You hear the knock at your door - and there they are. Two young men with well pressed black shirts, smiles, and a free copy of The Book of Mormon. After a brief introduction they will tell you about Joseph Smith. Joseph, they will say, translated the Book of Mormon, thus confirming his authority from God as the new Prophet on the Earth in these Latter Days. They will tell you that the Holy Ghost will, in fact, confirm its truth by producing good feelings in you. Next will come the invitation to "Read the Book of Mormon, pray, and ask God to show you it is true...."

Before you fall to your knees, there are some things you need to know that they are not telling you (and won't unless you ask). The first is that LDS doctrine, the things that they believe that seperate them from historical Christianity, are not found in the Book of Mormon! There is really very little in that book that is (doctrinally) disagreeable to orthodox Christians. The real meat of Mormonism is found in their other scriptures, The Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. These they are not handing out at every door! And for good reason - if you knew what you were really being asked to believe, you may not be quite so willing to put aside your skepticism. 

The second thing you may not realize is that to accept the Book of Mormon, you are in fact accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet. Later this will mean believing some outrageous doctrine, doctrine that he did not come up with until later in his life after the Book of Mormon was already published (hence some of the 1,000's of changes that occured in this english document in the first decade!). So what about this test? Isn't it legitimate to give this question up to God? No, it isn't.

"I was answered that I must join none of them (the churches), for they are all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an aBook of Mormonination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt;"
-Joseph Smith History 1:1

How do we know?

God has already revealed His test for would-be Prophets - and it has nothing to do with prayer or feelings.

There is no need to pray about what God has already said. I do not have to ask God whether or not I should rob a bank or murder someone! James 1:5 says "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God...and it will be given to him." Wisdom is applied knowledge, not lack of it. I do not know how nuclear fission works, but that does not make me unwise. Someone who does know how it works would have knowledge, but not necessarily wisdom - how to use that knowledge. Praying about the Book of Mormon is a gross misinterpretation of this verse. God never tells us to pray about what is true. What is God's test for truth? Acts 17:11 describes a group of people who were considered more noble than others because when Paul (who wrote most of the letters of the New Testament) came to them with the Christian message they "received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so." God does not change. Neither does His truth. When we want to know how tall a wall is, we don't pray about it...we get something that we know is true (a ruler) and compare it to the wall. The Bible, God's word, is true. That is our measuring stick for truth.

Feelings are easy to produce. Psychological persuasion techniques, intensity, eye contact, or mere desire can produce feelings that feel real - because they are real! But real feelings are still just letting us know how we are reacting to something, not the truthfulness of that thing.

What are the tests for a prophet?

Deuteronomy 18:21-22 says, "You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?" If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him." Did Joseph Smith ever claim "in the name of the LORD" that something would happen when it did not? Yes. (see The Mormon Prophet).

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 says, "If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul." Did Joseph Smith lead his followers to other gods? Yes. (see Mormon Gods).

Galatians 1:6-7 says that people may be "turning to a different gospel-- which is really no gospel at all . . . trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." And he pronounced a curse upon them for doing so. In Romans 1:16 Paul tells us that the gospel is "the power of God unto salvation" - that's pretty important. Did Joseph Smith teach a "different Gospel"? Yes. (see The Mormon Gospel).

Who are we to judge?

Judgment is proclaiming something we cannot really know objectively. For instance, if I say, "This writing is black." It would not be judgment. I am not judging it to be black, it just is! However, if I were to say, "This writing is ugly," then I would be judging it. When God says we are not to judge (others) lest we be judged, He is not saying that we are to become incapable of discerning right from wrong (if it is according to His Word), nor is He saying that we are to become stripped of rational thought processes. This is a very important truth to understand, we are to judge!!! We cannot judge another person's motives or standing with God, because we don't know. But we can and must judge what a person does or says.

Deut. 13:1-3 says, "That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God...; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you." Deut 18:19-21 says, "If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death..." And Galatians 1:8-9 says, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"

So you see, God takes this very seriously. The gospel is God's power to bring us to Him. He will not stand for those who would pervert it. He has given us the ability and the responsibility to discern whether or not this is happening. A man's reputation is not worth any person's eternal destiny being destroyed. We must investigate the claims of the LDS if we are to follow what God has commanded.

Besides, in this case, we are invited to judge by Mormons themselves!