Wright Nibley Letter

 Randal Wright shared this experience:

"During a time when I was struggling to know if the Book of Mormon was true, I came across a catalog from Brigham Young University. Looking at the names of the faculty in the religion department, I noticed that many of these professors had degrees from prestigious universities. For some reason, the idea popped into my mind to write to several of them at their BYU addresses.

In my letter, I told them I was trying to gain my own testimony of the Book of Mormon and wondered if they would share their feelings concerning it. Looking back, I’m embarrassed to say that my letter was handwritten and then duplicated it [poorly] several times with no name at the top or bottom. I wrote their names at the top and signed my name at the bottom of each letter.

All responded to a terribly written form letter from some unknown kid from Texas. But soon I had a file full of letters from respected scholars with advanced degrees sharing their testimonies of the Book of Mormon. I still treasure those letters. Truman Madsen who had a Ph.D. from Harvard even sent me a book.

Following is one of the letters I received from the well-known religious scholar, High Nibley. He had a Ph.D. from Cal Berkeley and had a brilliant mind. According to his colleagues, while doing research, he liked to read his primary and secondary sources in their original languages. It is reported that in addition to English, he could read Egyptian, Dutch, Arabic, French, Coptic, Greek, German, Old Norse, Italian, Hebrew, Russian, Latin, and other languages. Here is the letter I received:

Dear Brother Wright,

The Book of Mormon, the record of "a lonesome and a solemn people," is the story of a few lonely men who had good reason to despair of the human race in their generation but never stopped importuning the Lord to tell them what was best to do and to support them in it. Lehi, Nephi, the Brother of Jared, Abinadi, Moroni, Mormon, Ether, etc. – there is hardly a major character in the book who does not stand most of the time completely alone, as popular as a lone bicycle rider going the wrong way on the freeway during rush hour. That is the stock situation in the Book of Mormon, and if you look carefully you will find that it is also the normal order of things in every dispensation of the Gospel. Even being in the Church, as Alma found out, does not change things very much, since we are still a long way from Zion. From which we can conclude that no small part of our testing during this time of probation is to how we behave when we are completely on our own. An exhilarating and a frightening situation—but what else can we expect if this is to be a REAL test? It is reassuring to know in this age of desperate conformity that God has his people in unlikely places, so that “the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, “The Lord only knoweth them that are his” (2 Timothy 2:19). With all the evidences around us today as the prophecies rush into fulfillment, one is tempted to ask, “Who needs a testimony?” Answer: We all do, since without it the evidence though frightening, doesn’t make much sense; today I feel as if I were “all testimony”—no other thought occupies me at all. The time is very short. Thank you for your note, and don’t weaken!”

With much urgency and respect,

Hugh Nibley

At the time I received the letters, I was reading the Book of Mormon with real intent, and it was beginning to affect me in a powerful way. Those letters created within me an even stronger desire to know if it was really true. It made no sense to me that an uneducated boy could possibly write a book that could fool brilliant scholars like Truman Madsen, Hugh Nibley, and others. I have continued my careful reading of the Book of Mormon through all these years, and the more I read the more convinced I became that neither Joseph Smith alone nor with a co-conspirator’s help, could have possibly written it. I have a testimony that it is an inspired record of ancient America.

Lesson Learned: To be grateful for those who are willing to take time out of their busy schedules to help those who are struggling."

I love it so much.  I love that he reached out to scriptural scholars and learned from them.  I love the words of Hugh Nibley.  I love (and hate) that we'll likely have times where we must stand alone...and that there is an urgency to all of this.  I love that Randal Wright saved that letter and shared it.  I love that Hugh Nibley took time to respond to this young man.  So many lessons to learn from this experience.