Given approximately 550 years
before Christ, this prophecy not only includes those who have a knowledge based
upon spirit testifying to spirit, but it also embraces another group, those who
will believe but who do not necessarily know by the testimony of the Holy
Ghost. The Prophet Nephi spoke of the future Book of Mormon in these words:
And now, I would prophesy
somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which
I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up
again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which
are written. (II- Nephi 30:3.)
The casual reader might think it
of little significance that a man living centuries before the publication of a
record should know that his words and those of other prophets would be accepted
by many people living in a subsequent era. Such a prediction, however, is not
commonplace in the annals of literature, and surely it is not so in sacred
literature, either Christian or non- Christian. Is this bold statement made in
any one of the books comprising the sixty-six books of the Old and New
Testaments? One would look in vain for such a prophecy there. The nearest
approach to such a prediction is in the Koran, the sacred writings of the
Mohammedans, and yet very dissimilar in letter and spirit are the numerous
statements of condemnation against the unbeliever. It is believed that the Book
of Mormon is unique among the professing books of scripture in this regard. One
of its most important characters declares that after the Book of Mormon would
be revealed to the world "there shall be many which shall believe the
words which are written" in that book.
. . .
Although one could estimate the
number who have received membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, about two million living and dead, it would be virtually impossible to
make an estimate of the "many" who believe the Book of Mormon but who
have not accepted all of the gospel. It is believed by the writer that the
number would doubtless be great, even many more than the number converted in
the missions in this dispensation.
. . .
If one ascribes this prophetic
statement to Joseph Smith instead of to Nephi, who lived many centuries before
him, it is nevertheless a remarkable utterance. He could not, uninspired of
God, predict that which would have its fulfilment in his own life, even amid
extreme opposition to the publication of the book, and be more literally
fulfilled as time marches on. Joseph Smith of himself was powerless to fulfil
this prophecy. The fact that truth bears evidence of itself is the basis for
the acceptance of the Book of Mormon. Hundreds of thousands of witnesses have
testified to the truths in the Book of Mormon. Some of these may be said to be
silent testators who "believe" but who do not go the full way along
the way to perfection. These are they who fulfil Nephi's prediction. It is
believed that if all the foreign and stake missionaries of this Church were to
report the instances of Nephi's prophecy being fulfilled today, whether the
person accepted the gospel or not, the number would undoubtedly be very great.
The fulfilment of this prophecy is but one of the many ways in which God is
verifying his word as spoken by his holy prophets. (Roy W. Doxey, “Modern Fulfilment
of a Book of Mormon Prophecy,” Improvement
Era 50, no. 11 [November 1950]: 879, 880, 924)
