Why Keep Studying The Book of Mormon

Listening to conference a couple weeks ago I was very impressed with a statement Elder Bednar made about The Book of Mormon. I waited until the text of the talk came out on the internet to share it with you. Part of the talk explains why the Book of Mormon is so powerful and why we need to keep reading it. He listed several ways for families to protect their children in these wicked time. The very first one he listed was to read the Book of Mormon as a family. Quoting from his talk here was his reasoning.

"The Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth because it centers upon the Truth even Jesus Christ, and restores the plain and precious things that have been taken away from the true gospel. The unique combination of these two factors—a focus on the Savior and the plainness of the teachings—powerfully invites the confirming witness of the third member of the Godhead, even the Holy Ghost. Consequently, the Book of Mormon speaks to the spirit and to the heart of the reader like no other volume of scripture.

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that abiding by the precepts found in the Book of Mormon would help us “get nearer to God” than any other book. Regular reading of and talking about the Book of Mormon invite the power to resist temptation and to produce feelings of love within our families. And discussions about the doctrines and principles in the Book of Mormon provide opportunities for parents to observe their children, to listen to them, to learn from them, and to teach them.

Youth of all ages, even infants, can and do respond to the distinctive spirit of the Book of Mormon. Children may not understand all of the words and stories, but they certainly can feel the “familiar spirit” described by Isaiah."

There were several things that impressed me about his statement - one was that even infants just listening to the Book of Mormon feel its power. The other is the apostolic promise that regular reading of and talking about the Book of Mormon (which is just what this blog does) gives us more power to fight temptation and power to produce more feelings of love in our families. And who doesn't need that!

I had been thinking about suggesting that as you complete this reading of the Book of Mormon you write in the this blog about your insights into other standard works. But after Elder Bednar's talk I would like to challenge you (at least for a while longer) to continue to use this blog to do what Elder Bednar suggests - continue to talk about the Book of Mormon. Even if your study includes the other standard works, let's keep including some study of the Book of Mormon. You may want to start reading it again, perhaps with a more specific focus on a particular doctrine. Maybe you want to study a certain topic from the topical guide. Maybe you just want to randomly open the book and read whatever chapter it falls open to. As for me, I think I discuss more in depth some of the verses I underlined.

I hope you will all accept my challenge to keep writing in this blog from time to time (my goal will be weekly) and uplift the rest of us with your insights and feelings about what you are reading in the Book of Mormon.