Elder Tad R. Callister: 'A Book from God'
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The genius of the Book of Mormon is there is no middle ground, declared Elder Tad R. Callister of the Presidency of the Seventy. "It is either the word of God as professed, or it is a total fraud."
The Book of Mormon does not claim to be just a collection of insightful writings but the word of God — "every sentence, every verse, every page," Elder Callister said.
Joseph Smith declared that an angel of God directed him to translate the writings of prophets in Ancient America by divine powers. "If that story is true then the Book of Mormon is holy scripture, just as it professes to be; if not, it is a sophisticated, but nonetheless, diabolic hoax."
He invited members to determine the true nature of the Book of Mormon by asking themselves if the following scriptures would draw them closer to God or the devil. He quoted 2 Nephi 32:3, Helamen 5:12 and Moroni 10:32, which state, in turn, "... the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do," "... it is upon the rock of our Redeemer who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; and "Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him."
"Could these statements from the Book of Mormon have possibly been authored by the evil one?" he asked. "If the foregoing scriptures from the Book of Mormon teach us to worship and love and serve the Savior (which they do), how can they be from the devil?"
Elder Callister explained, "The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. … Again and again the Book of Mormon acts as a confirming, clarifying, unifying witness of the doctrines taught in the Bible so there is only 'one Lord, one faith, one baptism.' "
After naming examples in the Book of Mormon that clarify and confirm biblical doctrines such as baptism and continuing revelation, Elder Callister said, "The list of doctrinal confirmations and clarifications goes on and on, but none is more powerful, nor poignant, than the Book of Mormon's discourses on the Atonement of Jesus Christ."
For an undeniable witness of the Savior's Atonement, "read the Book of Mormon," he said.
"Together with the Bible, the Book of Mormon is an indispensable witness of the doctrines of Christ and His divinity. Together with the Bible it 'teaches all men that they should do good' (2 Nephi 33:10). And together with the Bible it brings us to 'one Lord, one faith, one baptism.' That is the why the Book of Mormon is so crucial in our lives."
