The Savior’s Testimony of the Book of Mormon

At a recent session of Stake Conference, the mission president’s wife pointed out that none other than Jesus Christ himself bore powerful testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The Lord said, speaking of the prophet Joseph:

And he has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true. (D&C 17:6)

She emphasized that the Savior swore an oath in His own name to seal His testimony. Daniel H. Ludlow, in his book, A Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants, says:

Sometimes when the Lord intends that his words be accepted as though they were part of a sacred covenant with the receiver, he states a fact and then reaffirms it with a strong statement that might even be considered a sacred oath. In this revelation, a good example is the strong, definite, unequivocating, declarative words: "As your Lord and your God liveth it is true.

Although it is unusual for the Lord to swear an oath, it is neither as rare nor as surprising as we might expect. There are several instances of His commitment to His people and to principles of the gospel through an oath.

In Old Testament times and in Book of Mormon times (before the Savior came to the Americas) it was common for men to swear an oath to give strength to their promise. Breaking an oath, once sworn, was a serious breach of trust, and could ruin the reputation of the one who did so. Again, in his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul tells us that men commonly swore using the name of the Lord (as the Lord liveth), and that such an oath completely relieved any anxiety about the sincerity of the party involved:

For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.” (Hebrews 6:16)

However, in our day, our prophets have reaffirmed what the Lord, during His visit to the Americas as recorded in 3 Nephi 12:34-37, said:

But verily, verily, I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; … But let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever cometh of more than these is evil. (3 Nephi 12:34-37)

So why, then, does the Lord not hesitate to swear an oath (or make a covenant or promise) when he has specifically counseled us not to do so? In their book, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet tell us that it is because under the hand of mortal men, oaths, promises, and covenants are often used for sinister and evil purposes:


Oaths can also be abused, and not infrequently persons entered into secret oaths to perpetuate wickedness. Cain entered into an oath with Satan that he would not reveal the "great secret"-that one may murder and profit therefrom (Moses 5:29-31). The Gadianton bands of the later Nephite history operated by oaths and secret ceremonies and thus perpetuated those practices established in the earliest ages by Cain and Satan (Alma 37:1; Helaman 2:1; Helaman 6:1). When the Savior ministered in mortality, he called for a higher righteousness; mankind having abused the oath, the Lord specifically challenged men to let their word be their bond … Oaths should not be necessary in a Christian society, for honesty and integrity should be the order of the day. (Matthew 5:33-37)

Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 6:12-13, 17) also helps to clarify and explain the Savior’s purpose:

For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee … Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath…

In Alma 12:34-35, the Lord swears or promises that unrepentant sinners shall not enter into His presence:

And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.

In Doctrine and Covenants 84:40 we learn that the Lord cannot break his oath, and we further learn that the Lord’s oath represents a covenant with his people:

Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.

The Lord Himself explains the purpose of his oaths (or promises, or covenants) in Isaiah 45:22:

I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return...”

Let’s return to the Savior’s testimony in D&C 17:6:

He has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth [italics added] it is true.

This is the Savior’s own unparalleled endorsement – his own testimony-- that the Book of Mormon is true. He does not equivocate or qualify his statement in any way. He bore this testimony through his servant, Joseph Smith, to the three witnesses, David Whitmer, Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery.

Bruce R. McConkie, in his book, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, instructs us:

As to the truth and divinity of the Book of Mormon, let us record but one testimony. It is a testimony couched in the most solemn language known to the human tongue; it is a witness that is sworn with an oath; it is the testimony of the Lord God himself.

In the Church News, of September 3rd 1994 we were instructed that:

The word ‘amen’ is synonymous with firm and true, and is used to denote acceptance or truthfulness. "Amen" was also the proper response of a person to whom an oath was administered. Christ is called "the Amen, the faithful and true witness.” Rev. 3:14.)

Let us accept the testimony of the Lord and the many others concerning the divinity of the Book of Mormon. Let us say “amen” to the oath and testimony of the Savior concerning what Joseph Smith called:

…the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion…”(Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:461).