His Testimony

And he has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true. DOCTRINE & COVENANTS 17:6

Great power attends us in bearing testimony of the truthfulness of the words of God as spoken through his prophets. Faith comes by hearing the word of God as that word is preached by legal administrators, a word that is always accompanied by the spirit of prophecy and revelation (Romans 10:17; Smith. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 148). Even greater power attends when God himself testifies of some thing. But he does more than simply bear witness. The phrase “and as your Lord and your God liveth” is an oath statement. Elder Bruce R. McConkie declared: “This is God’s testimony of the Book of Mormon. In it Deity himself has laid his godhood on the line. Either the book is true or God ceases to be God. There neither is nor can be any more formal or powerful language known to men or gods” (Ensign, May 1982, 33). (Robert L. Millet and Lloyd D. Newell. Draw Near Unto Me: Daily Reflections on the Doctrine and Covenants. 48)