As I read the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith regarding the Book of Mormon I realized how weak any single testimony is too weak to depend on. While the totality of testimonies from Joseph, the various witnesses, and the testimony of the lives of so many people including Joseph and the other original testators is an extremely compelling body of testimony any single testimony can be disbelieved. If all we had were the word of Joseph Smith, or even his word plus a life that shows him believing what he said, it would be possible to believe that he was a fraud or that he was mistaken. It is when we have so many confirming witnesses that it becomes impossible to logically believe that they are all false. As my colleague, Phillip Oquendo, often says (not speaking of any religious idea) – everyone can’t all be telling the same lie.
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