Akwa Mboho
Uduak Mbɔm
Akwa Mbono eke Ɔfiɔŋ Inaŋ 2025
11:5

Uduak Mbɔm

Otode Elder Ronald A. Rasband

Eke Seventy

Ɔbɔŋ enyene mbɔm ndien uduak erinyaŋa kpɔŋ eke Ete Heaven nnyin otim edi uduak mbɔm.

Ikoot eke Prophet

Ke akwa mbono eke Ɔyɔhɔ Ɔfiɔŋ Inaŋ eke isua andikibe, ke ndo-ndo oro ikisuk ibɔde etop idaresit ete ke Ufɔk Abasi ema ebɔ Kirtland Temple edep, President Russell M. Nelson ama okoot nnyin ete ikpep ibaŋa akam edidiɔŋ Kirtland Temple emi ewetde ke ɔyɔhɔ ibuot 109 eke Doctrine ye Covenants Presiden Nelson ete ke akam edidiɔŋ oro, “edi ukpepŋkpɔ abaŋa nte temple ɔnɔde afo ye ami ukeme ke spirit ndiyɔ mme mfina uwem ke mme akpatre usen emi.”

Ami mmenim ke afo edikot ɔyɔhɔ ibuot 109 ama ɔnɔ fi ifiɔk emi ɔkɔdiɔŋde fi. Mbubreyo emi, ami nyebuana mme ŋkpɔ eke ami ŋkekpepde nte ami ŋketienede ikoot prophet nnyin. Usuŋ emem emi ukpep mi akadade mi aka ama eti mi ete ke Jehovah enyene mbɔm ndien ke uduak erinyaŋa eke Ete Heaven nnyin otim edi uduak mbɔm.

Mme Ɔkwɔrɔ-Ikɔ-Abasi Ekotde Obufa nte Enamde Utom Ke Temple

Nte afo ɔfiɔkde “esibeŋe mme ɔkwɔrɔ-ikɔ-Abasi emi ekotde obufa ete ebɔ endowment mmɔ ke ndo-ndo oro nte mmɔ ekemede enyuŋ eka temple ndien ndien nte ndaha mmɔ ayakde.” Ke ini kiet ebɔde endowment, mmɔ ŋko “ekeme ndinam utom nte mbon utom edinam eke temple mbemiso mmɔ etɔŋɔ uto ukwɔrɔ-ikɔ mmɔ.”

Ini ke temple mbemiso eduk ebiet ukpep missionary (MTC) ekeme ndidi utibe edidiɔŋ ɔnɔ obufa ɔkwɔrɔ-ikɔ-Abasi nte mmɔ ekpepde ebaŋa mme ediomi eke temple mbemiso mmɔ ekebuana mme edidiɔŋ eke ediomi oro ye ererimbot.

Edi ke ndikot ɔyɔhɔ ibuot 109, ami mma mkpep nte ke temple, Abasi ɔnɔ mbufa ɔkwɔrɔ-ikɔ-Abasi—ke akpan, kpukpru nnyin—odudu ke udadian, edisana usuŋ Ke akam edidiɔŋ oro, ekenɔde eto eriyarade, Prophet Joseph Smith ama ɔbɔŋ akam ete, “kini isuŋutom fo ediwɔrɔde ke ufɔk fo … nditiŋ ikɔ ntiense mbaŋa enyiŋ fo,” yak esit “kpukpru owo” “emem”—mbiba ikpɔ ye mkpri ke isɔŋ” ye “ofuri mme ubuene, mbon unana, ye [mbon] ukut … ebɔ ifure.” Enye ama ɔbɔŋ akam ete yak “akpanikɔ okpon akan idiɔkŋkpɔ, yak ikɔt fo ebɔ mfɔn ke enyin kpukpru owo; man kpukpru ererimbot efiɔk ete, ke isuŋutom fo, ema ekop uyo fo, ndien ke afo ɔdɔŋ mmɔ utom.”

Emi edi inem eŋwɔŋɔ ɔnɔ ɔkwɔrɔ-ikɔ-Abasi ekotde obufa—ndIiyak akpanikɔ okpon akan ufup,” “ndibɔ mfɔn ke iso kpukpru owo, “nyuŋ nyene ererimbot efiɔk ete ke Jehovah ɔdɔŋ mmɔ utom. Nyin kiet kiet ke akpan imoyom ukem edidiɔŋ emi. Nso edidiɔŋ ke edi-di ndikut nte esit ememde ke nte nnyin inemede nneme ye mbɔhiduŋ ye mbom itie-utom nyin. Akam edidiɔŋ oro iitimke inam aŋwaŋa nte ini nnyin ke temple edinamde esit mbon efen emem, edi ami mmenim nte ke enye ɔkɔŋɔ ke nte ini nnyin ke ufɔk Jehovah anamde esit nnyim emem ke ndinim idem nnyin ke Jesus Christ ye ke mbɔm Esie.

Jehovah Ɔbɔrɔ Mkpeubɔk Mbɔm eke Joseph

Nte ami mkpepde akam edidiɔŋ eke Kirtland, ama otuk mi ete ke Joseph ebeŋe afiak ebeŋe oyom mbɔm—ɔnɔ mbon Ufɔk Abasi, ɔnɔ mme asua Ufɔk Abasi, ɔnɔ mme adaibuot ke idut. Ndien, ke ata eke idem, enye ebeŋe Ɔbɔŋ yak eti enye ndien yak enyene mbɔm ebaŋa edima Emma ye nditɔ mmɔ.

Didie ke eketie Joseph ke idem, udua kiet ebede, ke usen Easter ke April 3, 1836, ke Kirtland Temple, Andiyaŋa ama ɔbiɔŋɔde ɔnɔ enye ye Oliver Cowdery ye, nte ewetde ke ɔyɔhɔ ibuot 110 eke Doctrine ye Covenants, ete, “Ami mmɔbɔ ufɔk emi, ndien enyiŋ mi eyedu mi; ndien Ami nyenyuŋ nyarade idem mi ke mbɔm nnɔ ikɔt mi ke ufɔk emi.” Eŋwɔŋɔ mbɔm emi etie nte ama enyene akpan ekikere ɔnɔ Joseph. Ndien nte President Nelson ekekpepde ke ɔyɔhɔ Ɔfiɔŋ Inaŋ isua oko, eŋwɔŋɔ emi ŋko “edi ukem ɔnɔ ofuri temple emi ediɔŋde mfin.”

Ndikut Mbɔm ke Ufɔk Jehovah

Odu ata ediwak usuŋ emi nnyin kiet kiet ikemede ndikut mbɔm ke ufɔk Jehovah. Emi edi akpanikɔ tɔŋɔ ke akpa ini emi Jehovah ɔkɔnɔde nditɔ Isreal ewɔhɔ ndibup tabernacle ndinyuŋ nnim “ebekpɔ mbɔm” ke ufɔt esie. Ke temple, nnyin ikut mbɔm ke mme ediomi emi nnyin inamde. Mme ediomi oro, ke ediande ediomi uduɔk-mmɔŋ, ɔbɔp nnyin adian ye Ete ye Eyen onyuŋ ɔnɔ nnyin ekese unen ndibɔ se President Nelson ekekpepde ke edi “saŋa-saŋa oruk ima ye mbɔm … ekotde hesedke usem Hebrew.

Nnyin ikut mbɔm ke eti ifet ndidian nyin ye ufɔkemana nnyin ke nsinsi. Nnyin ŋko idiifiɔk ite ke Edibot Ererimbot, Iduɔ, Erisio-isop Andiyaŋa, ye ukeme nnyin ndifiak nduk iso Ete eke Heaven nnyin—kpukpru ubak ke uduak erinyaŋa ukpoŋ—edi ndiwut mbɔm. Ekeme nditiŋ ete ke uduak erinyaŋ edi uduak inemesit koro ke edikem enye edi “uduak mbɔm.”

Ndiyom Mfen-nnɔ Eberede Usuŋ ɔnɔ Edisana Spirit

Ami mmenem esit mbaŋa inem eŋwɔŋɔ emi odude ke ɔyɔhɔ ibuot 110 ete ke Jehovah eyewut idem Esie ke mbɔm ke mme temple Esie. Ami ŋko mmenɔ ekɔm ke se oro ayarade abaŋa nte Jehovah ediyarade Idemesie ke mbɔm inikiet ekededi emi nnyin, ukem Joseph, ikpede ubɔk iyom mbɔm.

Mkpe-ubɔk Joseph Smith nyom mbɔm ke ɔyɔhɔ ibuot 109 ikidihe akpa ini emi mkpe-ubɔk esie nyom mbɔm akadade eriyaraie edi. Ke Edisana Ɔwɔk-ikɔt, ekpri Joseph ikibɔŋke akam kpɔt iyom ndifiɔk ewe Ufɔk Abasi edi akpanikɔ, edi enye ama ɔdɔhɔ ete ke imɔ “imaitua eyet inɔ Jehovah iyom mbɔm, koro iduhe owo efen eke ami mkpebinede man mbɔ mbɔm.” Ke usuŋ ekededi enye ndifiɔk nte ke imɔ imiyom mbɔm emi Jehovah kpɔt ekemede ndinɔ ama aŋwam ndiberede window heaven. Ke isua ita ebede angel Moroni ama ɔbiɔŋɔre etiene “akam ye mkpeubɔk Joseph ɔnɔ Akwa Abasi ke ofuri idiɔkŋkpɔ ye ndudue esie.”

Uduot eriyarare emi etienede ndikpe ubɔk nyom mbɔm edi emi ɔyɔhɔde ke ŋwed Abasi. Enos ama okokop uyo Jehovah kpa kini enye ama ɔkɔbɔŋ akam oyom mfen-nnɔ. Ŋkabaresit eke ete Edidem Lamoni ɔkɔtɔŋɔ ye akam esie ete: “Ami nyeyak kpukpru idiɔkŋkpɔ mi man mfiɔk fi.” Ekeme ndidi owo ididiɔŋke nnyin ke ukem utibe usuŋ emi, edi eke mbon oro ndusuk ini eŋwanade ndikop ibɔrɔ akam, ndiyom mbɔm Jehovah edi akwa usuŋ kiet ndinyene ntiense Edisana Spirit.

Ndikere Mbaŋa Mbɔm Abasi Eberede Usuŋ Ndibɔ Ikɔ-ntiense Mbaŋa Ŋwed Mormon

Ekpep ukem ukpep emi mfɔn-mfɔn ke Moroni 10:3–5. Ediwak ini nnyin imisinam udim ŋwed emi edi ibio-ibio ke ndikpep nte otode ke akam esit akpanikɔ, nnyin imikeme ndifiɔk mme Ŋwed Mormon edi akpanikɔ. Edi ndikpep enye ibio-ibio ntem ekeme edifre akpan utom eke mbɔm Kpaŋ utɔŋ kop nte Moroni ɔtɔŋɔde nnɔ-item esie: “Ami nsɔŋɔ mkpe mbufo ubɔk nte ke ini mbufo edikotde mme ŋkpɔ emi, … yak mbufo eti nte Abasi ekeyenede mbɔm ɔnɔ nditɔ owo, ɔtɔŋɔde ke ini ekebotde Adam tutu esim ini emi mbufo edibɔde mme ŋkpɔ emi, enyuŋ ekere enye ke esit mbufo.”

Moroni ebeŋe ete yak nnyin ikukot mme nkpɔ emi kpɔt—ŋwed emi enye oyomde ndifik nnim—edi yak nnyin ŋko ikere ke esit nnyin se Ŋwed Mormon ayarade abaŋa “nte Jehovah ekenyenede mbɔm abaŋa nditɔ owo” Edi ndikere mbaŋa mbɔm Jehovah ebeŋe nyin idem “ndibup Abasi, Nsinsi Ete Ke enyiŋ Christ, edieke mme nkpɔ emi idihe akpanikɔ.”

Nte nvyin ikerede ibaŋa Ŋwed Mormon, nnyin imikeme ndibup: Ndi enye edi ata akpanikɔ, nte Alma ekekpepde, ete ke uduak mbɔm Abasi ɔnɔ ɔsɔŋɔ ete ke kpukpru owo ekededi ekeduŋde ke ererimbot eyeset ke mkpa, ndien ke eyefiak enim mmɔ ke eti idaha? Ndi Amulek enen—nte mbɔm Andinyaŋa ekeme ndiyuhɔ akpukpru mme ndondot ata unyime eke unen emi ekemede ke usuŋ ndinam ke ndikpe ye utu ke “[ndinanare nnyin nkuk] ke ubɔk edikpeme”?

Nte edi akpanikɔ, nte Alma eketiede ntiense , ete ke Christ ama ɔbɔ ufen idihe ke mme idiɔkŋkpɔ nnyin kpɔt edi kabaŋa “mme ubiak ye ndutuhɔre” nnyin man Enye ekeme “ndifiɔk … adaŋa nte edibɔkde mbon esie otode ke mmemidem mmɔ”? Nte Ͻbɔŋ enehede enyene mbɔm, nte Edidem Benamin ekekpepde, nte enɔ mfɔn, Enye ɔduɔk iyip “ɔnɔ mme idiɔk ŋkpɔ mbon oro … emi ema eke ekpaŋa mifiɔke uduak Abasi kabaŋade mmɔ, mme emi enamde idiɔk ke unana edidiɔŋɔ”?

Nte edi akpanikɔ, nte Lehi ɔdɔhɔde ete, ke “Adam ama ɔduɔ owo aba; ndien owo aba, man mmɔ ekpenyene idara”? Ndien ata akpanikɔ, nte Abinadi eketiede ntiense, etiŋde oto Isaiah, ete ke Jesus Christ ɔkɔbɔ “unan kabaŋa ndudue nnyin, ekenɔ enye unan kabaŋa mme idiɔkŋkpɔ nnyin; ntunɔ emem nnyin ekedoro enye ke idem; ndien ye nde unan esie ekɔk nnyin”?

Ke ofuri, edi uduak Ete nte ekpepde ke Ŋwed Mormon emi enehede edi mbɔm? Ami ntiŋ ikɔ ntiense nte ke enye edi ntre ndien ke ɔnɔ-emem ye ɔnɔ-idorenyin ukpepŋkpɔ eke mbɔm ke Ŋwed Mormon edi akpanikɔ.

Kpa ntre, ami mmɔkut nte ke ndusuk owo ke eŋwana, okposukedi afo okotde onyuŋ ɔbɔŋde akam ke mbuɔtidem ndikut eŋwɔŋɔ Moroni ete ke Ete Heaven “eyewut mbufo akpanikɔ, oto ke odudu Edisana Spirit” Ami mmɔfiɔk eŋwan emi koro ami mma ŋkop oro, ediwak isua emi ekebede, kini mme akpa edikot Ŋwed Mormon mi mikinɔhɔ usɔp-usɔp ye ibɔrɔ emi aŋwaŋade ke akam mi.

Edieke afo osuk anwanade, yak nkot fi nte etiene item Moroni ke ndikere ke ediwak usuŋ ke Ŋwed Mormon “adaŋa nte Abasi enyenede mbɔm [ɔnɔ] nditɔ owo”? Otode ke ifiɔk mi, ami mmenim ke ini anamde, emem eke Edisana Spirit eyeduk esit fo ndien afo emekeme ndifiɔk, enim ke akpanikɔ, onyuŋ okop ete ke Ŋwed Mormon ye uduak mbɔm emi enye ekpepde edi akpanikɔ.

Ami mmenɔ ekɔm mbaŋa akwa uduak mbɔm eke Ete ye udɔŋ Andiyaŋa ndinam mmɔ ewɔrɔ esu. Ami mmɔfiɔk ke Enye eyewut Idemesie ke mbɔm ke ndisana temple Esie ke kpukpru usuŋ ke uwem nnyin edieke nnyin idiyomde Enye. Ke enyiŋ Jesus Christ, amen.

Mkpri ŋwed

  1. See Russell M. Nelson, “Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys,” Liahona, May 2024, 121.

  2. Russell M. Nelson, “Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys,” 121.

  3. General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 24.5.1, Gospel Library.

  4. As with all temple blessings, God’s bestowal of these blessings is dependent upon our keeping the covenants we make in the temple. See Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 96: “Each person who makes covenants … in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ.”

    As another example, consider the First Presidency’s statement on wearing the temple garment: “As you keep your covenants, including the sacred privilege to wear the garment as instructed in the initiatory ordinances, you will have greater access to the Savior’s mercy, protection, strength, and power” (General Handbook, 26.3.3.2; emphasis added).

  5. Doctrine and Covenants 109:55–57.

  6. See Russell M. Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” Liahona, Nov. 2024, 121–22: “Here is my promise to you: Every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find Him in the temple. You will feel His mercy.”

  7. See Doctrine and Covenants 109:34: “Have mercy upon this people, and as all men sin, forgive the transgressions of thy people, and let them be blotted out forever.”

  8. See Doctrine and Covenants 109:50.

  9. See Doctrine and Covenants 109:54. Joseph also asked the Lord “to have mercy upon the children of Jacob, that Jerusalem, from this hour, may begin to be redeemed; and the yoke of bondage may begin to be broken off from the house of David; and the children of Judah may begin to return to the lands which thou didst give to Abraham, their father” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:62–64).

  10. See Doctrine and Covenants 109:68.

  11. See Doctrine and Covenants 109:69. The Oxford English Dictionary defines mercy as “clemency and compassion shown to a person who is in a position of powerlessness” (“mercy,” oed.com). Mercy, like grace, is an expression of God’s love and kindness—His hesed. Whereas mercy is focused on withholding a punishment we deserve, grace typically refers to God giving us blessings we do not deserve and without regard to merit.

  12. Doctrine and Covenants 110:7.

  13. In a manifestation of personalized mercy, Joseph and Oliver were told, “Behold, your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me; therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:5).

  14. Russell M. Nelson, “Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys,” 119. President Nelson said, “I invite you to ponder what the Lord’s promise means for you personally.”

  15. See Bible Dictionary, “Tabernacle”: “The Holy of Holies contained only one piece of furniture: the Ark of the Covenant. … Upon the ark and forming the lid was the mercy seat. t served, with the ark beneath, as an altar on which the highest atonement known to the Jewish law was effected. On it was sprinkled the blood of the sin offering of the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:14–15). The mercy seat was the place of the manifestation of God’s glory (Ex. 25:22).”

  16. Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, Oct. 2022, 5. As President Nelson points out, hesed has no precise English equivalent, but its most common translation in the Old Testament is mercy. Of the 248 times the word hesed appears in the King James Version of the Old Testament, mercy is used 149 times, kindness 40 times, and lovingkindness 30 times (see Blue Letter Bible, blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2617/kjv/wlc/0-1/).

  17. See General Handbook, 27.2. The Savior teaches us that none of us can come unto the Father except through Him (see John 14:6). In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Savior provides this beautiful description of His plea for mercy on our behalf:

    “Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—

    “Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;

    “Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life” (Doctrine and Covenants 45:3–5).

  18. President Jeffrey R. Holland once said, “Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it” (“The Laborers in the Vineyard,” Liahona, May 2012, 33). See also Doctrine and Covenants 128:19: “Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? Uyo idaresit! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy.”

  19. Alma 42:15 Mercy has always been at the very center of the plan of salvation. Three advent scriptures are illustrative. Nephi concludes the very first chapter of the Book of Mormon by saying, “Behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20).

    In Exodus 34:6, the Lord proclaims His name to Moses as “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” Some have suggested that this verse may be referenced by Old Testament prophets more than any other verse in the Old Testament (see, for example, Bible Project, “The Most Quoted Verse in the Bible,” bibleproject.com/podcast/most-quoted-verse-bible/).

    In the New Testament, in the book of Luke, recall that Zacharias was struck “dumb, and not able to speak” when he doubted the angel’s promise that Elisabeth in her old age would bear a son, who would be John the Baptist (Luke 1:20). When Zacharias’s voice was finally loosed, he was “filled with the Holy Ghost,” and in the first public declaration that the time for the Messiah had finally arrived, he prophesied that the Lord would come “to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham” (Luke 1:67, 72–73; emphasis added).

  20. Gospel Topics Essays, “First Vision Accounts,” Gospel Library; see especially the 1832 account.

  21. Joseph Smith—History 1:29. Doctrine and Covenants 20:5–6 provides another description of the role of repentance in these two powerful visions. Joseph said that “no one need suppose me guilty of any great or malignant sins,” but he “felt condemned for [his] weaknesses and imperfections” and needed forgiveness (Joseph Smith—History 1:28, 29).

  22. See Enos 1:1–8.

  23. Alma 22:18. Alma’s prayer, “O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me,” leads to a flood of light and relief from pain (see Alma 36:17–20). President Jeffrey R. Holland once said of Alma’s plea: “Perhaps such a prayer, though brief, is the most significant one that can be uttered in a fallen world. Whatever other prayers we offer, whatever other needs we have, all come back to that plea: ‘O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me’” (Our Day Star Rising: Exploring the New Testament with Jeffrey R. Holland [2022], 170–71).

  24. Elder Kyle S. McKay beautifully taught, “Joseph’s life of regular repentance gives me confidence to ‘come boldly unto the throne of grace, that [I] may obtain mercy’” (“The Man Who Communed with Jehovah,” Liahona, Nov. 2024, 61).

  25. Moroni 10:3.

  26. Moroni’s plea is a bookend to Nephi’s statement at the very beginning of the Book of Mormon, where he states his own purpose in writing on the plates: “Behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20).

  27. Moroni 10:4.

  28. See Mormon 9:13.

  29. Alma 40:23: “The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.”

  30. Alma 34:16. As we consider how merciful the Lord has been, we may be tempted to disconnect mercy from justice—to think that our Heavenly Father’s loving mercy alone can overcome justice. But as Alma taught, “The plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also” (Alma 42:15; emphasis added).

    All the Savior’s merciful love for us could not save us. Rather, it was His suffering the very real and painful demands of justice that saves us. This does not, of course, diminish the importance of His love. Surely it was His love for us—and His desire to do the will of the Father, who also loves us—that caused Him to be willing to suffer (see John 3:16; Doctrine and Covenants 34:3). But love alone could not work.

    Sometimes we may focus so much on His love for us just the way we are that we lose sight of the fact that the way we are—as natural men and women whose behavior inevitably falls short of living the commandments—demands that justice be satisfied. If we misunderstand and view His love as doing away with the demands of justice, we diminish the gift of His atoning sacrifice and the suffering He did to pay the terrible price of justice. It would be discouragingly ironic if His love for us were understood to make unnecessary His atoning sacrifice. How much better it is to look squarely at the full demands of justice and to then be grateful that He loved us enough to bear those very real demands on our behalf.

  31. Alma 7:11–12

  32. Mosiah 3:11

  33. 2 Nephi 2:25

  34. Mosiah 14:5.

  35. Moroni 10:4

  36. Moroni 10:3

  37. President M. Russell Ballard encouraged us “to bear testimony of what you know and believe and what you feel” (“Remember What Matters Most,” Liahona, May 2023, 107).

  38. In offering this suggestion, I do not intend to offer a substitute “formula” for a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon or the gospel. As Elder David A. Bednar has taught, revelation can come like “a light turned on in a dark room,” where the revelation is received “quickly, completely and all at once.” It can also come like the “gradual increase of light radiating from the rising sun, … ‘line upon line, precept upon precept’ (2 Nephi 28:30). … Such communications from Heavenly Father gradually and gently ‘distil upon [our souls] as the dews from heaven’ [Doctrine and Covenants 121:45]. This pattern of revelation tends to be more common than rare” (“The Spirit of Revelation,” Liahona, May 2011, 88).