Brother Rick’s love of learning is matched only by his lifelong love of The Book of Mormon. An independent researcher of more than 20 years, Rick strives for a balanced approach to research, seeking to understand all sides of a topic. While The Book of Mormon as history is one of his favorite topics, he emphasizes that the primary purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Jesus Christ.
His own testimony of the truthfulness of the book came as boy of 12 when his father encouraged him to read The Book of Mormon for himself for the first time. Brother Rick will be the first to tell you that true conversion can only come from the spirit, and that it is only after a spiritual witness has been received that an individual will truly benefit from secular evidence.
While he personally finds the study of the lands and people of the Book of Mormon fascinating, his research is driven by a desire to help those who are struggling in their faith, or have not yet found it. There are many voices in the world today proclaiming that there is no evidence for The Book of Mormon, and sadly, all to often, even those who have received a spiritual witness, fall prey to this lie.
Brother Rick boldly claims that there are “literal mountains of evidence” and he finds joy in sharing not only his findings, but the findings of other researchers as well. If only one person is able to retain their faith because of him, he will consider himself successful. It is also Rick’s hope that those who are currently unfamiliar with the Book of Mormon, or perhaps have never considered it, or once believed and have fallen away will gain new interest with the presentation of secular evidence.
He has experienced firsthand the power of the Book of Mormon, and knows that if people read it, it will bring them closer to Christ, and if an interest garnered by new evidence causes them to read the Book of Mormon, with real intent, they will receive that spiritual witness.
Brother Rick is currently pursuing an advanced degree in Anthropology with an emphasis on Mesoamerican Archeology.
Selected Bibliography
Projects
Brother Rick hopes to publish his upcoming book with the working title “Against All Odds: Navigating the Mysteries of the Book of Mormon” in the near future