The Negative and the Positive Image of the Shroud

C. S. Lewis said that as you study the life of Jesus, you can only come up with two conclusions: 1) He is the greatest deceiver of all times, or 2) “He is exactly what and who He said He is: the Son of God and the Redeemer of mankind.” This I know, Jesus is a God of miracles. Here I document the highly unusual and not well-known Miracle of the Shroud of Turin. As I have learned from ancient records and I share below in detail what happened when they gook Jesus’ body down from the cross. From the scriptures, we know that Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus’ very wealthy great Uncle, got permission from Pilot to take the body of Jesus. And with the help of Nicodemus, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin, they took His body down from the cross. They were inspired to give Him a most Regal burial. They used a three-to-one herringbone weave linen cloth sacred to the Jews, measuring 14’ 6” x 3’ 9”. They laid His body on the linen with the spices: “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.” (John 19:38-39) They then brought the linen up over His body’s head and down over His feet. This was purposeful to share with the world as His shed blood was absorbed by the linen from the extremely large number of wounds that had been inflicted upon Him. These wounds from the scourging, from the crown of thorns, from the nails of crucifixion, and from where the spear was thrust from His right side over into His heart are evident from His blood absorbed by the Shroud.

The Shroud of Turin is Changing Lives

I have been greatly inspired and deeply touched by the new information coming out on the Shroud of Turin. Scientific information that was not known until our age has brought new and astonishing light. The information has been life changing for me and for many others. The images and insights have touched me to the core of my soul, as I have come to appreciate more deeply the suffering of our Lord. “He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth; Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ.” (D&C 88:6-7)

Science has greatly augmented the Shroud

The Shroud has been studied more than any other artifact in history. Atheists and agnostics have been turned into believers, who have been directly involved with the Shroud. The Lord has preserved it through three major fires, and brought the Shroud forth in amazing purity in the latter days, as a witness to the world. The augmentation of modern scientific technology has now added fascinating insights from a 2000-year-old linen cloth covering the tortured body of our Savior. One notices the nail marks in the wrists. And the trust spear going from the right side into the heart, as was practiced by the Roman soldiers. 120 marks all over his body from the scourging. The bleeding from the crown of thorns. Modern technology has opened up our eyes to a greater degree of our Lord’s unimaginable sufferings for us.

I share below the link for an excellent talk by Dr. John Campbell, who is a Ph.D. nurse pathologist. He has over 3 million visits to his weekly youtube channel. I also got the most informative book, The Shroud: Fresh Light on the 2000 Year Old Mystery by Ian Wilson. There is a massive amount of information on the internet—a lot of it is controversial and misleading. The following website has a great deal of well documented information: The Shroud of Turin Website – Home Page. It was put up by a converted non-believer, as his life was totally changed when he encountered the science surrounding the Shroud. Now to the MIRACLE!

A GREAT BURST OF LIGHT

God, knowing the end from the beginning, ties history into a cohesive whole to bring about His eternal purposes. His work is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of [humankind]. (Moses 1:39) I share here a fascinating hypothesis—consistent with the known facts—about one of the main mysteries and miracle about the Shroud. God knew that in the last days, atheism would be rampant, and science would become most people’s god. In His infinite love—looking at the last days—He performed a major miracle along with His glorious resurrection at the end of His three days in the tomb. Apocryphal literature tells us that at the time of His resurrection, there was a brilliant light in the tomb. Jesus orchestrated turning the linen in which He was carefully covered by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus into a negative image, as can be seen from the picture. The world had to wait until 1898 to see this MIRACLE.  Our omniscient Lord knew the miracle would be revealed when plate photography was discovered. Secondo Pia was a forty-three old lawyer with some reputation as a good amateur photographer. He took a photograph of the Shroud, and to His astonishing surprise, the negative from the film displayed in positive form for the first time revealing to the world the crucified body of Christ. An undisputable miracle, which no one can explain except that the God of Miracles, Jesus, did it. The burst of light in the tomb worked this otherwise unexplainable miracle.

I listened to a scientist who estimated that the great burst of light needed to be 34 quadrillion watts over 1/4th of a nanosecond. This staggering amount of energy over an infinitesimal time was needed to make the negative image on the Shroud without destroying it. Clearly, this is a God made celestial event to help the world know the great importance of the Shroud’s message. So, we have science now loudly proclaiming the infinite atonement of our Lord and Savior. How it was done, God only knows, but now we have this undeniable miracle bringing many non-believers to Christ. And we rejoice in His omniscience, power, and glory.

Pia’s photographic revelation was so remarkable that they followed up with a fully professional Turin photographer, Giuseppe Ernie, to take some proper new official photographs… using photographic equipment that was technically a vast improvement on Secondo Pia’s.

We also read from SHROUD.COM the conclusions from STURP’s study of the Shroud:

editor’s Note: After years of exhaustive study and evaluation of the data and the submission of their research to highly regarded peer-reviewed scientific journals, the following official Summary of STURP’s Conclusions was written by John Heller (in non-technical language) and distributed at the press conference held after STURP’s final meeting in October 1981:

“No pigments, paints, dyes or stains have been found on the fibrils. X-ray, fluorescence and microchemistry on the fibrils preclude the possibility of paint being used as a method for creating the image. Ultra Violet and infrared evaluation confirm these studies. Computer image enhancement and analysis by a device known as a VP-8 image analyzer show that the image has unique, three-dimensional information encoded in it. Microchemical evaluation has indicated no evidence of any spices, oils, or any biochemicals known to be produced by the body in life or in death. It is clear that there has been a direct contact of the Shroud with a body, which explains certain features such as scourge marks, as well as the blood. However, while this type of contact might explain some of the features of the torso, it is totally incapable of explaining the image of the face with the high resolution that has been amply demonstrated by photography.

“The basic problem from a scientific point of view is that some explanations which might be tenable from a chemical point of view, are precluded by physics. Contrariwise, certain physical explanations which may be attractive are completely precluded by the chemistry. For an adequate explanation for the image of the Shroud, one must have an explanation which is scientifically sound, from a physical, chemical, biological and medical viewpoint. At the present, this type of solution does not appear to be obtainable by the best efforts of the members of the Shroud Team. Furthermore, experiments in physics and chemistry with old linen have failed to reproduce adequately the phenomenon presented by the Shroud of Turin. The scientific consensus is that the image was produced by something which resulted in oxidation, dehydration and conjugation of the polysaccharide structure of the microfibrils of the linen itself. Such changes can be duplicated in the laboratory by certain chemical and physical processes. A similar type of change in linen can be obtained by sulfuric acid or heat. However, there are no chemical or physical methods known which can account for the totality of the image, nor can any combination of physical, chemical, biological or medical circumstances explain the image adequately.

“Thus, the answer to the question of how the image was produced or what produced the image remains, now, as it has in the past, a mystery.

“We can conclude for now that the Shroud image is that of a real human form of a scourged, crucified man. It is not the product of an artist. The blood stains are composed of hemoglobin and also give a positive test for serum albumin. The image is an ongoing mystery and until further chemical studies are made, perhaps by this group of scientists, or perhaps by some scientists in the future, the problem remains unsolved.”

The God of Miracles made the Negative so that it would turn into a latter-day MIRACLE!

The solution is, we have a God of Miracles; the negative picture taken by modern photography reveals the positive image of our crucified Redeemer and the photographic miracle He performed at the time of His resurrection.

Dr. John Campbell in the link below shares pictures of the Shroud in Modern digital photography. Modern scientific technology has allowed a reconstruction of the Lord’s body after He died, and His head hung down. Rigor mortis had set in before they took His body down.

Two scourgers stood on either side of Him with a whip of three leather strips each connected to a lead ball with broken sheep bones protruding to tear the flesh. There are 120 of these on His body. We cannot imagine the pain and suffering that the scourging alone caused Him.

We see the Shroud and Science’s construction of our Crucified Lord

They drove nails through His wrists where the meridian nerve would inflict incredible pain. The Savior had to push up against the nail in His feet in order to breath. When they broke the legs of the malefactors on the crosses on either side of Jesus’ dead body on the center cross, they suffocated because they could no longer push up to breath. The blood and water that ran out of Jesus’ body when the Roman soldier thrust in a spear, tells us that He literally died of a “broken heart.” (John 10:18; 19:34) Dr. James E. Talmage, who was also an Apostle, documents the “broken heart” hypothesis in his famous book, Jesus the Christ, on pages 668-669.

The Gospel of Joseph of Arimathea

The Gospel of Joseph of Arimathea, which was written before the four gospels and taken with him to England, clarifies many details of what really happened that Thursday in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. Just as John 19:40 states, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus together took Him down, “they.” The Gospel of Joseph of Arimathea shows that they laid Him on the shroud when they took Him down. The time was short before the Sabbath would begin. So, the 14 and ½ feet long shroud, as the Lord knew it would be, was placed up over His head. It absorbed the blood stains from all the horrendous treatment He went through under the Jews and the Romans. Since Jesus knew that plate photography would be invented and would reveal the actual image of His crucified and tortured body, the blood stains are direct evidence of the details of what happened, and Jesus knew it would be a major conversion tool to bring non-believers, agnostics, and atheists to Him in the last days. That has already happened to many and is happening now across the globe thanks to the significant internet coverage of this most studied artifact in history. The SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE IS UNDENIABLE. Faith leads you to know using Moroni’s inspired “null hypothesis” insight.

We have visited the garden tomb where Jusus was buried. Apparently, Joseph of Arimathea was not as tall as Jesus; so, they chiseled away some of the stone to accommodate His 6’ 2’’ size. This matches the size of His body as deduced from the Shroud. Some say He was shorter than that, but this is my witness and the chiseled stone gives the evidence.

NASA’s Eight Shades of Gray Imaging

In 1978, NASA developed what is called eight shades of gray to distinguish valleys and mountains during flybys of the moon and of planets. This technology was used to reveal detailed features of the Savior’s face. In his presentation about the Shroud, Dr. John Campbell shares a lot of amazing pictures, where they have used this NASA technique. I highly recommend you watch it. His insights are well documented. I leave it for him to share with you these inspiring details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT1R2kDPHFA.

Failure to Prove the Shroud a fraud

In 1988, three scientists obtained a piece from the Shroud and did carbon dating. They concluded the date of that piece to be between 1200 and 1390 A.D. Hence, the cloth dates in the medieval period. The people of the world then viewed the Shroud to be a fraud. What has been shown from the data is that this piece was a patch put on the Shroud at that time and so is very misleading. All of the other data show that the Shroud dates first century. Both some dirt and some pollen found in the Shroud date first century in Jerusalem, for example.

Unique Linen weave used at the time of Christ

Dr. Campbell shares great pictures of the herringbone weave with enlargements at the 200 to 500 nanometer level. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. On page 74 of Ian Wilson’s book on the Shroud is a picture of this unique herringbone weave used at the time of Christ and not at all during medieval times. Thus, also proving the carbon dating information to be wrong for dating the Shroud.

I have pulled a large number of quotes giving amazing insights from Ian Wilson’s book: THE SHROUD. Many of he quotes share how atheists, agnostics, and non-believer’s lives were changed with their encounter with the Shroud. It is not permissible to include such a large number of quotes in this blog article. For those who have my e-mail address, I will be happy to send them to you upon your request. Of course, you can get his book on Amazon. It is loaded with amazing, inspiring, and very useful information and is available in Kindle format.

“Absolutely Certain” is this Documented Miracle

I share here one summary quote from page 26 “Absolutely certain, however, is that the latest high-definition work verifies Secondo Pia and Giuseppe Enrie’s hidden negative discoveries in the most powerful way possible.”

A “gold-mine” of TRUTH in the Miracle of the SACRED LINEN SHROUD in which Christ was buried

Here we document that the first miracle by our omniscient Lord, as He was resurrected, was to turn the Shroud in which He was buried into a photographic negative image. In His omniscience, reaching out to the atheists, agnostics, and non-believers that He knew would be a major problem in the last days, He worked this miracle on the Shroud in which He was buried. The miracle of His resurrection has blessed the world more than any other in the history of the world. This linen cloth Shroud Miracle is a “gold mine” of TRUTH to bless us greatly in these the latter days because of our high-tech latter-day capabilities. It is wonderful that we can use science to help the non-believers to come to know Him.

When John the Beloved visited the tomb, he saw the linen shroud “wrapped together in a place by itself.” (John 20:5-7) The Spirit prompted John the Beloved to specially notice that item that would convert atheist and agnostics 2,000 years later.

Linen is made from Flax, and I just learned from David Hocking that Martin Harris made his money by growing flax on his farm. Martin provided the $3,000 needed to publish the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon. We know that the Hebrews in North America used linen; it is mentioned nine times in the Book of Mormon. Flax doesn’t grow in Mesoamerica—further disproving the Mesoamerica model for Book of Mormon geography.

Now with high-definition digital photographic, science unfolds this first miracle performed by our omniscient Lord, at the time of His resurrection. The positive from the negative reveals the blood from the crown of thorns, the 120 scourge marks all over His body. One sees the very evident nail marks in His wrists, as He wreathed in agony on the cross for three hours. One also sees the unique hole in the chest going from His right side all the way over to His heart.

The five-nail marks of the crucifixion are evident. These five nails denote the crucifixion and are a descriptor for the Native Americans of their Creator. It is often called the mystic symbol, and they pronounce it, “Yod-hey-vau.” (Jehovah) Scientists now have taken many away from God, as most believe in organic evolution. Now, our infinite loving Lord is using science to bring them back with the “positive” exposure of the “Linen burial cloth of the Shroud.”

My Heart is Full as I share this Miracle about the Lord’s Suffering.

With broken heart and contrite spirit, we think about the incredible suffering our Savior went through under the hands of the Jews and the Romans. But then we realize that indescribable suffering was not as great as what He suffered for us in the Garden of Gethsemane for our sins as he bled from every pore for the sins and suffering for all of Heavenly Father’s children. (Mosiah 3:7) There is a great hymn describing His suffering called “Gethsemane.” Bing Videos.

With my own humble heart, as I contemplate what I have shared, I close with this blog article: https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-importance-of-the-infinite-atonement/. In apocryphal literature we read of the great BURST OF LIGHT at the time of His resurrection bringing the Lord triumph over death and hell. And then the Lord brought about the MIRACLE OF THE SHROUD. May the Lord bless you and me to partake fully of His grace—anticipating a glorious resurrection and a fullness of joy because of Him.

David W. Allan (31 December 2024)

With the Shroud being the most studied and photographed artifact in history, the above pictures are now available.

Don’t Ignore the TRUTH

As emotional beings, our choices and decisions are mostly based on our feelings. However, Our thoughts, words, and deeds are thereby influenced. We live in the information age. The information on the internet, social media, TV, podcasts, and the entertainment industry along with our environment have significant influences on what we believe and what we do. But our God-given sovereignty gives us the choice of what our life will be. It is so important to use our intelligence wisely. I love Chauncey Riddle’s classic book, THINK INDEPENDENTLY. And most importantly, “Don’t Ignore the TRUTH.” Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)

We Live in the Information Age

Living in the information age, there is a tendency on the part of many to “Google” their questions, which are updated using AI to hopefully be the best information available. Artificial intelligence (AI) is an extremely powerful tool, but it has no soul. In 1965, I wrote my first computer program to characterize atomic clocks’ performances on an IBM 360 machine that NBS had acquired; it filled up a room. We used to have a joke about computer programming, “Garbage in, garbage out.” As we move into the digital era, one bit wrong can make a lot of difference. As you have noticed on your cell phone, pushing the wrong button may well take you where you don’t want to go. My personal  joke about the internet is, “There is a lot of information there, and some of it is true!”

Satan is the Great Deceiver

In the information age, there is massive propaganda deceit there because Satan uses it also to take as many as he can away from Christ. Satan is the great deceiver. He knows Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6) Christ is the LOGOS—the WORD. (John 1:1) Whosoever treasureth up the WORD, shall not be deceived. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, Satan has been deceiving the masses to take them away from Christ. So we see the great importance of treasuring the WORD. (JS-M 37) ” And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Important Omissions from the Bible

The Bible is considered to be God’s word. It has done more good by far than any other book in bringing about good and bringing people to Christ. But we have to ask some important questions.
1) Is God’s word only in the Bible? The answer is a resounding, “No!”
2) And the really hard question is, “Has Satan had a massive influence as well on Bible translations?” Unfortunately, the answer is, “Yes,” and causing great deceit across the masses and over the ages.
3) Is Christ’s infinite atonement poorly understood—causing satanic deceit among the masses? Satan has brought about this great deceit. So, again, the answer is, “Yes.”

I hope to open up TRUTH and LIGHT regarding these very important questions. Many other significant questions could be asked, but let me just focus on these because of their great importance.

Many Inspired non-Biblical texts

Regarding the first question, in the last 200 years, a large number of non-Biblical texts have come forth and most of them have been translated into English. They give major insights outside of the Biblical text that denote God speaking to others in ancient times and in modern times. In 1830, the Lord gave the world 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon in a miraculous manner. Both the translation and the printing were major miracles. God’s fingerprints are all over in this game-changing book. On a per-capita basis, the Book of Mormon has brought more people to Christ of those who have read it than any other book .

Jonah Barnes in his recent book, THE KEY TO THE KEYSTONE, sights that there are 20 mentions in the Bible itself of other sacred writings that are not in the Bible. In addition, he shows that the Book of Mormon prophets cite and often quote from some 40 other ancient prophetic texts outside the Bible canon, and their messages are most profound. Many of these are cited from the Brass Plates, which Lehi brought with them to America around 592 B.C. And much of the information in the Brass Plates is not in the Bible, which is sacred literature going back to the creation and the Garden of Eden. The Book of Mormon prophets shared the gospel by using the information on the Brass Plates, which tells of the creation, the Garden of Eden, and covers the infinite atonement. These prophets told of the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement. Elder Bruce R. McConkie called the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement the three pillars of eternity.

David Hocking just finished number seven of his annotated editions of sacred scriptures. They are awesome contributions to sacred literature. Nephi prophesied of “other books” to come forth in our day. I believe David’s last one is the best yet: THE REVELATIONS OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH, JR. David shares that the Book of Mormon quotes from the Book of Enoch and the Book of Jasher. Interestingly, the English translation of neither of these books existed at the time Joseph Translated the Book of Mormon, which he finished in 1829.

A very important realization is that God’s WORD can come to each of us by personal revelation. David Hocking shares two examples of my personal revelations on pages 315-317 of his last book. The Lord revealed to me that the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed in the Divine Ratio (7.5 inches/4.635 inches = 1.618). In addition, my research led me to a major printing miracle for the Book of Mormon. Gordon Weight shares in a pamphlet he wrote that it should have taken at least 17 1/2 months to print and bind 5,000 copies. In the Lord’s compressed time frame, it was done in 6 months for the book to be ready for the organization of His Church on the 6th of April in 1830. David’s new book now documents these major miracles that most have never heard about or have read about in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Serious Omissions from the Bible

These ancient sacred writings that are not in the Bible expose two serious omissions in the Old Testament Bible codex. The third serious omission applies to the Bible as a whole. The “infinite atonement” is neither explained nor even mentioned. That confusion in the Bible has led to most Christians looking to the “cross” and to Jesus’ blood, as their path to heaven.

• First is the omission of the importance of the role of Satan and his potential impact during our mortal journey.
• In many of the non-Biblical texts, the prophecies of the anointed one, the Son of God, the Savior of all humankind, and that He would be crucified by the Jews were removed. You can imagine why. As these ancient scribes read these texts, they didn’t want the world to know that their descendants would be killing the Son of God.
• The infinite atonement is beautifully explained in the Book of Mormon by several of the prophets as well as in other apocryphal writings. I also did a podcast with Rod Meldrum on this critically important subject, which is scripturally based. I share that the the infinite atonement is perfectly just and perfectly merciful in God’s infinite love.

These Omissions Cleared up with non-Biblical Texts

So, both the Book of Mormon, as well as the other non-Biblical texts, profoundly and thankfully supply the Lord’s revelations to others to overcome these serious omissions.

Let us not overlook or avoid the TRUTH. These texts provide great enlightenment and bring us closer to God. Well did Alma share: “For behold, the Lord doeth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.” (Alma 29:8)

The Infinite Atonement the Most Important Event in World History

The most important event in all of world history is the infinite atonement of our Lord and Savior. Because of its preeminence, President Nelson at the last General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asked us to learn more about the atonement. In response, I wrote a special blog article: “The Importance of the Infinite Atonement.” I quote heavily from non-Biblical texts to give major insights that I feel the Lord has given me as I have pondered, studied, and prayed. I have also written several blog articles doing the best I can to help people understand this most important event in all of world history. I list the links for those here. There is a lot of repetition, but repetition brings conviction:
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-importance-of-the-infinite-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-full-infinite-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/spiritual-science-seven-steps-in-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-infinite-atonement-of-jesus-christ/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-infinite-atonement-and-paradise/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/resurrection-capstone-of-the-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-perfect-infinite-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-resurrection-disproves-the-theory-of-organic-evolution/

Enormous Burst of Celestial Light

After the martyrdom of the early Apostles, world history documents the incomprehensible creeds, which prevent people from knowing  the TRUE GOD. (see the Nicene Creed) God overcame that serious problem. My late friend John Pratt deduced from Enoch’s calendar that an enormous burst of celestial light came forth on the 26th of March 1820. The true nature of the Father and the Son was revealed in the sacred grove to the young boy, Joseph Smith, Jr. Like the boy prophet, Samuel in the Bible, Joseph came to know God. And thus commenced the restoration of the fullness of the gospel beginning with the Book of Mormon.

As Jesus prayed, to know the Father and the Son is Eternal Life (John 17:3). The creeds had removed that knowing and made the Trinity a mystery. This vision was the most important event that had happened in world history since Jesus had finished His infinite atonement. Now we can know the true infinitely loving nature of Elohim, Who is ever reaching out to each of us wanting us to partake of Eterna Life (Matt. 7:7-8). Now I know Elohim through the Spirit of revelation and from all the sacred writings we now have available. The “other books” (read 1 Nephi 13:39) have helped me tremendously to come to KNOW ELOHIM.

David W. Allan (15th of December 2024)

Photo of the cover of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Enoch by David Hocking with David’s permission.

To know the TRUTH amid all the falsehoods is extremely important today. This famous statement by our Savior gives us hope amidst the storms and challenges of life: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) 

He promises, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (verse 36) In my search for TRUTH, I have three criteria:

1) If God says it, I know it; His WORD is either from His sacred writings or from personal revelation—it is the same. He is the WORD. (John 1:1)
2) We cannot prove a theory or hypothesis true; we don’t know enough. Only God knows enough. People often make the mistake that if something agrees with their paradigm then that provides validation. IT DOES NOT! Correlation does not provide validation.
3) But, if I have reliable data, I can prove a theory or hypothesis false. This is very powerful—allowing us to move away from what is false to what is true. The “null hypothesis” is very useful in this regard.
A simple definition of which is that if I cannot find anything false about a theory or hypothesis, then it may be true.
I find it fascinating that Moroni uses the null hypothesis in his closing chapter in the Book of Mormon. My good friend, Joseph Papenfuss, pointed this out to me.

1. Now I, Moroni, write somewhat as seemeth me good; and I write unto my brethren, the Lamanites; [The Lamanites had destroyed his nation, the Nephites, and were the enemies of righteousness. Moroni had been alone for thirty-six years since the Nephite nation was destroyed in that great battle at the Hill Cumorah.]
2.  And I seal up these records after I have spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.
3.  Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. Moroni had read the Jaredite record, which tells the end from the beginning as was received by revelation by the Brother of Jared. Moroni is asking us to “remember” the massive effort to bring forth God’s word from Adam down to our time. Can you imagine the massive effort to make plates, to scribe on those plates, to protect them and preserve them over the millennia? Also, Moroni had labored alone to make a repository room for all of the records they had kept over the centuries. This repository was in the Hill Cumorah—indeed, a massive effort all by itself.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; Here Moroni uses the null hypothesis profoundly.

In other words, if you cannot prove the Book of Mormon to be false, then you can move on to having the Holy Ghost witness to you that it is true. Many millions of people have received that sure witness and know that it is true. The Lord only asked, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” (1 Corinthians 13:1) We have millions of witnesses that this promise from the Lord is true. The Book of Mormon was translated once by the “gift and power of God.” No other record—including the Bible–holds that claim. It has been with us for nearly two hundred years, and many a critic has gone after it, but the “null hypothesis” has shown them that it cannot be proven false. Some claim plagiarism, but Jonathan Neville in his book, Infinite Goodness, has proven that claim false.

Then Moroni goes on to share, “…and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. Once people come to know by the power of the Holy Ghost, then they know for sure. As Chief Midegah told us one time, for him the Book of Mormon is not about faith; it is fact. It is a major part of the history of his people—“of the great Peacemaker,” who walked the Americas as a resurrected being. As He told the Jews, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16; 3 Nephi 15:13-17)

Bringing People To Christ

Per capita, the Book of Mormon has brought more people to Christ of those who have read it than any other book including the Bible. I share in this article several links that I have written giving both scientific validation of the Book of Mormon and of all our scriptures, as well as many other infallible evidences, spiritually, historically, and from glottology. Languages don’t lie; they are what they are within every culture.

For example, Mormon and Moroni wrote in “Reformed Egyptian,” that they lived nearly a thousand years after Lehi left Jerusalem in 600 B.C. At that time, as Brian Nettles shares, Nephi wrote in demonic and heretic Egyptian. This is illustrated by characters copied by John Whitmer, who was one of the scribes for Joseph Smith in Fayette, NY, where Joseph translated the small plates taken from the repository for the first part of the Book of Mormon (First Nephi through Omni). Brian has developed the gift of translating these ancient records. I have a picture of these characters that John Whitmer copied and translation insights that Brian has gained from them in the article: Ancient Hebrews in Ancient America.

The Hill Shim and Two sets of plates

Jonathan Neville also documents the two sets of plates for the Book of Mormon. The small plates were translated in Fayette, NY, and were the unabridged record from 600 B.C. to about 100 B.C. They weighed about 30 lbs and the eight witnesses handled them. The Large plates contained Mormon and Moroni’s abridged records of he Nephites and Jaredites and weighed about 60 lbs. The three witnesses were shown them by Moroni and they heard the voice of the Lord telling them that they had been translated by the “gift and power of God.”

After Joseph translated from the large plates, a messenger took them back to the repository in the Hill Cumorah. Then the small plates from that same repository were delivered to Joseph to translate in Fayette, NY.

Later, the Lord instructed Joseph to take all those records and put them in the nearby Hill Shim. Those trusted souls who helped him bear record of this and that no one is to know that location. They will come forth in the due time of the Lord.

Russell Burrows’ Unique Stones

Duane Erickson drove down to our place in Fountain Green from Evanston, WY, to let me borrow a stone that Russell Burrows had given him. Russell had found the stone in a cave in the heartland of America–depicting the Christ in North America. When he learned that I was going to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2015, he wanted me to take it so that I might share with my colleagues there that the resurrected Christ had been in North America. I did and they were touched by the knowing.

I showed Brian this stone, and he was able to translate the characters on the right side of the image of Christ that I had wondered about for years. “He is risen to purify us.” I was so happy to get his translation. It made total sense. I was able to read the mystic symbol, (Jehovah and the five nails of the crucifixion) at the top and “Son of my Right Hand” at the bottom of the stone or Son of Righteousness. The phrase, “Son of Righteousness” is used uniquely three times in the Book of Mormon.

Voices From The Dust

Isaiah shares about voices from the dust in our day. (Isa. 29:4) I believe these stones are part of these prophesied manifestations along with the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. Russell Burrows gave a different stone to Wayne May that he had found in the same cave. Wayne sent me a picture and a copy of it. It depicts the Savior’s atonement in amazing detail. It shows the hole in the wrist. It denotes the three days in the tomb while the Savior’s spirit was three days in paradise. I did a blog article and a podcast with Brian Nettles and Michael Claridge about this amazing voice from the Dust Stone: Two Hundred Names for Jesus.

Glottology, the history or science of language, is a powerful tool in ascertaining truth. I share here the fascinating story of Professor Felix Mynhardt—who was a gifted linguist at Pretoria University. He knew over 60 languages. His father was the Reverend C. F. Mynhardt, who compiled the first concordance of the Afrikaans Bible. Professor Mynhardt was asked to translate the Book of Mormon into Afrikaans, and he declined, as a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. That evening when he was praying, the Spirit convicted him. He had been asking the Lord for an opportunity to use his special linguistic gifts. The Lord had given him the Book of Mormon to translate into Afrikaans, and he had declined. After a sleepless night, he called the mission President, Harlon Clark, and said he would do it.

As was his style, he went to the middle of the Book of Mormon, knowing that typically authors stabilize in their writing. He immediately recognized that it had been translated from another language. Over some months, he deduced that it had been translated from ancient Egyptian with Hebrew nouns added. His goal was to translate difficult passages back into the original language and then into Afrikaans to give more accuracy.

He shared his experience at a meeting in Johannesburg on May 14, 1972, when the Afrikaans Boek van Mormon was introduced to the South African Saints, it was a happy and, at the same time, an emotion-packed, spiritual experience for those in attendance. A missionary who attended the landmark event said that “to sit in that meeting and observe the rapt attention and subsequent tears in the eyes of the audience when the first few pages of Die Boek van Mormon were read aloud was one of the greatest spiritual experiences of my mission.”

Mynhardt stated, “Imagine my utter astonishment when… I came to verse two, where Nephi describes that he was writing in the language of the Egyptians, with the learning of the Jews!  I knew by the second verse, that this was no ordinary book, that it was not the writings of Joseph Smith, but that it was of ancient origin. I could have saved myself months of work if I had just begun at the beginning. Nobody but God, working through a prophet of God, in this case, Nephi, would have included a statement of the language he was writing in. Consider, how many documents are written in English, including the phrase, “I am writing in English!” It is unthinkable and absolute proof of the inspired origins of this book.

Mynhardt said that he was perhaps the only person, at that time in South Africa, who had the language skills necessary to make the Afrikaans translation, using as he did, ancient Egyptian, Hebrew, Afrikaans, and English. He had this to say about Joseph Smith:

“I do not know what Joseph Smith was before he translated this book, and I do not know what he was afterward, but while he translated this book, he was a prophet of God! I know he was a prophet! I testify to you that he was a prophet while he brought forth this book! He could have been nothing else! No person in 1827 could have done what he did. The science did not exist. The knowledge of ancient Egyptians did not exist. The knowledge of these ancient times and ancient Peoples did not exist. The Book of Mormon is scripture. I hope you realize this… I declare that the Book of Mormon is of ancient origin, and is scripture of the same caliber as the Old Testament, or for that matter, the New Testament”.

Book of Mormon validates the Bible

A recent survey showed that 93% of the leading American scientists disbelieve the Bible. Joseph in Egypt and Nephi both prophesied that this would happen. (2 Nephi 3:11; 1 Nephi 13:38-41) And they further stated that one of the reasons for the Book of Mormon coming forth to this Gentile nation was to validate the Bible.

Chapter 3 of my first book, It’s About Time, and this blog article help to provide that historical and glottology evidence. I am pleased that LDS Living picked up on this as well.

Looking Forward to The Brass Plates and Other Records

Now we are looking forward to the Brass Plates, which have a sacred history all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and which the prophets in the Book of Mormon quote from. We have the full record of the Jaredite nation over their nearly 1,700 years of history, which are in the sealed portion of the large plates. The unsealed portion was what Joseph used to translate with the Urim and Thummim the Book of Mosiah through Moroni in the last part of the Book of Mormon. Also in the sealed portion is the revelation that Nephi received that is equivalent to John the Beloved’s Book of Revelations. All of these are yet to be translated; and what an incredible blessing these records will be—revealing the end from the beginning and knowing how the earth was created in the first place.

But first, the Gentiles need to repent and receive the Book of Mormon and have faith like the Brother of Jared before these will be revealed. (Ether 4; and D&C 84:54-59) Let us pray for that great day and live our lives in preparation for ZION and to receive these records and the Lord at His Glorious Coming.

David W. Allan