Category: Gospel Gems

Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Hinckley Challenge” Excerpt from hinckleychallenge.com

I take in my hand the Book of Mormon. I read its words. I have read Joseph Smith’s explanation of how it came to be. To the unbelieving it is a story difficult to accept, and critics for generations have worn out their lives writing books intended to refute that story and to offer other explanations than the one given by Joseph the Prophet. But to the open-minded, this critical writing has only stimulated them to dig deeper; and the more deeply they dig, the greater the accumulation of evidence for the validity of Joseph Smith’s story. Still, as has been demonstrated for a hundred and fifty years, the truth of the Book of Mormon will not be determined by literary analysis or by scientific research, although these continue to be reassuring. The truth about the origins of the Book of Mormon will be determined today and tomorrow, as it has been throughout the yesterdays, by reading the book in a spirit of reverence and respect and prayer.”

(Praise to the Man, Ensign, 1983. aug., 4)

Ezra Taft Benson, 13th President of the Church, 1985–1994

The Book of Mormon is the keystone in our witness of Jesus Christ, who is Himself the cornerstone of everything we do. . . . Just as the arch crumbles if the keystone is removed, so does all the Church stand or fall with the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. . . . If the Book of Mormon be true?and millions have now testified that they have the witness of the Spirit that it is indeed true?then one must accept the claims of the Restoration and all that accompanies it.

A Witness and a Warning: A Modern-day Prophet Testifies of the Book of Mormon (1988), 18–19.

Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It is confidence that if we live according to God’s laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future. It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance.”In the language of the gospel, this hope is sure, unwavering, and active. The prophets of old speak of a ‘firm hope’ (Alma 34:41) and a ‘lively hope’ (1 Peter 1:3). It is a hope glorifying God through good works. With hope comes joy and happiness. With hope, we can ‘have patience, and bear . . . [our] afflictions’ (Alma 34:41).
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Infinite Power of Hope,” Ensign, Nov. 2008, 22