That Book of Books

To my son,

                When Jacob, the brother of Nephi, was writing in the Book of Mormon he said this: “I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates” (Jacob 4:1). For us it is quite easy to write something—we get a piece of paper and a pencil and we can quickly put a message on it. We can even talk into a phone and it will record what we say with little effort on our part. But for those ancient prophets who gave us the Book of Mormon, it was not an easy task to engrave their words into metal so that they would endure for centuries. Surely this took a long time for each word they wanted to record, and it was painstaking work even after they figured out what they wanted to write. Nephi said, “we labor diligently to write,” and I believe it was indeed a great labor for them mentally and physically (2 Nephi 25:23). Mormon, who personally wrote most of the book as we have it today, must have spent decades meticulously engraving his abridgment of the Nephite records onto the plates which would eventually be given to Joseph Smith. His son Moroni was the last to write in the Book of Mormon, and at one point he was so frustrated with writing that he prayed to the Lord, “Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing…. And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands…. wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words” (Ether 12:23-25). He was likely referring to both the challenge of finding the right words to write and in the physical difficulty of putting them on the plates. It was hard work for them, and we are so blessed that they made the sacrifice to record this most marvelous book!

And so, because they went through such an enormous effort to pass to us their words and testimony of Jesus Christ, we should similarly make a significant effort to read and study and ponder those words! The Lord questioned us in our dispensation, “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:33). We have indeed been given a most incredible gift in the Book of Mormon, and I want to encourage you to take the time to study it each day. When you read it think about this powerful statement from Moroni: “I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing” (Mormon 8:35). He saw you and was speaking to you, so remember that these words were carefully graven onto metal so that you would read them. We should all have the enthusiasm about the Book of Mormon that Parley P. Pratt did in 1830 when he first discovered it. He recorded in his own autobiography how a Baptist deacon named Hamlin told him “of a book, a STRANGE BOOK, a VERY STRANGE BOOK! … This book, he said, purported to have been originally written on plates either of gold or brass, by a branch of the tribes of Israel; and to have been discovered and translated by a young man near Palmyra, in the State of New York, by the aid of visions, or the ministry of angels…. Next morning I called at his house, where, for the first time, my eyes beheld the ‘BOOK OF MORMON’—that book of books … which was the principal means, in the hands of God, of directing the entire course of my future life. I opened it with eagerness, and read its title page. I then read the testimony of several witnesses in relation to the manner of its being found and translated. After this I commenced its contents by course. I read all day; eating was a burden, I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when the night came, for I preferred reading to sleep. As I read, the spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I knew and comprehended that the book was true, as plainly and manifestly as a man comprehends and knows that he exists.” When eating and sleeping is a burden to us because it prevents us from reading the Book of Mormon, then we’ll know that we appreciate it like the Lord wants us to!

I can say with Parley P. Pratt that for me as well, this book has been “the principal means, in the hands of God, of directing the entire course of my life.” I love the Book of Mormon most of all because it has been my primary witness of the Savior Jesus Christ, who is “the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death” (Mosiah 16:9). Moroni gave us this powerful invitation in the final chapter of the book, and I give it to you today: “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32). I know that as you show your love to God by reading each day in the Book of Mormon, you will come to know that Jesus Christ is your Savior and that His grace can help you overcome all of life’s challenges. 

Love,

Dad