Today I have to share my favorite book. My favorite book is The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Now, why in the world would this be my favorite book when there are so many great books out there to read? This isn’t a literary master piece…or is it? I am not sure, because I am not here to critique it in such a manner. But, let me share with you why it is my favorite book and why I choose to read from it every day. Yes, every day. It is that good.
I love this book for so many reasons. I will attempt to explain why. As a youth, I am embarrassed to say, I spent way too much time reading hours of trash. I know what garbage writing is. That is easy to spot. And it is easy to read. But since I spent so much time reading it when I was young, a few years ago, when my children were little and I had so little time to read I realized that I had to make a choice. I had limited time and I wanted to really read the good stuff. The sort of stuff that would lift me, and sustain me. I wanted to read God's words. What I really wanted was a conversation with Him. Could I really have a conversation with God? Would He really respond to the things and needs I had in my life? I decided to find out. I also thought that if I wanted something from Him, that perhaps I must be willing to give some things up in order to receive what I really wanted. So, I started to sacrifice sleep so that I could have quiet, personal, and private time to have a conversation with God, if it was going to happen.
In the Book of Mormon there is a promise. It says to “remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts (Moroni 10:3).” The mercy He has offered to man has always been there through prophets that a Savior will come! All through The Holy Bible it testifies that Christ will be born of a virgin. He will perform miracles. He will be rejected of His people and He will die and be resurrected for them. I started thinking about how merciful He had been to me. The protection and mercy given to me as a teenager. The protection and mercy given to me when I served my mission. The mercy He gave me and the incredible blessing of my husband!!! The mercy offered to me through out each pregnancy. I could keep going, but it would fill up the whole blog.
I love this book for so many reasons. I will attempt to explain why. As a youth, I am embarrassed to say, I spent way too much time reading hours of trash. I know what garbage writing is. That is easy to spot. And it is easy to read. But since I spent so much time reading it when I was young, a few years ago, when my children were little and I had so little time to read I realized that I had to make a choice. I had limited time and I wanted to really read the good stuff. The sort of stuff that would lift me, and sustain me. I wanted to read God's words. What I really wanted was a conversation with Him. Could I really have a conversation with God? Would He really respond to the things and needs I had in my life? I decided to find out. I also thought that if I wanted something from Him, that perhaps I must be willing to give some things up in order to receive what I really wanted. So, I started to sacrifice sleep so that I could have quiet, personal, and private time to have a conversation with God, if it was going to happen.
In the Book of Mormon there is a promise. It says to “remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts (Moroni 10:3).” The mercy He has offered to man has always been there through prophets that a Savior will come! All through The Holy Bible it testifies that Christ will be born of a virgin. He will perform miracles. He will be rejected of His people and He will die and be resurrected for them. I started thinking about how merciful He had been to me. The protection and mercy given to me as a teenager. The protection and mercy given to me when I served my mission. The mercy He gave me and the incredible blessing of my husband!!! The mercy offered to me through out each pregnancy. I could keep going, but it would fill up the whole blog.
The promise continues. “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things (Moroni 10:4-5).” So, the promise is, if we ask God, with real intent, meaning we intend to do something about it if it is true, not just blow it off, then, the Holy Ghost will manifest the truth of the Book, and ALL truth unto us. That is such a powerful promise! To know the truth of ALL THINGS. I needed that and wanted that in my life. I wanted to know the truth in my parenting. I wanted to know the truth about who I really am and what direction I am suppose to go with my life. I wanted the truth about God. It is all in there and the Holy Ghost WILL and does teach us the truth. We just have to be willing to listen, to take that time to be quiet and then to act.
Well guess what? It comes back to choice. It always does. Every day when we read The Book of Mormon we have a choice of what attitude we come to read. An attitude of -we are ready to learn and we intend to follow and do what we have read. Or have can choose to -role our eyes and say yeah right. Not today. We don’t want to do that or even we are just too tired. We would rather watch TV or another choice is to say, we would rather read something else. I have found the most effective attitude in reading is the one in which I am willing to listen and learn. In which I am open to change, for it is so easy to repeat the same habits and get the same reaction from my children. I shouldn’t be amazed, but I always get answers and have a conversation with my Father in Heaven through my scripture study (that’s what I call it, study). This is how it goes: I start my scripture study with prayer, I thank my Heavenly Father for the blessings that I have been given, and then I tell Him what I need to learn or what I need help with, and then I start reading. Sometimes I will pick a topic to study, such a prayer or faith or something, but mostly I start where I left off. And as I read I stop at the verses that jump out at me, and I follow the footnotes and cross reference everything. I take notes and I ponder what I am reading. The Spirit is the guide (see John 16:13). I ask questions and the answers come through the verses. He speaks to me through the scriptures, everytime. That is how I do it. I feel like I am having a conversation with God. I ask a question and I get an answer. Sometimes the answers take more than just a day…but they always come. He always answers. I LOVE reading/studying from the scriptures. The Book of Mormon and the Bible are the words of God.
In The Book of Mormon there are tons of promises. Tons! And I love putting them to the test. Here is another promise…
“Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” (2 Nephi 32:3) Okay, this doesn’t mean it will tell you what outfit to wear, or stuff like that. But, it can, if you choose to let it, lead your life and make a difference in all you are doing. “Feast upon the words of Christ.” Choose to be fed. Choose to be filled. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is true. It testifies of Christ. It happened. Its’ purpose is to help people draw closer to Jesus Christ and change their lives. I have chosen to let it draw me closer to Him. For Jesus is the Christ. He lives. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. It can change your life…it has mine. This I testify.
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