A Power in the Book

In Elder Gary E. Stevenson's October 2016 talk, he spoke of the Book of Mormon. In doing so, he shared a partial quote from President Ezra Taft Benson of thirty years prior. Titled The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion, President Benson's talk included the following paragraph:

It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance.

Both Elder Stevenson and President Benson listed many more blessings that come from studying the Book of Mormon. In truth, there are countless blessings that can come from reading it. I should do that more often. And Elder Stevenson gave me a no-excuses suggestion for how I could. He noted how much time young people, like myself, spend in front of TV, Smartphone, and computer screens, and he recommended spending 10 fewer minutes pursuing electronic entertainment and spending 10 more minutes pursuing the blessings of the Book of Mormon. I've decided to renew my decision to follow that advice. Starting tonight, I'm going to try to go to bed a bit earlier and spend a few minutes reading the Book of Mormon when I get there. I'm not sure what all blessings I'll get through doing that, and I'm not even sure what all blessings I want to get from it, but I know that there are many blessings that one could get from studying the Book of Mormon, and I intend to get a few of them.