Dear Elders and Sisters:
I want to start out by thanking you for your
goodness. You are such great
missionaries! You do "works of
goodness"! Your hearts are aligned
with God's will and "you have desires to serve him" and "serve
Him with all your hearts, might, mind, and strength that you may stand
blameless before God at the last day."
As we say in our Culture, "You are worthy, obedient, committed, and
focused and are serving with No Regrets!"
Thank you!
I have been so impressed by the manner in which you have
accepted and carried out (or are carrying out) my Book of Mormon
Challenge. It has been a blessing in
your lives and a blessing to this mission.
You have also blessed my life as you have shared your spiritual experiences
with me in your weekly letters. I
believe your investment in reading the Book of Mormon with such intensity has
added to the rising tide that is lifting all boats in this mission. Thank you for your commitment to excellence!
President Ezra Taft Benson, the great Book of Mormon
prophet and featured this month in our Ensign, said: "The Book of Mormon
is the greatest single tool the Lord has given us for the conversion of the
world." That is absolutely
powerful! The Book of Mormon brings men
to Christ through two basic means;
1. It teaches in plain manner of Christ and His
doctrines, and
2. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention.
In D&C 42:12 we are instructed to teach from it. In Section 20:17-31 it makes clear what we
are to teach and all of these doctrines are abundant in the Book of
Mormon. We should liken it unto
ourselves (see 1 Nephi 19:23) and very importantly "every man must judge
for himself" if the Book of Mormon is not "his (the Savior's)
words" (see 2 Nephi 33:11). This
has been pressing upon me to a great degree lately.
What is your love for this book? How much do you use it to assist in the
conversion of souls? Do they have firm
testimonies of its truthfulness as revealed by the Holy Ghost? Do they "hunger and thirst" to read
it or are they simply complying with your challenges? I submit that the level of their interest in
the Book of Mormon, the degree to which they desire to read it, and the value
they place upon it in their conversion and walk as Saints and Disciples will be
directly correlated to how you feel about the Book of Mormon.
So, do you view the Book of Mormon as a Prophet of God
views it - as the "greatest single tool the Lord has given us for the
conversion" of the people we seek to convert here in the great CFM? As you have just finished or are about to
finish an intense study of it, what will you do next? Will you chalk that up as having complied
with your priesthood leader's challenge and move on, reading it again next year
or in the future? Or will you continue
to search it for doctrine, read and study it with intensity, and use it in a
powerful way as you Find, Teach, Baptize, and Rescue? My promise to you is President Benson's
promise: It is "the greatest single tool" we have to assist us in the
conversion of these great people so I encourage you to take it to them. Give them the opportunity, challenge, and
motivation to discover what you know to be true. Help them judge "if they are not the
words of Christ....for Christ will show unto [them], with power and glory that
they are His words."
To this I add my sincere testimony that this Book is a
treasure, a blessing, and the "greatest single tool the Lord has given us
for the conversion of the" people in this mission. I love it and cannot let a day go by that I
don't read from it, sup from it, and relish in its teachings and
doctrines. I believe firmly in President
Benson's great promise and testimony that... "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. 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.”
Please know how much I love and appreciate you and all
you do that blesses the Work of Salvation in the CFM,
President Clark
No comments:
Post a Comment