Moroni’s promise appears in Moroni 10:2 (RefMo) | 10:4–5 (RLDS) | 10:4–5 (LDS) and reads:
“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost; and by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things.”
Joseph Smith expanded this principle in his April 1829 revelation:
“But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.”
Taken together, these scriptures advocate for a kind of divination — specifically clairsentience, the attempt to discern truth through inner feelings. This is a form of divination deeply tied to religious experience, and is quite vulnerable to error because it relies on subjective and unreliable impressions.
A parallel can be drawn to Bonneville Communications, a media company that trademarked a technique called “Heartsell”. This approach deliberately engineers emotional experiences in order to persuade audiences. Bonneville has produced advertisements for major corporations as well as for the organization that it is a subsidiary of – the LDS Church – showcasing how feelings can be carefully manufactured to inspire conviction or action. Seen in this light, what many interpret as the “Holy Ghost” may often be indistinguishable from the effects of advertising and social engineering.
Now, to be clear: I accept the Book of Mormon as scripture. Yet I also believe that Joseph Smith Jr. composed it and that its themes reflect the concerns of his own era. For this reason, I approach it in the spirit of the first Reform Mormon Theological Affirmation – as a work of art, worthy of inspiration but not of historical truth.
Ultimately, the best way to discern truth is not through fleeting feelings, but through the logic and reason with which God has endowed us. Human reason, honed and disciplined, has given rise to profound insights about the world. We should not disregard truths that are apparent to reason simply because our emotions suggest otherwise.