The Best Books

President Hinckley taught this to parents of young children, “Begin early in exposing children to books. The mother who fails to read to her small children does a disservice to them and a disservice to herself. It takes time, yes, much of it. It takes self-discipline. It takes organizing and budgeting the minutes and hours of the day. But it will never be a bore as you watch young minds come to know characters, expressions, and ideas. Good reading can become a love affair, far more fruitful in long term effects than many other activities in which children use their time.”  I’m grateful for a wife who does just that.  I got a chance to watch her and my children one morning earlier this week when I happened to be home getting ready for a trip for work.  I watched as she prepared my five-year-old son for kindergarten by sitting on the couch and patiently listening as he read to her.  I saw her faithfully read the Book of Mormon with the younger children, an experience that ended in uncontrollable laughter for the boys as she slipped into the account the fact that the fruit of the tree of life was a peach (I’ve always argued for pears).  I also watched my three-year-old beg her to put a book into his backpack as he prepared for his first day of preschool, a symbol of his love for the books he can’t yet read.  I’m convinced that great literature does indeed have power that will be “far more fruitful” for my children in the long term than the movies they watch or the time that they spend staring at screens. 

               The scriptures certainly emphasize to us the power of good books.  For example, Nephi taught in numerous places the importance of books and records.  On only the 11^th verse of the entire Book of Mormon, Nephi told us how Lehi was required to read: “The first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read.  And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord” (1 Nephi 1:11-12).  Two chapters later Nephi and his brethren risked their lives all in an effort to get a book for their family.  One of the main images and teachings of Nephi’s great vision of the last days was centered around a book: “I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them” (1 Nephi 13:20).  Nephi clearly believed in the power of this book—what we have as the Bible—and spent endless hours copying down the words of the plates of brass from Isaiah so that they would be contained in his record.  He saw the coming of all of the scriptures in our day and gave us this specific description of the Book of Mormon: “And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of great worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 28:2).  Through Nephi the Lord taught us also how sacred books will even affect our eternal salvation: “For out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written” (2 Nephi 29:11).  Nephi’s belief in the power of the written word led him to “labor diligently to write” so that we could be blessed with a most powerful book (2 Nephi 25:23).    

            Many other passages of scriptures emphasize the importance of scriptural books as well as other good books in general.  King Mosiah taught his sons that if they hadn’t had the plates of brass they would have “suffered in ignorance” (Mosiah 1:3).  When the Savior came to visit the Nephites in person, one of the things He did was examine their records, chastising Nephi about something that had not been recorded in their books: “How be it that ye have not written this thing?” (3 Nephi 23:11)  Similar to Nephi, John gave us this image about the power of books in the last days: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12).  In the New Testament I’ve always been impressed with Paul’s request to Timothy when he was in prison nearing his death: “The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13).  Of all the things he could have asked for as he suffered in prison, he asked simply for a coat and books.  The Lord taught us of the importance of good books when He said not once but twice, “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” (D&C 88:118, 109:7).  With scriptural books being the most important, we are to seek the “best books” from all sources to enrich our lives and ultimately enable us to teach others and bring souls to Christ.  In the words of President Hinckley, through the best books we must seek to “be exposed to great minds, great ideas, everlasting truth, and those things which will build and motivate for good.”