'Plain and precious' truths of Book of Mormon
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When Church members feel weak, discouraged, depressed or afraid, they can open the Book of Mormon and gain strength and insight, said President Boyd K. Packer during the Saturday morning session.
The Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve, President Packer focused his words on the "plain and precious things" that enrich the Book of Mormon. He quoted Joseph Smith, saying "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."
President Packer recalled the first time he read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover. He followed Moroni's instruction to pray about the things he had read and ask God if they were true. "If I expected a glorious manifestation to come at once as an overpowering experience, it did not happen. Nevertheless, it felt good, and I began to believe."
Moroni's promise, found in the 10th chapter of Moroni, also spoke of the power of the Holy Ghost that allows those who earnestly seek God to know all things.
"When I understood that the Holy Ghost could communicate through our feelings, I understood why the words of Christ, whether from the New Testament or the Book of Mormon or the other scriptures, carried such a good feeling," President Packer said. "In time, I found the scriptures had answers to things I needed to know."
He said that he also learned from his Book of Mormon study that its words are meant to be likened unto each of its readers. "I took that to mean that the scriptures are likened to me personally, and that is true of everyone else. When a verse I had passed over several times took on personal meaning, I thought whoever wrote that verse had a deep and mature understanding of my life and how I felt."
President Packer said he has found the Book of Mormon to be "plain and precious" because of the insight it offers.
"I wondered how Joseph Smith could have such insights," he said. "The fact is I do not believe he had such penetrating insights. He did not have to have them. He just translated what was written on the plates. Such plain and precious insights are everywhere in the Book of Mormon. They reflect a depth of wisdom and experience that is certainly not characteristic of a 23-year-old."
Do not let too much time pass before reading a verse, thought or chapter from the Book of Mormon, counseled President Packer.
"My experience has been that a testimony does not burst upon us suddenly," he said. "Rather, it grows, as Alma said, from a seed of faith. 'It will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow" (Alma 32:30).
Book of Mormon readers should not be discouraged if they have read and re-read its verses without receiving "a powerful witness."
"You may be somewhat like the disciples spoken of in the Book of Mormon who were filled with the power of God in great glory 'and they knew it not,' " President Packer said, quoting 3 Nephi 9: 20.
The spiritual gift described in the Book of Mormon — promptings, impressions, revelations, dreams, visions, visitations, miracles — are present in the Church today, President Packer added. The Book of Mormon also offers insight on how the devil works and the nature of wickedness.
"The central purpose of the Book of Mormon is its testament of Jesus Christ," President Packer said. "Of more than 6,000 verses in the Book of Mormon, far more than half refer directly to Him."
President Packer listed a number of gospel insights found in the Book of Mormon, including the plan of salvation; the doctrine of Christ and the Atonement; why death is necessary; life after death in the spirit world; the order of the priesthood, sacramental prayers, judging between good and evil; and how to retain a remission of sins.
During the 175th anniversary of the organization of the Church, much will be written in honor of Joseph Smith. Much will also be said to discredit the Prophet of the Restoration, President Packer said.
"We do not have to defend Joseph Smith. 'The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ,' will defend him for us. Those who reject Joseph Smith as a prophet and revelator are left to find some explanation for the Book of Mormon."
