Skip to main content

Faith & Spirit Quote by Richard G. Scott

"The Book of Mormon is concrete and solid, they can hold it, and they can visualize that they have to pray to decide if this physical thing is true. There is no room for interpretation"

About this Quote

A physical book is doing double duty here: it is scripture and strategy. Richard G. Scott leans on the blunt persuasiveness of an object you can literally grip, turning belief into a sensory transaction. “Concrete and solid” is not just description; it’s a rhetorical move that swaps the messiness of interpretation for the reassuring simplicity of a testable artifact. Hold it, pray about it, decide. The pipeline is clean.

That cleanliness is the point. Missionary culture in Latter-day Saint life is built around repeatable patterns of conversion: read, ponder, pray, receive confirmation. Scott’s framing makes the process feel less like joining a tradition and more like verifying a claim. By emphasizing “this physical thing,” he converts an abstract theological question into an encounter with evidence, borrowing the aura of empiricism without actually submitting the text to empirical scrutiny. The “decision” is internal, but the setup feels objective.

“No room for interpretation” is where the subtext sharpens. It signals a suspicion of plural readings and a preference for certainty managed through authorized procedure. Interpretation is messy; it produces factions, dissent, and the uncomfortable realization that sincere people can read the same words differently. Scott offers a workaround: don’t argue about meanings, ask God if the object is true. That collapses hermeneutics into obedience.

Historically, this fits a church that prizes clarity, correlated messaging, and a direct line from personal spiritual experience to institutional authority. The quote reassures investigators and members alike: the ground won’t shift under you, because the method - and the conclusion it’s meant to yield - is already built in.

Quote Details

TopicFaith
SourceHelp us find the source
Cite

Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Scott, Richard G. (2026, January 15). The Book of Mormon is concrete and solid, they can hold it, and they can visualize that they have to pray to decide if this physical thing is true. There is no room for interpretation. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-book-of-mormon-is-concrete-and-solid-they-can-165698/

Chicago Style
Scott, Richard G. "The Book of Mormon is concrete and solid, they can hold it, and they can visualize that they have to pray to decide if this physical thing is true. There is no room for interpretation." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-book-of-mormon-is-concrete-and-solid-they-can-165698/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The Book of Mormon is concrete and solid, they can hold it, and they can visualize that they have to pray to decide if this physical thing is true. There is no room for interpretation." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-book-of-mormon-is-concrete-and-solid-they-can-165698/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

More Quotes by Richard Add to List
Richard G. Scott on the Book of Mormon as a Spiritual Test
Click to enlarge Portrait | Landscape

About the Author

USA Flag

Richard G. Scott (November 7, 1928 - September 22, 2015) was a Clergyman from USA.

22 more quotes available

View Profile

Similar Quotes

Joseph Smith, Jr., Clergyman
Joseph Smith, Jr.