The Veracity of Our Faith

Every avid reader is guilty at times of reading without digesting, but every addicted reader will also at times come across a sentence or paragraph which causes him to backtrack and contemplate deeply what he just read. The latter scenario played itself out for me when I read John Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven, an appalling insight into Mormonism.

In his book, Krakauer makes the following statement: “All religious belief is a function of non-rational faith. And faith, by its very definition, tends to be impervious to intellectual argument or academic criticism. Polls routinely indicate, moreover, that nine out of ten Americans believe in God- most of us subscribe to one brand of religion or another. Those who would assail The Book of Mormon should bear in mind that its veracity is no more dubious than the veracity of the Bible, say, or the Qur’an, or the sacred texts of most other religions. The latter texts simply enjoy the considerable advantage of having made their public debut in the shadowy recesses of the ancient past, and are thus much harder to refute.”

“To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1, GNB). For those of us familiar with this description of unshakable Christian faith, two questions immediately arise.

1. Does my faith in God have no more foundation and truth to it than a Mormon’s faith in Joseph Smith?

2. Is it correct that the Bible rests on the same fallible pillars as does The Book of Mormon?

1 Peter 3:15 instructs us to “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you,” clearly indicating that a Christian should not be ashamed to consider these two questions. Neither should he be slothful in searching for a satisfying answer to them. The author of Hebrews 11 knew what he was doing when he wrote of faith and certainty as existing together, and the God of the Bible is indeed the most secure Being to place our faith in.

The first angle to consider in establishing the veracity of one’s faith is revelation. Take Mormonism as an example. How was The Book of Mormon revealed to Joseph Smith? According to Smith, he was visited one night in 1823 by the angel Moroni who told him the hidden location of a set of golden plates and a pair of seer stones. The angel instructed him that no one else should see the plates. When Joseph was finished translating the plates, the angel took them away. The writing on the plates was “reformed Egyptian” (an unknown language), and much of the translating was done with a curtain between Joseph and his scribe or with the plates covered. Certain accounts show that Joseph translated some of the plates by placing his favorite seer stone inside a hat, burying his face in the hat, and dictating what he saw coming to him from the blackness inside the hat. Part of the revelation was that each saint should receive direct impression from the Lord, although Joseph quickly realized that such a policy would never work if he wanted to retain control of his quickly growing group of followers. Later Joseph announced that God had given him a new revelation; only he was appointed to receive commandments and revelations.

How was the Word of God revealed to mankind? Over the course of about 1,500 years, God revealed His word to different men including Moses (a political leader), David (a shepherd and a king), Amos (a herdsman), Matthew (a tax collector), and Peter (a fisherman). Despite the Word being brought through many men across the span of many years, the core message never changed from Genesis to Revelation: the fall of man and his redemption through Jesus Christ.

God did not give His Word in an unknown language but in three common languages readable by ordinary people. So which faith has more veracity—the one based on a writing revealed to one man from the darkness of a hat and changed to accommodate surrounding pressures, or the faith based on the Word given in common language understood by the simplest and never changing despite ferocious opposition?

A second angle to consider in establishing the veracity of our faith is archaeology. The Book of Mormon tells of two ancient civilizations located on the American continent. The first group, the Jaredites, was completely wiped out because of their corruption, and the second group was made up of righteous Jews who came around 600 BC. These Jews were later divided into the Nephites and the Lamanites— the Lamanites being evil, dark-skinned, and cursed by God. No archaeologist has ever confirmed the existence of these civilizations.

The Word of God also tells us of ancient civilizations and cities. Many of these have been confirmed by archaeologists, including Sodom and Gomorrah, Jericho, and the ancient cities listed by Luke in the book of Acts. So which faith has more veracity? The one whose documented civilizations have no evidence of existence, or the one whose civilizations are confirmed by the Word and verified by archaeologists?

A third angle to consider in establishing the veracity of our faith is effect. Mormonism’s belief of individual direct revelation from God has brought much violence and immorality into the lives of its adherents. The Mountain Meadow Massacre, the mysterious death of Joseph Smith’s brother around the time the group needed a presidential successor after Joseph’s untimely death, and the Lafferty Brothers’ crime in 1984 strongly suggest that their religion feeds and justifies the unregenerate heart.

What is the effect when one who is burdened by guilt and condemnation casts his faith on the redemptive work of Christ? Our own experiences reassure us that grace is infused, guilt is eradicated, peace is restored, and condemnation is removed. Many lives around us bear witness that God is still changing hearts through the truths in His Word.

So which faith has more veracity—the one whose teaching feeds the evil intents of the heart, or the one which teaches faith in a Saviour who provides lasting freedom?

Paul Little nailed it when he wrote, “Faith in Christianity is based on evidence. It is a reasonable faith. Faith in the Christian sense goes beyond reason but not against it.”