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Promises of Daily Reading the Book of Mormon as Given by Prophets and Apostles in General Conference
Back in January, President Nelson challenged the young adults to learn more about the Savior by reading the scriptures which refer to Jesus Christ as found in the Topical Guide. So, I bought a new set of paperback scriptures and I started President Nelson’s challenge for myself. I plan to put a small check mark next to each scripture in Jesus Christ as found in the Topical Guide. I feel like I learn more while studying scriptural topics if I color-code the verses I study. Here is what I hope to learn as I read:
Promises of Daily Reading the Book of Mormon as Given by Prophets and Apostles in General Conference
Back in January, President Nelson challenged the young adults to learn more about the Savior by reading the scriptures which refer to Jesus Christ as found in the Topical Guide. So, I bought a new set of paperback scriptures and I started President Nelson’s challenge for myself. I plan to put a small check mark next to each scripture in Jesus Christ as found in the Topical Guide. I feel like I learn more while studying scriptural topics if I color-code the verses I study. Here is what I hope to learn as I read:
Jesus Christ in the Scriptures
·
Attributes of Christ
o
Faith, Hope, Charity, Virtue,
Knowledge, Patience, Humility, Diligence, Obedience, Leadership & Teaching,
Discernment
·
The
Strengthening aspect of Jesus’ Atonement (Grace)
·
The Redeeming aspect of Jesus’
Atonement
·
Christ’s doctrines, laws, and
parables
·
The Life of the Savior
·
Symbolism & Prophecies, His
Mission, Creator, Antemortal
·
Christ’s Second Coming
·
Divine Sonship, power &
authority, titles of Jesus Christ
·
Rejecting the
Savior
·
How we can draw the power of Jesus Christ into our lives .
(1) We begin by learning about Him.
(2) We choose to have faith in Him and follow Him.
(3) We make sacred covenants and keep those
covenants with precision.
(4) We reach up to Him in faith.
Update: After President Nelson's April General Conference talk, I also wanted to mark in my scriptures the four keys of drawing the power of Jesus Christ into my life, as taught by President Nelson. I have learned for myself over the years that President Benson's promise is true: “There is a power in the Book [of Mormon] which will begin
to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book.” So my gospel study time begins each day with at least 10 minutes in the Book of Mormon, and then I move to other scriptures or study topics.
To accommodate this 10 minutes in the Book of Mormon, I began reading in First Nephi and I am marking each of the colored topics listed above, including the four keys to drawing the power of Jesus Christ into my life. This takes more pondering to consider if a verse fits those four keys.
President Russell M. Nelson, "Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives Today," April 2017
I would like to speak about how we
can draw into our lives the power of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.
(1)
We begin by learning about Him.
a.
The more we know about the Savior’s ministry and
mission7—the more we
understand His doctrine8 and what He
did for us—the more we know that He can provide the power that we need for our
lives.
b.
Earlier this year, I asked the young adults of the
Church to consecrate a portion of their time each week to study everything Jesus
said and did as recorded in the standard works.9 I invited
them to let the scriptural citations about Jesus Christ in the Topical Guide
become their personal core curriculum.
c.
I read and underlined every verse
cited about Jesus Christ, as listed under the main heading and the 57 subtitles
in the Topical Guide. When I finished that exciting exercise, my wife
asked me what impact it had on me. I told her, “I am a different man!”
d.
It is doctrinally incomplete to speak of the Lord’s
atoning sacrifice by shortcut phrases, such as “the Atonement” or “the enabling
power of the Atonement” or “applying the Atonement” or “being strengthened by
the Atonement.” The Savior’s atoning sacrifice—the central act of all
human history—is best understood and appreciated when we expressly and clearly
connect it to Him.
(2)
We choose to have faith in Him and follow Him.
a.
As we invest time in learning about the Savior and
His atoning sacrifice, we are drawn to participate in another key
element to accessing His power: we choose to have faith in Him and follow Him.
b.
True disciples of Jesus Christ are willing to stand
out, speak up, and be different from the people of the world.
c.
They are undaunted, devoted, and courageous.
d.
There is nothing easy or automatic about becoming
such powerful disciples. Our focus must be riveted on the Savior and His
gospel.
e. It
is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Him in every thought.15 But when
we do, our doubts and fears flee.16
f.
Faith in Jesus Christ propels us to do things we
otherwise would not do. Faith that motivates us to action gives us more access
to His power.
(3)
Make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with
precision.
a.
Our covenants bind us to Him and give us godly
power.
b.
Covenant-keeping men and women seek for ways to keep
themselves unspotted from the world so there will be nothing blocking their
access to the Savior’s power.
(4)
Reach up to Him in faith.
a.
Such reaching requires diligent, focused effort.
b.
Many of us have cried out from the depths of our
hearts a variation of this woman’s words: “If I could spiritually stretch
enough to draw the Savior’s power into my life, I would know how to handle my
heart-wrenching situation. I would know what to do. And I would have the power
to do it.”
c.
When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life
with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping
for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours.
d. When
the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the
greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be
led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do.21
e.
When you spiritually stretch beyond anything you
have ever done before, then His power will flow into you.
f.
And then you will understand the deep meaning of words
we sing in the hymn “The Spirit of God”:
The Lord is extending the Saints’ understanding. …
The knowledge and power of God are expanding;
The veil o’er the earth is beginning to burst.
·
Study everything
Jesus said and did as recorded
in the Old Testament.
·
Study His
laws as recorded in the New Testament.
·
Study His
doctrine as recorded in the Book of Mormon.
·
Study His
words as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants.
From LDS.org Blog: President Russell M. Nelson’s Challenge to Study About the Savior
I promised those listening that if they would proceed to learn all they can about Jesus Christ, their love for Him and for God’s laws would grow beyond what they could currently imagine.
On December 1, 2016, I obtained a new set of scriptures and proceeded to begin the same assignment that I would later extend to young adults in January. When I finished the assignment six weeks later, I had looked up and marked more than 2,200 citations from the four books of scripture.
As I mentioned at the devotional, in a coming day, you will present yourself before the Savior. You will be overwhelmed to the point of tears to be in His holy presence. You will thank Him for strengthening you to do the impossible, for turning your weaknesses into strengths, and for making it possible for you to live with Him and your family forever. His identity, His Atonement, and His attributes will become personal and real to you.
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