Review of Joshua Gehly, Witnessing Miracles: Historical Evidence for the Resurrection and the Book of Mormon (Monongahela, PA: The Church of Jesus Christ, 2022). 172 pages. $14.95 (paperback).

Abstract: Joshua Gehly, an ordained Evangelist of the Church of Jesus Christ, offers a compelling case for the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Gehly uses the historical methods used by William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, and Michael Licona to demonstrate the historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and applies them to the Book of Mormon, concluding there to be greater evidence for the Book of Mormon using these methods than the Resurrection. He likewise concludes that the Book of Mormon serves to strengthen the reality of the Resurrection, bearing testimony of a historical people’s interactions with a historical and risen Jesus. While Gehly comes from a faith tradition outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his is a tradition that believes the Book of Mormon to be the word of God, and he shows his deep appreciation and love for both Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon throughout this book. Ultimately, it is a book that I can recommend to those interested in the line of historical analysis presented by many Christian apologists and the Book of Mormon.

As Joseph Smith taught, “The fundamental principles of our religion [are] the testimony of the apostles and prophets concerning Jesus Christ, ‘that he died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended up into heaven’; and all other things are only appendages to these, which pertain to our religion.”1 The Atonement, Crucifixion, and [Page 294]Resurrection of Jesus Christ have always been the foundation for the Church. “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Latter-day Saints are blessed with an additional witness to the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ than that found in the Bible, showing that our faith is not in vain. The Book of Mormon is a foundational text for the Church and all others who believe that the Gospel has been restored after years of apostasy. The Book of Mormon is also foundational to Latter-day Saints, as Joseph Smith likewise taught, “Take away the book of Mormon, and the revelations, and where is our religion? We have none.”2 The Book of Mormon and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ thus offer the two foundational beliefs of the restored Church and any branch of the restoration that links itself to Joseph Smith’s prophetic career.

One such believer in the Book of Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, has offered a new and useful approach to determine the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon.3 This approach is based on the historical analyses of prominent Christian apologists such as William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, and Michael Licona regarding the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, applied in a new way (p. ii).

Joshua Gehly is an ordained Evangelist in the Church of Jesus Christ (PA). However, while Gehly is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,