have the comforting Feelings that come from the Holy Spirit to confirm and assure us of the solid truth of the facts. Christians seek to know the truth by searching the Scriptures, by reasoning, and evaluating the evidence. It is from this search for truth that their faith grows resulting in feelings of joy and peace from the Holy Spirit and confidence in God.
So – the testimony train of Mormonism = Feelings < Faith < Facts. The Testimony train of Christianity = Facts < Faith < Feelings. The real question is – On which testimony train will you be a passenger? Which one is more secure and reliable to trust in for your salvation? What’s pulling your truth train – Feelings or Facts? It’s a choice truth-seekers have to make. Thanks for watching. Please like and subscribe and check out more videos on YouTube or at Talkingtomormons.com. God Bless!