Each time I read the Book of Mormon, I learn something new. But how can it be new? The words are the same, the stories are the same. Yet I learn different things each time I read the Book of Mormon because I am different. As a girl, reading the scriptures gave my family unity and a sense of purpose. We learned where we had come from and what our purpose was on earth. And most importantly, that we could be an eternal family.
As a teenager, reading the scriptures planted the seeds of testimony in my heart. Just before my junior year in high school, my family moved to Israel. There I attended a private school ran by another Christian Church. Each morning we had a devotional given by the headmaster. His frank and casual way of recounting the biblical lessons in the bible contrasted to the humble words I had been taught in seminary.
Coincidentally, that year was a New Testament year in Seminary. Once a week the few seminary students throughout Jerusalem and Tel Aviv would meet for a lesson. Our classroom was in the Jerusalem Center, which scales the Mount of Olives. From the large windows we could look out over the city of Jerusalem, and see the old city walls. It was a unique experience to have our teacher talk about the temple mount where Jesus was tempted. He would point out the window and say, “Look over there, that’s the temple mount.”
All of my Jerusalem friends were of other faiths, making my siblings and me in the minority. When they discovered I was Mormon, the first question they asked at school was, “Are you religious?”
When my friends learned that I planned to stick to my standards, they respected my choices. Often times when others questioned why I wouldn’t have a cigarette or drink the coffee, my friends would jump in and explain religious beliefs, sometimes even to the point of defending me.
I was not able to share my testimony or offer a copy of the Book of Mormon during our stay in Israel because it was against the laws of the country to proselyte. And it still is today.
But a time may come when many more countries will be opened to missionaries. Will we be prepared to take the gospel and share testimonies of the Book of Mormon with these people?
Our desire to read and study the Book of Mormon may be increased if we know why it was written and why it’s so important to our lives today.
Nephi, was only about 16 years old when he had his first vision in the wilderness. He saw the Virgin Mary almost 600 years before her birth. Nephi also saw Christ being baptized and the Holy Ghost descending from Heaven in the form of a dove. He saw the Savior going among the people, healing the sick, casting out unclean spirits, and finally saw when the Lamb of God was lifted up on the cross and slain for the sins of the world.
This vision of Nephi’s was truly amazing!
Nephi was a witness to the Atonement. This might explain his faith and devotion to the Lord. Perhaps if we had such visions, living in righteousness would be much easier.
Or would it?
What if the next vision you saw was altogether different? What if, like Nephi, you saw your posterity—your children and your grandchildren—gather in battle against their family members. What if you saw your posterity lose their testimonies and perish in horrible battles because of it? Not only do they die a physical death, but a spiritual one too.
How could Nephi continue on in righteousness when he knew what the final outcome of his posterity would be? Why did he keep teaching his stubborn brothers, Laman and Lemuel?
Nephi knew that the record he was making would convince US—people living more than two thousand years later—that our Savior lives.
The prophet Moroni knew how important the Book of Mormon would be to our dispensation. Imagine spending your last years of your life alone, hiding from enemies like Moroni did. Imagine witnessing the entire annihilation of your people. As one of the last survivors of his civilization, Moroni knew he must finish the records and bury them, leaving them in the protection of God.
In the final chapter of the Book of Mormon, Moroni invites us to “receive” the scriptures. He exhorts us to “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.” (Moroni 10:4)
The fulfillment of this promise have brought millions of people to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if we act upon the words of Moroni, we, too, will become an instrument in the Lord’s hands.
By Heather B. Moore, author of Women of the Book of Mormon and Alma the Younger. Visit her website: www.hbmoore.com