Friday, September 18, 2015

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ


mormon.org


I finished my Value Project for the value of VIRTUE last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was beyond excited! I LOVE the Book of Mormon! I love to read overall, but this is definitely my all-time favorite book! It gives me the best feelings ever. The Spirit testifies to me that what I read is true and that if I follow its teachings I will be blessed! It contains the fulness of the gospel and, as Joseph Smith said, it is the most correct book on the face of the earth! (I'll get back to this in a sec--I've got some thoughts on it.) It is the keystone of our religion. (I'll talk more about this too.) It was written by prophets of God who taught His principles. It is God's word and a second witness to the Bible. The Book of Mormon does not replace the Bible and the Bible does not replace the Book of Mormon.

Now, as I said a minute ago, Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth. But in Mormon 8, Moroni tells us that, even though it is from God, he used man to bring it forth and no man is perfect. Moroni says that there are faults in the text, but they are the faults of man, not God. There are people who would say, "Wait! Joseph Smith said that the book was the most correct on earth! But Moroni says that there are faults! Who is right? Who is wrong? Isn't God an unchangeable God? If so, wouldn't his prophets be consistent?" Well, the Book of Mormon is the most correct book spiritually speaking. Remember, the Book of Mormon often reminds us that there is a difference between spiritual and temporal. The same is true here.

I also said I would expound my thoughts on 'the keystone' concept. Many times the Book of Mormon has been compared to a keystone. The arch in this analogy is our religion--that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Anyone who knows anything about arches knows that without the keystone, the arch will fall. But what about the other stones of the arch? Aren't they important, too? The other stones in an arch represent all of the other concepts of our beliefs. Families can be together forever, the Word of Wisdom, repentance, tithing, the list goes on. And without these stones, there literally would not be an arch. These principles make up our religion. So they are important--very! But the keystone is what holds the arch together. (If there are any engineers reading this right now, please tell me in the comments how that works!) If we didn't have the Book of Mormon, all of the other principles we listed would fail. They would crumble, and what would we have then? _____________ You couldn't fill in this blank with anything. We would have nothing, nowhere to turn. No iron rod to guide us!

The Book of Mormon is SO important! I urge you, as prophets have urged, to read and study the Book of Mormon if you haven't already, no matter what age, and no matter how long it takes you. Don't give up. And if you have read it, STUDY it over and over and over and over. You only get the important stuff  by STUDYING! Never stop! Don't let anything deter you from studying this Book day after day after day, for the rest of your life! It truly is the most correct book in principle on the whole face of the earth!

Happy reading studying!

4 comments:

  1. I like that on 'That Little Pink Book' you are talking about that 'Awesome Blue Book'!!! I'm glad you enjoy reading the Book of Mormon so much. It really does help us get/stay close to the Lord.

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  2. I love your enthusiasm- for learning in general, but especially for studying about the gospel. Thank you for your bright outlook on life. I know this is the result of the way that you live. Your example is priceless to me!
    BTW, I want to see pictures when you get your medallion. Hurry up, 2017; I want to see Annalee again!

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    1. I will definitely try and get pictures--if I can figure it out! You are way more tech-savvy than me!
      And 2017 can NOT come fast enough!

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