August Theme: Prayer and the Holy Ghost

Those who have been actively following my blog articles here have read about the falling away of the church that Christ had originally established, how it was restored to the earth once more through the prophet Joseph Smith, and the coming forth of The Book of Mormon. These are bold claims that I have made, I know, and these claims of mine are either true, or they are not. I cannot convince you to believe me. I cannot convince you to believe in Joseph Smith's account of seeing God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, or of his calling as a prophet, seer and revelator in these latter days. I cannot convince you that The Book of Mormon is indeed the word of God, and that it was translated by divine power. Only you can decide this for yourself. Only you can decide whether or not you WANT to find out for yourself if these things are true.

I testify to you that you CAN find out whether or not these things are true by studying the Book of Mormon for yourself, pondering on its contents, and asking God whether the things that you have read are true, because He knows with all certainty, whether these things are true or not.

How do I pray?
1) We begin our prayers by addressing our Father in Heaven.

2) We express the feelings that we want to convey to him. We thank him for anything we feel grateful for. We share with him our goals, our dreams, our concerns, our sorrows, ANYTHING that we stand in need of. You can especially pray to know whether Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and whether or not the Book of Mormon is true.

3) We should always close our prayers "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Will I get an answer and if so, How will I recognize it?

A Book of Mormon prophet has promised us that if we will pray about whether the Book of Mormon is true, we would come to know "in our hearts and in our minds" that it is true, by the power of the Holy Ghost (Moroni 10:4):

"And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things". (Moroni 10:5)

"Feelings that come from the Holy Ghost are powerful, but they are also usually gentle and quiet. As we begin to feel that what we are learning is true, we will desire to know all that we can about the Restoration" - Preach My Gospel, pp.39

For me, when I prayed about the Book of Mormon, the Spirit testified to me of its truthfulness by giving me a peaceful feeling in my heart. Such a feeling has been felt by many of those who earnestly study in the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true.

I bear testimony once more that you can gain a testimony of these things for yourself when you study the Book of Mormon, ponder on its message, and pray to God to know whether or not it is true. I know that God answers every humble and sincere prayer, and I know that when you pray about the Book of Mormon, he will tell you by the power of the Holy Ghost that it is true.