God spoke to Moses at the “burning bush.” God spoke to fourteen-year-old Joseph Smith in the burning light (JS-H 16-17). God spoke to Jason Olson, a devout Jew when he tried to burn the Book of Mormon. Thus, The Burning Book! From the Torah, to the Book of Mormon, to the New Testament was Jason’s unusual path.

From devout Jew, to Mormon, and to find true Christianity are described in this inspiring book. Receiving the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as a devout Jew, is his amazing journey. From being a Torah observant Jew to now being a military chaplain is his massive and dynamic life changing experience.

Because of the great importance of the Israeli-Arabic conflict in the world, I highly recommend you read “The Burning Book.” Jason had Israeli professors and Muslim professors. He knows the modern and historical perspective as well of the Israeli-Arabic conflict. As I did, you will learn a lot by reading the book. It is very well written. Jason Olson wrote it with his friend, James Goldberg, a journalist.

“Do Not Burn My Book”

God told 14-year-old Jason, “Do not burn my book!” Doubting the voice that came into his mind, he tried to burn it again, and God spoke to him again in his mind, “Go to your room and read my book.”  The following is a synopsis. But I left out the Israeli-Arabic conflict information. That information makes the book very valuable all by itself.

“The Burning Book”

As Jason began to read the book, he was surprised to read the words of Moroni. Moroni wrote the title page, and it shares this profound message. “[The book] is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.” The Angel Moroni delivered the gold plates to Joseph Smith to translate. Then Moroni says, “to the convincing of Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.” The Prophet Moroni saw our day more clearly than any other prophet.

The Great Promise

Before Moroni deposited the gold plates in the stone box in the Hill Cumorah in 421 A.D., he closed with this great promise (Moroni 10:3-5).

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. 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; 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. And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things.

Jason was moved by what Moroni shared encouraging us, “to think back on history, reflect on God’s relationship with humanity, and then pray to know the truth. By the power of the Holy Ghost, the scripture says, we can know the truth of all things.”

Feeling the Spirit of God

Jason knelt to pray, and after reading the book, he closed his prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. This is huge for a Jew to do, who is devout and observing the Torah. “The next moment, I was filled from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet with the spirit of God. I felt full of light. Like I was glowing with it.” Jason made the great comment, “There are moments in life that transcend the limits of our understanding. Moments that fill the heart, enlarge the soul. Moments when God writes his will on us when the flesh of our hearts becomes his tablet.”  God speaking to him clearly and the Spirit’s confirmation totally changed Jason’s life.

One needs to realize that the Book of Mormon is the only book the world has that is translated by “the gift and power of God.” Both the printing and the translation were miracles. The Prophet Moroni, who saw our day more clearly than any other, summarizes the message of the book (Moroni 10:31-33).

“And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled. Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God, ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.”

Jason’s Conversion Background

Jason was fourteen years old when his LDS friends in Scottsdale, AZ, gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon. As a devout Jew, he didn’t want to read it. Because they were his friends, he didn’t want to give it back. He felt not to throw it in the trash. His mother is a devout Jew, and he didn’t want her to see it. That was when he decided late one night “to burn the book.”

Reading the Book of Mormon as a converted Christian, he saw that he needed to be baptized. He asked his LDS friend, Shea Owens, to take him to the lake and secretly baptize him. Shea explained that it doesn’t work that way. He needed to take the missionary lessons, meet with the Bishop, and get his parent’s approval.

When Jason shared his desires with his mother, who is a devout Jew, she was totally upset. She told him, “Absolutely not!” She spent the next years having him meet with Rabbis and anyone who could dissuade him. He finally had to wait until he was eighteen to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The missionaries were excited to teach him—someone who was “genuinely excited about the gospel.” They had some great discussions. One of particular interest was the gender of the Holy Ghost. “For them [the missionaries], that must have seemed like an odd fixation, but for me seeing the Holy Ghost as female was the easiest way to map the Shechinah, a feminine term for God’s presence, from Judaism onto Mormon belief.” Shechinah means in Hebrew “dwelling” presence of God. I find it fascinating that in some apocryphal literature, the Holy Ghost is female and is Heavenly Mother. She is omniscient—all-knowing and filled with infinite love for each of us.

Jason describes his baptism: “I came out of the water feeling truly forgiven and pure. I was born again.” The next day the elders laid their hands on his head and said, “Receive the Holy Ghost.” Being both a blessing and a commandment, he said, “I felt it. It was soft and still, but the baptism of fire entered my soul. I felt like I could sing now in some unseen choir, singing Hallelujah to God and his angels. I have started a new life.”

Jason’s Missionary Experience

As the Lord would orchestrate it, he went on to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was called to serve in the most Jewish-populated areas in the USA, New Jersey, and New York. One time they were teaching congregants in a Messianic Jewish congregation, who already believed that Jesus was the Messiah. The Rabbi called them in and told them to stop.

Along with having several wonderful experiences on his mission, Jason also came to a clear appreciation that the Lord was keeping Jews as Jews for them to go their “Promised Land.” He developed a deep desire to go to Israel. He had gained a new major insight from the Book of Mormon about the gathering of Israel. America was also a “Promised Land” for the descendants of Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 49:22-27; 2 Nephi 1).

After his mission, he felt prompted to go to Israel to study. He took out Israeli citizenship there. He went to a meeting where Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu spoke of the threat of Iranian rockets attacking Israel. Jason felt to do something about it. He found a company working on a missile defense system. He decided to go back to the States to get a degree in Aerospace Engineering and come back and work with them.

Education and Marriage

As fate would have it, he went to BYU, and there he met Sara Ann Terry, who became his wife. He dedicated this book to her, with the citation, “To Sara, my Forever and a Day.” They were sealed in the San Antonio Temple closer to Sara’s family. Jason was deeply touched by the experience and shared: All my life, I’d been looking for something. For the grounding of a covenant, for the authority of a prophet, for the presence of God. In the temple that day, it all came together. This was what I wanted. This is what I was looking for. She was what I was looking for.

During his senior year, he took a class on “the Arab-Israeli conflict.” The professor asked the class, “Are rocket attacks by Hamas against Israel Justified?” The class responded with, “Yes.” After some discussion, Jason could not stand it anymore and stood up and said, “This disgusts me and offends me.” After class, students thanked him for standing up.

Jason then writes, “The clarity that emerged out of that day for me was this: I had given up on my plan to defend Israel from rocket attacks. But maybe learning how to persuasively object to such attacks was as important as learning how to shoot missiles down.” Jason and Sara prayed and headed off to the Brandeis Jewish University in Boston, where he got his Ph.D.

He was doing some of his research in San Antonio, and in December 2013 he got a flight to Boston, where he was to give a paper. He sat by an Airman. They had a great conversation during their four-hour flight to Boston. The Airman said, “After talking to you, I think you would make an outstanding chaplain.” The Airman’s bold statement changed Jason’s heart. He had never thought of chaplaincy before. He called Sara. They prayed. She called back and said, “Let’s go for it.” And so they moved to that path and are having great success.

Podcast Interview

Steven Pynakker has a podcast interviewing Jason Olson, where he tells his remarkable story. Steven is evangelical but loves the Book of Mormon. He says the Book of Mormon saved his life.  He was an atheist. This interview nearly went viral!

God in the Details of Our Lives

Jason’s story in the “Burning Book” is a great example of how our infinitely loving God is in the details of our lives. It is up to each of us to reach out to Him in prayer. He will force no one to heaven; to do so would make it not heaven. Prayer is our shield against the enemy of all Righteousness (D&C 10:5). And prayer is our path to Light and Truth (Matt. 7:7-8). Jesus is the way, the light, and the truth (John 14:6; 8:12).

David W. Allan

Photo of Book by the Author: Amazon