Put Promise of the Book of Mormon to the Test, Seventy Urges
Contributed By Mike Price, Church News contributor
Elder Michael T. Ringwood of the Seventy greets students after a campus devotional at BYU–Idaho on March 15.
Article Highlights
- Study the Book of Mormon in order to gain more faith and understanding.
- Test and apply the promise found in Moroni 10:3–5.
- Exercise patience. It can take time to gain a witness of the Book of Mormon.
“[The Book of Mormon] is the word of God. It will lead you to do good. You can know it is true and you can pass it on to future generations." —Elder Michael T. Ringwood of the Seventy
The importance of the Book of Mormon and building a strong testimony around it were part of the message Elder Michael T. Ringwood of the Seventy delivered at BYU–Idaho’s devotional assembly March 15.
“Let me testify to each of you that the Book of Mormon was worth the sacrifices that were made to write it, preserve it, and bring it forth in our day because it is the word of God,” Elder Ringwood said. “We can and must know it is true and pass the book and our testimonies of it to future generations.”
Elder Ringwood said the Book of Mormon gives the word of God and teaches people to believe in Christ.
“Nephi, in talking about what he was writing in the records that would become our Book of Mormon, said, ‘For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God’ (2 Nephi 25:23),” Elder Ringwood said.
Elder Ringwood explained that gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon can come in different ways. For him, it required work and dedication through focusing on reading the book itself.
“In our day it is so easy to go to the Internet and read what everyone else thinks or feels about the Book of Mormon,” Elder Ringwood said. “We might be tempted to spend more time reading what is written there than reading the source document. The Book of Mormon is one of those books that must be read and experienced by each of us. It is one of those books that can’t be understood through another person. It is a book, after all, that comes with a promise.”
That promise, which states that those who read the contents of the Book of Mormon prayerfully will receive a witness of it that it is true, is found in Moroni 10:3–5.
Elder Michael T. Ringwood of the Seventy speaks during a BYU–Idaho devotional held in the BYU–Idaho Center on March 15. Photo by Michael Lewis.
“Millions of people have put this promise to the test and have gained a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon,” Elder Ringwood said.
“If you have not yet received that witness for yourself, do not be discouraged,” Elder Ringwood said. Follow the same pattern I followed. It took time for me. It will take time for you. Do not give up.”
Elder Ringwood encouraged everyone to read the Book of Mormon and experience it personally.
“It is the word of God. It will lead you to do good. You can know it is true and you can pass it on to future generations,” Elder Ringwood declared.
A choir performs during the campus devotional at BYU–Idaho on March 15. Photo by Michael Lewis.
Elder Michael T. Ringwood of the Seventy speaks during a BYU–Idaho devotional held in the BYU–Idaho Center on March 15. Photo by Michael Lewis.
