In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.

In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America.  (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names.  We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)

Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.

Book of Mormon: Sharing the Gospel

The Book of Mormon is awesome! I feel like this week has truly showed me the validity of the Book of Mormon. I have read this book my entire life and I feel like I still cannot even grasp its wonderful contents. Growing up, the Book of Mormon was just a book full of stories of heroic prophets where battles were fought and the righteous prevailed. Obviously, I don’t look at it this way anymore, but I never truly realized how much the Book of Mormon revolves around the Savior. Now I know that this book testifies of the Savior. This week I read 3 Nephi chapters 6 through 10, when the prophecies of the prophets are fulfilled and the earth is being destroyed because of the death of Jesus Christ. After reading some articles on these specific chapters, as well as the discussion in class, I never realized how terrifying that experience must have been. Such destruction for such long periods of time is truly horrifying. A girl in my class pointed out today how awful it must have been for those who were righteous to see the people that they loved, friends and family, be destroyed because of their wickedness. How horrible it will be to witness the destruction of those whom I love at the second coming of Christ. I realized that it is my responsibility to spread the gospel to the ones I love. It is my responsibility to help the ones I love come unto the Savior. I am in no way a perfect person. I have so many faults. I feel like I constantly turn to the Savior for forgiveness. But the light of the gospel is so beautiful, everyone deserves to have it. In 3 Nephi 10:6, the Savior says: “How oft I will gather you..if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.” How great it is to hear that. The Atonement is ALWAYS available to us. No matter what. That knowledge makes my heart full. That is the reason I am a member of this Church. The Book of Mormon testifies of the importance of the Atonement and the endless love our Savior has for us. It is a beautiful book and all who read will feel the Spirit testify to them of its inalienable truth. How I love this book. How I love this gospel. How I love my Savior.

Additional Resources:

Mormon Beliefs

In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.

In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America. (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names. We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)

Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.

Gold Mine of the Book of Mormon

Letter to My Friend Kristi

Hey Kristi!

I just want to share with you some of the things that I have recently learned in my Book of Mormon class. This first part isn’t with Helaman, which is the book we’ve been studying, but it has to do with scripture study. My professor, Brother Griffin, told us that reading the scriptures is a lot like digging in a gold mine. You need to dig and do some work, sift and sort to look for nuggets, and then fashion the gold you find (burn off impurities and then shape it).

When we read the scriptures, we can use a similar process. Digging is like reading; sifting and sorting is looking for doctrines, principles, and truths. Fashioning is applying those truths to you. He emphasizes a lot that we need to find OUR story inside the Book of Mormon. Along with this, he told us today that when we are reading and zone off about anything, start to focus on what you zone off to. If it is a problem or something you need an answer to, think about it for a little and then focus on relating the scriptures you read to that problem. The Spirit will help direct our thoughts to answers or things that we need to remember. Keep that in mind as you study your scriptures or pray.

In Helaman 5, Helaman gives counsel to his sons Nephi and Lehi. He explains that they are named after their ancestors Nephi and Lehi so that they remember who they are and what they did. How do you want to remembered? What do you want your legacy to be? Helaman 5:12 is a great example of what we should be. I know that I want to be remembered as being charitable, and in addition all of the attributes shown in that verse. These include being unable to fall by being built on a sure foundation. The verse says WHEN the devil will come, showing that he will be there to tempt you. But I know that if we build ourselves on Christ and devote everything to Him, Satan will have no power over us. What an incredible blessing that is.

And the best part about all of this is that through the Atonement, it doesn’t what we have done or where we are at, but we can always come back to full strength if we repent and call upon Jesus Christ.

One last thing. In Helaman 10:1, the people were divided. We talked about unity and being one with Christ. It is so important for us to not be divided. Unity and love are so necessary for us to become more Christ-like. I know that if we can develop these attributes, that we will have more power to resist temptation and we will be more receptive to the loving and knowing voice of the Holy Ghost.

Kristi, I am happy to hear that things are going well at Weber and that you are standing strong there. This motivates me to continually improve on where I stand. I know that there is a lot of peace and happiness found in sharing the gospel and living all the commandments. And remember, it is never too late to repent and become clean again.

Additional Resources:

Mormons and Christ

I Believe: Expressions of Faith

Meet with Mormon missionaries

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints studying the Book of Mormon at BYU, I have learned many things concerning how to live a good life. In the first book of the Book of Mormon, 1st Nephi, there is a story concerning an individual, our prophet, Lehi, and his sons Nephi, Laman and Lemuel.

The story in the Book of Mormon starts with Lehi and his “family dwelling in wilderness.” Lehi receives inspiration from God that Lehi should send his sons to Israel to obtain the “plates of brass (genealogy records).” The sons of Lehi depart from the wilderness and travel about 150 miles to Jerusalem. When they arrive, the eldest brother, Laman, went into the house of Laban to ask for the plates of brass that they wanted. Laban then accused Laman of stealing and threw him out of the house. When the sons reunited, Laman and Lemuel wanted to go back home due to the unsuccessful try that they had encountered. However, Nephi was inspired to obtain the plates of brass no matter what the cost. The sons went back to their previous home in Jerusalem where they resided previous to living in the wilderness. They took all of the gold, silver, and other precious items and took it unto Laban to try to buy the plates of brass from him. Laban refused. Laban made more accusations and finally desired to kill the sons. Nephi, instead of fleeing immediately, killed Laban and took the plates of brass. They sons took the plates of brass to their parents the 150 some-odd miles into the wilderness. Their dad was very pleased.

This story has implication in my life. In my BYU experience, there have been some troubles where I think I should turn back, that all is lost, but I have not. There have been classes where I think it is too much to do in a semester but I continue on and I do not drop the class. I pray on my knees to the lord in the name of Jesus Christ to help me and everything works out. That is the beauty of this Church. No matter your background, no matter your previous mistakes, or no matter what lies in front of you, you know that you have a loving Heavenly Father who is real, who you can touch and literally talk to. Without prayer, I would be literally lost. I honestly would not know where to go for help. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) I have had the opportunity to learn about the marvelous things that can come fro choosing the right. I have learned that  I am punished by my sins more than for my sins. When I so something wrong, there is always a consequence. Always. However, the consequence was not God actively making my life worse, the consequence came from my sin itself. For example, if I cheat on a test, I will probably get caught. This is not God smiting me for wrongdoing, it is me getting punished by myself! This is a glorious revelation because that means that I can stop the suffering. If I choose to be honest, humble, and virtuous, I will have a much better life.

Additional Resources:

What is the purpose of life?

Meet with Mormon missionaries

The Book of Mormon is a record of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It gives an account of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent and God’s dealings with them. There are many passages in The Book of Mormon that testify of the reality of God. In the book of Alma chapter 22, Alma was an ancient prophet of Jesus Christ, in The Book of Mormon, we read of an experience where a missionary named Aaron taught a king about God. We see a pattern for how we can come to know if God is real in this chapter. First we must have a desire to know if He is real.  We must desire to learn more about Him. In this scripture account, the king had recently come across a missionary who had converted his son to the gospel. The king was curious and wanted to learn more. This is what he said:

What is this that ye have said concerning the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, this is the thing which doth trouble me. And also, what is this that Ammon said—If ye will repent ye shall be saved, and if ye will not repent, ye shall be cast off at the last day? (Alma 22:5-6).

Coming to Know God Exists

This scripture then helps us see that we should seek to learn all that we can about God, what his words are, and what He asks us to do–then we can come to know Him more. This should be from a good source, such as the scriptures, an authorized minister of Jesus Christ, and through prayer. Aaron then expounds and teaches the king all about God and His plan of happiness for each of us. He teaches the king question by question, a little at a time. The king showed a desire and determination to believe in his words, and follow Jesus Christ:

And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the king—how God created man after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man had fallen.

And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name.

And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king (Book of Mormon: Alma 22:12-14).

After Aaron taught the gospel of Jesus Christ to the king, the king felt a desire in his heart to be forgiven of his sins and to become clean through Jesus Christ. The king showed a willingness to do the Lord’s will. He had a humble heart, which I’ve learned is important when I want to come to know God and feel His love and guidance in our lives. He said:

What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy (Book of Mormon: Alma 22:15).

Knowing About God vs. Knowing God

Aaron then asked the king to pray and ask God for the hope that He desired. In order to know if God is real, I’ve found that it is so vital that we pray. We can study all the books about God in the whole world if we want to, but if we don’t pray, we will never really know if God is real. When we pray, God’s Holy Spirit witnesses to our spirit that He is real (Holy Bible: Romans 8:16). He communicates knowledge to our souls with a divine impression that helps us know He is real. This is what happened with the king in The Book of Mormon. He knelt down and prayed and asked to know if God was real, and he said that he would “give up all my sins” to know God (Alma 22:18). When the king said this, he had a glorious experience of being overwhelmed with the power and love of God.

This scriptural example helps us see how we can know God is real. It helps me see that we must seek after Him. God has told us:

Ask, and it shall be ^bgiven you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened (Matthew 7:7-8).

Personal Witness that God Exists

I know that as we seek out God and the Lord Jesus Christ, they will make themselves manifest to us. Through the power of prayer, and through studying and living the words of Jesus Christ, I’ve come to feel the power of the God’s love within me. He has told my spirit that He lives and loves me. All of us can have this experience. God is waiting for us to seek after Him, and He will answer.

Additional Resources:

Is there a God? For more information visit the official site for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

Request your free copy of the Book of Mormon today.

Attend a local meetinghouse.