Which is why God gave us the Bible.
Do just as James recommended, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God”
Yes, ask for wisdom, as Solomon did, not the answer to a specific question every time something challenging comes up, especially questions for which the Bible provides very clear answers. Again, the Bible is very helpful in that regard. Solomon asked for wisdom, therefore when presented with the child custody case, he'd already been given the wisdom to know how to deal with it. God may give you the wisdom to evaluate the teams and assess what baseball team will wind the World Series. That's not the same as asking him for the name of the team and the score. If you ask for something other than wisdom (such as whether the BOM is true), then you're not following the teaching of James.
I have received a testimony that Joseph Smith was called by God to be a prophet through the witness of the Holy Ghost.
You presume that it is from the Holy Ghost because you have engaged in circular reasoning, already accepting as truth the very thing you're supposedly asking for confirmation of. The "burning in the bosom" test is not found in the Bible (it's a misapplication of a scriptural reference of something that occured in a specific instance), and while the Holy Spirit is certainly capable of providing direct guidance, He will not steer you away from the authentic scriptures toward a false gospel (something we are also warned against in the Bible). So if you use the "burning in the bosom" test as a means of determing the truth of the Book of Mormon (as opposed to searching the scriptures for some very clear guidance), then you've already accepted the Book of Mormon as authoritative by doing so, making the test pointless. Consequently, the "testimony" you received proves nothing. By applying the LDS standard for truth, you've prevented yourself from considering the possibility that the feeling you received may have been provided by one of the lying spirits the Bible warns against. It makes perfect sense that the same spirit telling you that a feeling is proof of something's validity will be fully capable of inducing that feeling. In Vegas this would be called a rigged game. Sort of like shopping for a new car and having the salesman tell you "If you're not convinced that this is the greatest car ever, just go ask my boss."
The way you sound is like you never received a witness when reading certain passages in the Bible.
In that case you wouldnt be able to discern if the spirit of the Lord in other situation because of your claim.
So if one is stranged somewhere and needs help from the Lord they would have no way of knowing for sure if that was the Lord or somthing else.
So if someone is giving a sermon you would have to dismiss that witness because you would not know for sure what it is.
yet we read in history many accounts where many have received a witness from the Holy Ghost.
Excellent description, I have thought about how to describe it [”...lack wisdom...”] before. There is a difference between “wisdom” and “knowledge”, but if you look at it from a secular point of view (dictionary), they appear to be have the same meaning.
There will be some folks who won’t get it though.
It will unveil the fact that they have been deceived and will go into full denial and possibly full on attack mode.
God Bless wc,
SZ