The LDS church encourages the investigators and members to pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, yet it is never so much as mentioned that God can reveal the same truth about the Bible!
What a double standard if there ever was one.
The church encourages personal revelation and seeking truth — but in a surprising turn of events, only if said truth will confirm the need for a “restoration.”
And how is truth obtained? The Book of Mormon, according to the LDS church, is verified by the feelings you experience when you read it and pray about it, at the expense of scholarly information and rational thought.
I’m not against feelings, but if that’s the standard we are going off of, why don’t my feelings of awe and amazement at the work of Jesus as communicated through the Bible count?
It’s a double standard.
But as “luck” would have it, there’s actually given a boatload of evidence about that historicity of the Bible. Not only does it teach doctrine that the Holy Ghost will confirm on a spiritual level, but it contains a history backed up by many secular sources, from many different communities such as Hebrew, Assyrian and other contemporary BC civilizations, Roman, Greek, etc.
Now, let’s go back to how everything in Mormonism is based on feelings.
In the LDS church, if any doubts arise — let’s say doubts based on academic research, history, theology, or just simple reason, members are encouraged to doubt their doubts and “remember how you felt” when they had a stronger testimony.
Just keep going back to those “spiritual experiences” and all the feelings you’ve had, and that will guide you.
Like a woman who, once married, realizes her husband is a narcissist and the solution is to remember how she felt when his charisma swept her off her feet in their courtship years. Nevermind any logic about the health of the current marriage — she had chemistry with him when he was manipulating her emotions! So hold onto those memories! That will solve any current concerns, right?
In Mormonism, feelings are the barometer of truth… everything is feelings 100% and you’re not allowed to think logically or learn a scholastic perspective.
Here’s an important video showing that many different conflicting religions have all been “verified” by their members when going off of feelings and “spiritual experiences”:
(Disclaimer: I don’t think the Protestant world is immune to this! There always comes a point where believers weigh evidence against personal faith. But at least in Protestantism, they’re encouraged to do so, and the scholastic angle is heavily respected and patiently debated. At least from what I’ve seen so far!)
All I Possess 