Witnessing Miracles: Historical Evidence for the Resurrection and Book of Mormon

by Joshua Gehly

Jesus Christ's resurrection rocked Jerusalem and disrupted the course of religious history. The miracle of the resurrection challenged entrenched dogmas of Judaism. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon launched a new religious movement across the American frontier and equally confronted church tradition. Both the establishment of Christianity and its restoration solely depend upon the truth claims of their founding miracles. This begs the question, does any evidence actually exist for the resurrection of Jesus Christ? What about the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon is supposedly translated?

Ordained evangelist and author—Joshua Gehly—guides readers through the trenches of historiography to examine the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as presented by leading apologetic researchers like William Lane Craig, Michael Licona and Gary Habermas. Using a strict historical method of inference to the best explanation, the case is made for the miraculous claims of Jesus Christ resurrected.

The exact same method is applied to evaluate and compare the circumstances regarding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Nothing is concealed from investigation, including treasure seeking by Joseph Smith, financial failures and excommunication of founding church leadership. From the criteria of a hypothesis established by one miracle (the resurrection), the claims of a second (the Book of Mormon) get tested to the same standard.

Can a miracle be the best explanation for the empty tomb? Can the Book of Mormon hold up against historical scrutiny? Does heavenly intervention account for two of the largest religious movements of the last two thousand years? Finally, after these questions get answered, the gospel message is compared between the New Testament and Book of Mormon texts to see if the risen Jesus truly delivered the same gospel to different people after His resurrection. Witnessing Historical Evidence for the Resurrection and Book of Mormon bridges a gap few have tried to cross to come up with the best explanation of the facts...which might surprise you.

Genres: Religion

188 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 11, 2022

Reviews

[Christopher Angulo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information in this book would give it a 4, but because the premise is trying to establish evidence for the BofM, it gets a 3. The arguments are not that strong and could be applied too broadly towards all sorts of beliefs/ideas. As a believer's framework, the arguments are nice, but the author is trying to establish a framework for evidence ND the truthfulness of the BofM to all people, and not just believers. Many of his strongest arguments (hebraisms) for the BofM being a record that exists outside of Joseph Smith have been discussed in far greater detail decades before. Yet, as a believer, I found this book to be an interesting read and gleamed some new insights and thoughts that I didn't have before. It's definitely worth your time, especially if you haven't taken the plunge in to the BofM's history and content. The writing is easy to digest and the author uses some excellent sources.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the comparison/contrast between resurrection and Book of Mormon evidence.

"Seeing Jesus Christ raised from the dead caused a skeptical Apostle Thomas to exclaim, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). He saw, felt and knew the truth for himself. Doubt left when knowledge came. Jesus Christ was alive."

[Ryan DWyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An airtight argument for the Resurrection

The arguments presented for both Jesus's resurrection and the authenticity of the Book of Mormon present the improbabilities of either claims being false. The only thing left to do is surrender to inevitable conclusions and respond according to conscience.

[Kirk Huntsman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Fresh Perspective

Well written and carefully sourced. I enjoyed every moment and gained many new insights. Highly recommend to anyone seeking truth.

[K.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better documented evidence for the restoration and the Book of Mormon than for the resurrection, and they’re both true. Awesome!