The Book of Mormon and My Dearest Friends

“If I go into study with prayer and sincere questions and desires, I cannot leave reading the Book of Mormon without having been brought closer to Christ. Through it I hear the Lord speak to me and it changes my heart. It changes me.”

Lately I don’t want to go anywhere without the Book of Mormon.  I’ve had many Books of Mormon throughout my life.  Each of them carry unique and special significance to me. In each book’s margins are written messages that God had just for me at important times. Recently, I began the book over, marking each time the Savior’s name is mentioned and taking special note of his characteristics. There isn’t a blank page yet. This daily reminder of who Christ is has increased my faith and my desire to be close to Him.

The Book of Mormon has always blessed my life and has been central to my building a relationship with the Savior and gaining my own witness that the same church organization and doctrine Christ established and taught when he was on earth has been restored today with living prophets and apostles.  Lately it has been a personal reminder of who God is, how he feels about me, and that he has a plan. It is a constant during a time of many unanticipated and, at times, unexplainable, changes in relationships, jobs, living situations, and even dreams. I find myself at crossroads with doors behind me closing, seeking daily to find the courage to keep walking and take steps into the dark, trusting that God will open new doors down a new path. It helps me remember God keeps His promises and has great purposes for my life and all of our lives.

I grew up reading it with my family, personally, in seminary and in church classes.  The words taught, lifted, edified, guided and brought the Spirit into my life.  I learned first hand that there is power in the Book of Mormon.  I prayed and asked, as Mormon directs in Moroni 10:3-5, if the book was true and I received witness that it was.

I served an LDS mission in Malaysia and Singapore. When I arrived in my first area, Bintulu, East Malaysia, I found that almost no one spoke English and nothing was familiar anymore.  I learned that we didn’t have any church materials in Malay.  Nothing besides the Book of Mormon in Indonesian, which is very similar to Malay.  I wanted to bear testimony of the truths I knew to be true and couldn’t because I couldn’t communicate.  I began testifying anyway and once in awhile found someone who could speak English. Or my companion, a Malaysian native, would translate for me.  I remember moments and days where I felt so alone.  But it was through prayer and in the pages of the Book of Mormon that I found solace, companionship and answers.  The Book of Mormon was my main resource for learning the language and answering people’s questions.  It didn’t just answer the questions for the people I taught, but my own as well.

It was during this time that Nephi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, became one of my best friends.  He still is to this day.  If the Lord could instruct Nephi to build a ship, he could most certainly instruct me how to learn a language.  If Enos could pray and be forgiven of his sins, so could I.  Ammon was able to open hearts through service and so could we.  In the pages of the Book of Mormon I found my dearest and most true friends.  

Elder Richard G. Scott said, “I offer you the Book of Mormon, a precious friend provided by a loving Savior.  Within its pages is truth that brings comfort, guidance, peace, and yes, the companionship of other true friends.  Between its covers you will find the friendship and worthy example of Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Benjam-in, Alma, Ammon, Helaman, Mormon, Moroni, and so many others.  They will rekindle courage and mark the path to faith and obedience.  They will help you overcome the bitterness and anguish of transgression.  More important, all of them, without exception, will lift your vision to the perfect friend – our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.”  These friends constantly taught me how to come closer to the Savior.

Its words constantly flooded my mind and filled my mouth.  Wherever we went we had the book in our hands, a witness of its truth in our hearts, and bore testimony of its authenticity with our mouths. In the hundreds of invitations we gave to others for them to ask with a sincere and honest heart if the book was true, every person I met knew it was true, if they asked as Mormon directed.  I saw miracles occur as it changed hearts and minds, including my own.

The miracles and friendships didn’t end when I left the mission field.  It has just gotten better.  The Lord continues to answer my prayers and questions through the Book of Mormon.  Through the Book of Mormon I know that the Lord keeps his promises, even when others may say it is impossible (Helaman 16-3 Nephi 1).  The Lord does provide a way for us to keep his commandments (1 Nephi 3:7).  If we come unto Christ with faith and repent, he will replace darkness for light in our lives (Helaman 5).  Following the word of God will bring us more joy than we can ever imagine (1 Nephi 8 and 11, Alma 36).  God is a God of miracles (Mormon 9 and Moroni 7). God requires us to act in faith and then he will witness truth to us (Ether 12:6, Alma 32). We become like God through faith, hope, and charity (Moroni 7).  And on and on and on.

If I go into study with prayer and sincere questions and desires, I cannot leave reading the Book of Mormon without having been brought closer to Christ.  Through it I hear the Lord speak to me and it changes my heart.  It changes me.  Speaking to educators on how the Book of Mormon can change lives, Elder Henry B. Eyring said, “I will make you this promise about reading the Book of Mormon: You will be drawn to it as you understand that the Lord has embedded in it His message to you.  Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni knew that, and those who put it together put in messages for you.  I hope you have confidence that the book was written for your students.  There are simple, direct messages for them that will tell them how to change.  That is what the book is about.  It is a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Atonement and how it may work in their lives.”  Is it any wonder that Joseph Smith said, “… the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

Eyring continued, “You want your students to see that their challenge is not to prove that the Book of Mormon is true but to prove to God that they – the student – are true.  When they do this, they will know the book is true.  And when they prove that they will do what the book says, God will tell them more… As you read the Book of Mormon, you and your students will know some things you should do.  As you do them, you will have greater light given to you because you will have proved that you believe.  I bear testimony that however much you have learned from the Book of Mormon before, you should read it again and prove it.  Prove it by proving yourself.  Do the things you feel impressed to do, and you will find things in it that you have never seen before.”

I know the Book of Mormon is true. It is a book for all seasons of life. Through it I know that Christ lives and loves me.  He guides and directs my life. I know this from prayer, past and current experience, and the words of my friends.  There aren’t any better or more constant friends in all the world.  They always draw me closer to the Savior.  He is my dearest and truest friend. The Book of Mormon invites the power of God into my life. It is helping me not only have the courage to take steps into the dark and new beginnings, but to experience healing, peace, and great joy, knowing that I am not alone in this journey, there is purpose to all of our experiences, that great things lie ahead, and that God’s hand is in my life today, now.  Words cannot express my gratitude for the power of God that comes into my life through the Book of Mormon.  I hope to live in such a way that I may prove to God that I, the reader, am true, no matter the circumstance.

Experiment: My invitation to you is to ponder on Christ’s characteristics and who He is to you. Read the Book of Mormon, looking for and praying specifically, to learn more about who Christ was to the people in the book and how they built a relationship with Him. Then ponder on who Christ is to you personally and how you can deepen your relationship with Him. Write down what you learn and the impressions you receive and then act on them.

Doing this has brought me closer to the Savior through helping me understand who He is and how I can draw closer to Him. The closer I draw to Him, the more I love Him, want to be better, and see His hand in my life.  

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