Without Money and Without Price

To my daughter, 

                This week you opened up a “shop” downstairs with fake money and things from the house to sell. You invited me to come, and you gave me a $100 bill to shop with. You pointed me to some scriptures which I could buy, and I selected the picket size Book of Mormon. You told me that this item only cost $1 and so I had a lot more than I needed. You gave me some smaller bills, and I went ahead and purchased it. Thinking about that experience reminds me of how valuable the Book of Mormon is—so valuable that we cannot put a price on it. You are correct that we can obtain the book at a very low cost or even for no money at all. Anyone with a computer or phone can read all of the scriptures at no charge. And yet, they are more valuable than anything we can buy with money. The Book of Mormon was originally written on gold plates, and that gold would have been worth a lot of money. When Joseph was told by the angel Moroni about the plates, he was warned against seeking to get gain from them. Joseph related, “[The angel] added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father’s family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God” (JSH 1:46). Moroni had already warned about this as he recorded his message in the book before burying it in the earth: “And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the Lord. For he truly saith that no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great worth; and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless” (Mormon 8:14). I hope you know that the Book of Mormon is indeed of great worth, and that worth can’t be translated to a price tag in terms of money. Its worth comes from the fact that it is the word of God, sent forth to bless our lives with knowledge of the covenants of the Lord and to convince us that “Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations” (Title Page of the Book of Mormon). I hope that you will learn to read and study the words of the Book of Mormon so that you can gain your own witness of the Savior and the restoration of His gospel.

                Yesterday we went to the open house for the Syracuse Temple, and one of the rooms we visited was the bride’s room where a woman prepares herself before getting married in the temple. As I pondered the beauty of this room and the rest of the temple, I wondered, “How much does it cost to rent this for a wedding?” Of course, the answer is that it costs nothing in terms of money. Unlike anywhere else in the world, where you would be charged lots to use such a beautiful venue to be married in, the temple is free. The only requirement is to be prepared spiritually to be there by keeping the commandments of the Lord. This reminds me of the words of Lehi to his son Jacob: “And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free” (2 Nephi 2:4). Jacob later wrote something similar when he said this: “Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price” (2 Nephi 9:50). This is symbolic language inviting us to partake of the Lord’s goodness freely. We do not need to pay money to receive His greatest blessings. In fact, this is a truth that you should remember all your life: the things most worth having cannot be purchased with money. The word of God found in the scriptures, the ordinance of baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, priesthood blessings, the sacrament, your patriarchal blessing, ordinances available in the temple, and the blessings of an eternal family through the sealing power are all available to us without money. As you learn to read from the Book of Mormon every day, striving to do what your Heavenly Father asks of you, you will be guided to receive all of these great blessings and more.

Love,

Dad