General Conference, ‘The Marvelous Foundation of Our Faith,’ October 2002
“…They came, both of Them, that Joseph saw Them in Their resplendent glory, that They spoke to him and that he heard and recorded Their words—of these remarkable things we testify.
I knew a so-called intellectual who said the Church was trapped by its history.
My response was that without that history we have nothing.
The truth of that unique, singular, and remarkable event is the pivotal substance of our faith. But this glorious vision was but the beginning of a series of manifestations that constitute the early history of this work.
As if that vision were not enough to certify to the personality and the reality of the Redeemer of mankind, there followed the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Here is something that a man could hold in his hands, could “heft,” as it were. He could read it. He could pray about it, for it contained a promise that the Holy Ghost would declare its truth if that witness were sought in prayer….” – Gordon B. Hinckley [emp. mine]
