Another power-house lesson in Relief Society today… What a great blessing it is, to share our stories, perspectives, and love for the Gospel.
Today we learned from Lesson #10 in The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson manual.
Flooding the Earth and Our Lives with the Book of Mormon
Think about flooding for a minute. No sprinkling here – no, a honest-to-goodness flood. Everything gets saturated! What would it look like if your life was “flooded” with the Book of Mormon? Would it look like snatching a verse here or there, once in a while? Probably not. Would it look like savoring each word, pondering the messages, sharing those stories with your children and grandchildren, applying those principles into your life? Would it feel like Christmas morning every time you reached for that book? Yeah. Something more like that.
We broke off into 4 different groups and each group read and discussed together a part of that lesson, while pondering these questions:
I was surprised how much more I learned from what we read together, just keeping those questions in the back of my mind.
What gospel principle(s) are being taught or learned?
What scripture(s) relate to these principles?
How can we apply this principle in our everyday lives?
And guess what! Having spent time working through our section in our group, and having heard what the other groups came up with and shared, I found that this mindset carried over into my scripture study tonight — because of course I was much more inspired to make that a priority this evening. I found myself being drawn to my Book of Mormon like my kids are drawn to candy. Love it! Let’s make this last! THANK YOU, Relief Society!
Below you’ll find some of the fantastic quotes that were mentioned today… But I hope you’ll find time to go ahead and study that lesson, because pretty much every thing in there was quotable!
What’s in it for me?
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.7
Closer to Christ
My beloved brethren and sisters, let us read the Book of Mormon and be convinced that Jesus is the Christ. Let us continually reread the Book of Mormon so that we might more fully come to Christ, be committed to Him, centered in Him, and consumed in Him.
How often do I really need this?
Now the spirit, as well as the body, is in need of constant nourishment. Yesterday’s meal is not enough to sustain today’s needs. So also an infrequent reading of “the most correct of any book on earth,” as Joseph Smith called it, is not enough. (History of the Church,4:461.)
In case you hadn’t noticed…
We are meeting the adversary every day. The challenges of this era will rival any of the past, and these challenges will increase both spiritually and temporally. We must be close to Christ, we must daily take His name upon us, always remember Him, and keep His commandments.10
Monumental!
In this age of the electronic media and the mass distribution of the printed word, God will hold us accountable if we do not now move the Book of Mormon in a monumental way.
Sis. W mentioned, towards the end of the lesson, that sometimes sin life our challenges SEEM really big and overwhelming… but in reality, they aren’t. The adversary tries so hard to pull us apart (our families, our faith, our sanity…) — and the Book of Mormon can help bring clarity in those moments, reminding us of people and prophets who have faced and overcome even bigger challenges than what we are dealing with now.
I’d like to add to that thought, though, that sometimes in our lives, our challenges and trials REALLY ARE massive, they really are difficult, no matter how you look at it… and there is strength, there are solutions, there is peace and an added measure of patience to be found in the Book of Mormon.
So, sisters, I hope that whoever you are, whatever is going on in your life, you’ll be able to find increased faith and the answers you need by bringing more of the Book of Mormon into your life, your family, and the world, this week and forever!
Source: L7 Relief Society
