Is it True?

Today is what is known in the Church as "Fast Sunday." Once a month, typically on the first Sunday of the month, we dedicate the day to fasting and prayer. At church on this day, we conduct a fast and testimony meeting where members of the congregation are given the opportunity to stand at the pulpit and share their convictions of the Gospel. During this meeting we often hear the phrase, "I know the Church is true."

Is it really the only true church and religion on the earth? Many people don't think so and try to convince us that we are foolishly being led astray by false prophets and charlatans. They want us to believe that the Book of Mormon is a work of fiction made up by Joseph Smith and the church he helped to organize is nothing but an oddball cult.

The Book of Mormon records what one disbeliever in ancient times said, and it sounds very much like what we hear about the Church today:

"O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come. Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditions of your fathers. How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ. Ye look forward and say that ye see a remission of your sins. But behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so. And many more such things did he say unto them, telling them that there could be no atonement made for the sins of men, but every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was no crime."
(Book of Mormon, Alma 30:13 - 17)

In the movie, Chicken Little, the main character of the title had a hard time convincing anyone of what he saw and knew to be a fact.

Perhaps it would indeed be kind of hard to believe the word of a youngster. Seems like people had a hard time believing a young Joseph Smith too when he claimed to have restored the true Gospel and church after seeing God and Jesus Christ in a vision in 1820.


Today, the Church is led by men who we consider to be prophets, seers, and revelators. They believe Joseph Smith. What kind of men are they?

The President of the Church is Thomas S. Monson. He graduated cum laude from the University of Utah in 1948, receiving a degree in business management. He did graduate work and served as a member of the College of Business faculty at the University of Utah. He later received his MBA degree from Brigham Young University. He served for many years as chairman of the board of Deseret News Publishing Co..

His 1st Counselor is President Henry B. Eyring. President Eyring was president of Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, from 1971 to 1977. He was on the faculty at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University from 1962 to 1971. He holds a B.S. degree in Physics from the University of Utah and Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Business Administration degrees from Harvard University.

The 2nd Counselor in the presidency is President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He studied engineering and later continued his education in business administration in Cologne, Germany, and international management in Lausanne, Switzerland. President Uchtdorf joined the German Air Force in 1959 and received his pilot wings in Big Spring, Texas, and fighter pilot training in Phoenix, Ariziona. In 1965, President Uchtdorf joined Lufthansa German Airlines as a pilot. He worked as an airline captain from 1970 to 1996, flying multiple types of airplanes and completing his career flying the B747. He held several executive positions, including head of the airline pilot school, director of in-flight services, and head of cockpit crews. At the time of his call as a General Authority, he was the senior vice president of flight operations and chief pilot of Lufthansa German Airlines.

You can review the biographical information for these and other General Authorities of the Church at this link:
Leader biographies

As you will see, before they were called to serve in their leadership roles in the Church, these men were educators, business executives, doctors, lawyers, and so on. In other words, they are well-educated, respected in their professions, and have nothing to gain from deceiving anyone. They are not getting rich from the members of the Church, they are not seeking fame, nor are they seeking to exercise power over anyone. Instead they travel around the world teaching people the importance of strengthening family bonds and living Christ-centered, clean lives. If the Church wasn't true why would they waste their time doing something of no material benefit to themselves? Perhaps it is true after all.

"And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety? Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me. And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed unto me, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true, even so according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by the manifestation of the Spirit of God."
(Book of Mormon, Alma 5:45 - 47)

I have prayed and fasted to know about these things. I can testify that they are true. I hope that you will also believe them to be true.