"Let us not treat lightly the great things we have received from the hand of the Lord. His word is one of the most valuable gifts He has given us. I urge you to recommit yourselves to a study of the scriptures. Immerse yourselves in them daily so you will have the power of the Spirit to attend you. . . . Read them in your families and teach your children to love and treasure them." (President Ezra Taft Benson, April 1986 general conference.)

As Latter-day Saints, we are blessed to have four books canonized as scriptures: the Bible, including the Old Testament and the New Testament; the Book of Mormon; the Doctrine and Covenants; and the Pearl of Great Price. We regard each book of scripture as sacred and important. While we do not promote the study of any independently from the others, we do focus on one volume of scripture each year in our curriculum of study. In 1995, members are studying the New Testament in their Sunday School classes, and lessons in priesthood quorums, Relief Society and some Primary classes are being drawn from the New Testament.We regard the Bible as one of those "great things we have received from the hand of the Lord." We love it and quote from it frequently. We are grateful particularly for the New Testament, which bears testimony of the Savior's divine birth and of His ministry in the meridian of time. It is the most thorough record known to exist of His deeds as a mortal, and contains accounts of the most significant events ever recorded: the Savior's atonement and resurrection.

Reading the New Testament reinforces our testimony of who Jesus the Christ was, and still is: the Only Begotten Son of God, the great Mediator, our Redeemer and Savior. Through the New Testament's pages, we can know of a surety of His divine lineage and mission, and what is expected of those who take upon themselves His name.

The New Testament tells of the establishment and order of the Lord's Church, contains instructions the Lord gave to His apostles, bears record of the apostles' continuation of His ministry after His ascension, and contains prophecies concerning the latter days.

To help us understand how important this sacred volume is, we might say that the New Testament was a hinge that allowed the door to open for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was in the New Testament that young Joseph Smith was reading when he was inspired to pray to the Lord for an answer regarding which church to join. (See James 1:5 and Joseph Smith - History 1:11.)

As was Joseph, we too can be inspired and guided by this sacred volume. "Learn of me," the Savior invited. (Matt. 11:29.) One of the best ways to learn of Him is to study His teachings as recorded in the scriptures, including the New Testament.

"Scripture study increases love and testimony," said President Spencer W. Kimball. "I find that all I need to do to increase my love for my Maker and the gospel and the Church and my brethren is to read the scriptures. . . . I prescribe that for people who are in trouble. I cannot see how anyone can read the scriptures and not develop a testimony of their divinity and of the divinity of the work of the Lord, who is the spokesman in the scriptures." (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 136.)

The major purpose for our mortal existence is to be tried and tested, to see if we "will do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command [us]." (Abr. 3:23.) Before we can keep His commandments and obey His laws, we must know what they are. The New Testament includes many of God's covenants and commandments given personally by Jesus and, after His ascension, through His apostles.

The teachings of Jesus Christ and the testimony of His apostles - witnesses He specially chose and called - should be part of our daily study as we strive to follow Him.

While it might not always be easy reading, the New Testament is forever inspiring. Compared with many other books on shelves in stores and libraries today, the New Testament is a small volume. In the LDS edition of the King James version of the Bible, the New Testament has just 403 pages. Reading the entire book during 1995 would require us to read just a little more than a page a day.

Brigham Young likened the scriptures, including the New Testament, to "a lighthouse in the ocean, or a finger-post that points out the road we should travel." The scriptures, he said, point "to the fountain of light." (Journal of Discourses 8:129.) In 1995, may we follow the clearly marked way to that "fountain of light" - Jesus Christ - by studying the New Testament, brief in its number of pages but eternal in its message.