"It Is Wisdom in the Lord That We Should Have the Book of Mormon"

Last updated on October 3rd, 2024 at 01:01 am

General Conference Applied

S3 E20 – Sunday, August 25, 2024 | “It Is Wisdom in the Lord That We Should Have the Book of Mormon” by President Mark L. Pace; April 2024 General Conference

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Introduction

Doctrine: Prophets and Revelation: “Revelation is communication from God to His children. When the Lord reveals His will to the Church, He speaks through His prophet. The scriptures—the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price—contain revelations given through ancient and latter-day prophets. The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s prophet on earth today.

“Individuals can receive revelation to help them with their specific needs, responsibilities, and questions and to help strengthen their testimonies. Most revelations to leaders and members of the Church come through impressions and thoughts from the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost speaks to the mind and heart in a still, small voice (see D&C 8:2–3). Revelation can also come through visions, dreams, and visitations by angels.”

Principle: Scriptures: “President Ezra Taft Benson helped us understand how the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. He said:

“‘There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone in our witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony.

“‘The Book of Mormon is the keystone in our witness of Jesus Christ, who is Himself the cornerstone of everything we do. It bears witness of His reality with power and clarity. …

“‘[It] broadens our understandings of the doctrines of salvation. … The Book of Mormon … was written for our day. … In [it] we find a pattern for preparing for the Second Coming. …

“‘… The Book of Mormon teaches us truth [and] bears testimony of Christ. … 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,’ and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. … ‘Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit’ (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 4–7; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 5–7; quoting Marion G. Romney, in Conference Report, Apr. 1980, 90; or Ensign, May 1980, 67).”

Christlike Attribute: Knowledge: “The Lord counseled, ‘Seek learning, even by study and also by faith’ (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118). During your mission and throughout your life, seek knowledge, especially spiritual knowledge.

“Study the scriptures every day, as well as the words of the living prophets. Through study and prayer, seek help for specific questions, challenges, and opportunities. Look for scripture passages you can use in teaching and in answering questions about the gospel.

“As you study diligently and prayerfully, the Holy Ghost will enlighten your mind. He will teach you and give you understanding. He will help you apply the teachings of the scriptures and latter-day prophets in your life.”

Bio

“Mark L. Pace was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 1, 1957. He married Anne Marie Langeland in 1978. They are the parents of seven children.

“Mark L. Pace earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Utah in 1980 and masters of business administration from Harvard Business School 1982.

“He has served in many Church callings, including elders quorum president, Scoutmaster, bishopric counselor, ward Young Men president, high councilor, bishop and counselor in a stake presidency. As a young man he served as a full-time missionary in the Spain Madrid Mission. From 2012 to 2015 he served as president of the Spain Barcelona Mission. He was serving as an Area Seventy and a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy when he was called as Sunday School general president.

“Prior to his call, he worked in commercial real estate development.”
This was President Pace’s third general conference address:
- “Come, Follow Me—the Lord’s Counterstrategy and Proactive Plan” – October 2019 General Conference
- “Conversion Is Our Goal” – April 2022 General Conference

What is the speaker inviting me to do, and how might I consider taking action?

Invitations

1: “Reading the Savior’s teachings in the scriptures helps us transform our homes into sanctuaries of faith and centers of gospel learning.”

With everything going on in life, prioritize ‘reading the Savior’s teachings in the scriptures’.
Questions:
1. What are ‘the Savior’s teachings’? Are they specifically what the Savior said, or what any prophet said?
  - Doctrine and Covenants 1:37-38 – “[37] Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled. [38] What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
2. Did these phrases – ‘sanctuaries of faith’ and ‘centers of gospel learning’ – come from President Nelson?
3. What is a ‘sanctuary of faith’?
4. What is a ‘center of gospel learning’?
  - “Closing Remarks“, President Russell M. Nelson, April 2019 General Conference: “We hope and pray that each member’s home will become a true sanctuary of faith, where the Spirit of the Lord may dwell. Despite contention all around us, one’s home can become a heavenly place, where study, prayer, and faith can be merged with love. We can truly become disciples of the Lord, standing up and speaking up for Him wherever we are.”
5. Why is it so important in our day for our homes to be ‘sanctuaries of faith and centers of gospel learning’?
  - “Come, Follow Me—the Lord’s Counterstrategy and Proactive Plan“, President Mark L. Pace, October 2019 General Conference: “Studying the scriptures with Come, Follow Me as a guide is strengthening our conversion to Jesus Christ and His gospel. We are not simply trading one hour less in church on Sunday for one hour more of scripture study at home. Learning the gospel is a consistent effort throughout the week. As one sister insightfully shared, ‘The goal is not to make church one hour shorter; it is to make church six days longer!’
    
    “Now, consider again the warning our prophet, President Nelson, gave as he opened the October 2018 general conference:
    
    “‘The adversary is increasing his attacks on faith and upon us and our families at an exponential rate. To survive spiritually, we need counterstrategies and proactive plans’ (“Opening Remarks“).
    
    “Then (approximately 29 hours later) on Sunday afternoon, he closed the conference with this promise: ‘As you diligently work to remodel your home into a center of gospel learning, … the influence of the adversary in your life and in your home will decrease’ (“Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints“).
    
    “How can the attacks of the adversary be increasing exponentially while at the same time the influence of the adversary is actually decreasing? It can happen, and it is happening throughout the Church, because the Lord prepares His people against the attacks of the adversary. Come, Follow Me is the Lord’s counterstrategy and proactive plan. As President Nelson taught, ‘The new home-centered, Church-supported integrated curriculum has the potential to unleash the power of families.’ However, it does and will require our best efforts; we need to ‘[follow] through conscientiously and carefully to transform [our] home into a sanctuary of faith’ (“Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints“).
    
    “After all, as President Nelson also said, ‘We are each responsible for our individual spiritual growth’ (“Opening Remarks“).
    
    “With the Come, Follow Me resource, the Lord is preparing us ‘for the perilous times that we now face’ (Elder Quentin L. Cook, “Deep and Lasting Conversion“, October 2018 General Conference). He is helping us establish that ‘sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall’ (Helaman 5:12)—the foundation of a testimony anchored firmly in the bedrock of our conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
6. In addition to ‘reading the Savior’s teachings in the scriptures’, are there other ways that can ‘help us transform our homes into sanctuaries of faith and centers of gospel learning’?
7. What changes might we see in our marriages if we prioritized ‘transform[ing] our homes into sanctuaries of faith and centers of gospel learning’?
8. What changes might we see in our children’s lives if we prioritized ‘transform[ing] our homes into sanctuaries of faith and centers of gospel learning’?
9. What were President Nelson’s promises associated with ‘transform[ing] our homes into sanctuaries of faith and centers of gospel learning’?
  - Footnote 2: “Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints“, President Russell M. Nelson, October 2018 General Conference: “The new home-centered, Church-supported integrated curriculum has the potential to unleash the power of families, as each family follows through conscientiously and carefully to transform their home into a sanctuary of faith. I promise that as you diligently work to remodel your home into a center of gospel learning, over time your Sabbath days will truly be a delight. Your children will be excited to learn and to live the Savior’s teachings, and the influence of the adversary in your life and in your home will decrease. Changes in your family will be dramatic and sustaining.”
  - 5/3/2024 journal entry: To me, this is an invitation to take action on President Nelson’s invitation from the October 2018 General Conference.
10. If your home is not currently a ‘sanctuary of faith’ and a ‘center of gospel learning’, why not? What is one thing you can do today to initiate this transformation?

2: “We study the scriptures so the Holy Ghost, the great teacher, can deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and help us become more like Them.

“With these thoughts in mind, we could consider, ‘What has the Holy Ghost taught us this week during our study of the Book of Mormon?’ and ‘How does this bring us closer to the Savior?’

“These are good questions for our scripture study at home. They are also excellent questions to start a Sunday class at church. We improve our teaching at church on Sunday by improving our learning at home during the week.”

If we haven’t already, it’s time to commit to a transformational study of the scriptures.
“We call it ‘study,’ and that’s good because it implies effort. But we don’t always need to learn some new fact. Sometimes reading the Book of Mormon is just about feeling connected to God today—nourishing the soul, being strengthened spiritually before heading out to face the world, or finding healing after a rough day out in the world.” -President Pace
Questions:
1. Is ‘deepen[ing] [your] conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’ so you can ‘become more like Them’ currently the purpose of your scripture study?
2. How might your scripture study be transformed by not only studying, but then asking inspired questions to contemplate what you’ve learned?
3. What would happen to the quality of our Sunday lessons if all members of the Church committed to ‘improving our learning at home during the week’?
4. What are some other questions we might ask ourselves after we study the scriptures?
  - We also improve our ability to participate in class by the way we study at home. Here’s a question: ‘What wouldst thou have me learn that will be of benefit this Sunday to the other members of my quorum or class?’
  - ‘What answers have I received to my own questions?’ ‘What direction have I received for my own life?’
5. Oftentimes the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. However, we don’t pick our calling at Church. So, if we’re not currently serving as a gospel instructor, what are other ways we might teach others?
  - How about by submitting articles to Church magazines?
  - Consistently talk about the gospel in our homes. Find Jesus Christ every day.
6. Is the practice of asking ‘excellent questions to start a Sunday class at church’ a beneficial way to start a class? Why, or why not?
  - Church News Podcast Episode 170: The Sunday School general presidency on personal conversion, the 2024 ‘Come, Follow Me’ curriculum and the Book of Mormon: [Brother Jan E. Newman]: “The other thing that I love about the home-centered, Church-supported part is the members that are studying and being taught by the Holy Ghost at home are coming to church. And when those who are teaching the classes just ask them simply, ‘What have you learned this week in your study of the scriptures using ‘Come, Follow Me,’ and what has the Holy Ghost taught you?’ And when they share that, it becomes a very personal, revelatory experience for all the members in the ward, in the class, whether it’s an adult Sunday School class, youth, Primary or whatever. Also, we’re bringing back all of this power and inspiration that’s happening in the home, and it’s blessing the lives of the members at church.”
7. What about your scripture study is helping you feel like you are becoming more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
8. There are so many resources out there to study the gospel, but some resources are more important than others. Which resources should we be prioritizing in our gospel study?
9. How can we more effectively teach a class at church if it’s clear that those we are teaching have not studied the gospel at home?
10. When was the last time you had a powerful spiritual experience during your routine study of the scriptures?

3: “I love Lehi’s example of intentional parenting. Sariah, Nephi, and Sam were living good, righteous lives. But the Lord had something better, something sweeter for them. They didn’t know where to find it, but Lehi did. So he called to them ‘with a loud voice’ to come to the tree of life and partake of the fruit for themselves. His direction was clear. There could be no misunderstanding.”

Intentional parents point their children to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Questions:
1. What does ‘intentional parenting’ look like in practice?
  - “I am the product of a similar kind of intentional parenting. When I was a young boy, maybe 11 or 12 years old, my mother asked me, ‘Mark, do you know for yourself, by the Holy Ghost, that the gospel is true?’
    
    “Her question surprised me. I had always tried to be a ‘good boy,’ and I thought that was enough. But my mother, like Lehi, knew that something more was needed. I needed to act and know for myself.
    
    “I replied that I had not yet had that experience. And she didn’t seem surprised at all by my answer.
    
    “She then said something I have never forgotten. I remember her words to this day: ‘Heavenly Father wants you to know for yourself. But you must put in the effort. You need to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know by the Holy Ghost. Heavenly Father will answer your prayers.’
    
    “Well, I had never read the Book of Mormon before. I didn’t think I was old enough to do that. But my mother knew better.
    
    “Her question ignited in me a desire to know for myself.
    
    “So, each night, in the bedroom I shared with two of my brothers, I turned on the light above my bed and read a chapter in the Book of Mormon. Then, turning off the light, I slipped out of my bed onto my knees and prayed. I prayed more sincerely and with greater desire than I ever had before. I asked Heavenly Father to please let me know of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
    
    “From the time I started reading the Book of Mormon, I felt that Heavenly Father was aware of my efforts. And I felt that I mattered to Him. As I read and prayed, comfortable, peaceful feelings rested upon me. Chapter by chapter, the light of faith was growing brighter inside my soul. In time, I realized that these feelings were confirmations of truth from the Holy Ghost. I came to know for myself that the Book of Mormon is true and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. How grateful I am for my mother’s inspired invitation.
    
    “This experience reading the Book of Mormon as a boy started a pattern of scripture study that continues to bless me to this day. I still read the Book of Mormon and kneel in prayer. And the Holy Ghost confirms its truths over and over again.” -President Pace
  - “Heavenly Father lives. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. The Book of Mormon contains His words and conveys His love. President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s living prophet on the earth today. I know these things to be true because of the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost, which witness I first received while reading the Book of Mormon as a boy.” -President Pace
2. How can we more clearly teach the gospel to our families?
3. What spiritual experiments can we design for our children that will allow them ‘to come to the tree of life and partake of the fruit for themselves’?
4. Why is ‘intentional parenting’ required for all of our children, even for those who seem predisposed to ‘living good, righteous lives’?
5. Is it possible that the quality of our daily gospel study can help us to become more effective intentional parents?
6. What does the tree of life and its fruit represent?
7. Is it really that important for our children ‘to come to the tree of life and partake of the fruit for themselves’?
8. What does calling to our children ‘with a loud voice’ look like in practice?
9. When our children see who we are becoming, is it clear so ‘there could be no misunderstanding’ that we are becoming like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
10. Why is ‘intentional parenting’ important throughout our lives, even when our children are grown and have families of their own?
  - “Seeing God’s Family through the Overview Lens“, Sister Tamara W. Runia, October 2023 General Conference: “Dad exemplified Lehi’s dream. Like Lehi, he knew that you don’t chase after your loved ones who feel lost. ‘You stay where you are and call them. You go to the tree, stay at the tree, keep eating the fruit and, with a smile on your face, continue to beckon to those you love and show by example that eating the fruit is a happy thing!’
    
    “This visual image has helped me during low moments when I find myself at the tree, eating the fruit and crying because I’m worried; and really, how helpful is that? Instead, let’s choose hope—hope in our Creator and in one another, fueling our ability to be better than we are right now.
    
    “Shortly after Elder Neal A. Maxwell passed away, a reporter asked his son what he’d miss most. He said dinners at his parents’ house because he always left feeling like his dad believed in him.
    
    “This was around the time our adult children were starting to come home for Sunday dinners with their spouses. During the week, I found myself making lists in my mind of things I could remind them of on Sunday, like ‘Maybe try and help out more with the kids when you’re home’ or ‘Don’t forget to be a good listener.’
    
    “When I read Brother Maxwell’s comment, I threw away the lists and silenced that critical voice, so when I saw my grown children for that brief time each week, I focused on the many positive things they were already doing. When our oldest son, Ryan, passed away a few years later, I remember being grateful our time together was happier and more positive.”

4: “The invitation to come to the tree of life by holding fast to the word of God is not just an invitation from Lehi to his family, and it is not just an invitation from my mother for me to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. It is also an invitation from our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, to each one of us.

“‘I promise,’ he said, ‘that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life.'”

Prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, and then ponder what you study.
Questions:
1. Do you ‘prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day’? If not, why not?
  - “There has never been a people in history with the access to the Book of Mormon and other scriptures that we enjoy today. Yes, Lehi and his family were blessed to carry the brass plates with them, but they didn’t have a copy for every tent! The most important copy of the Book of Mormon is our personal copy. It is the copy that we read.” -President Pace
  - Church News Podcast Episode 170: The Sunday School general presidency on personal conversion, the 2024 ‘Come, Follow Me’ curriculum and the Book of Mormon: [President Pace]: “What a sacred time; 200 million copies of the Book of Mormon that have been printed. You know, out of all those, the most important one is mine and yours and all of ours, and the influence it has in our lives.”
  - followHim Podcast – Mosiah 1-3 – Dr. Jennifer Brinkerhoff Platt: “I’ve taken a missionary blue copy of the Book of Mormon and I’ll write a theme or an attribute on the spine, and I’ll study the Book of Mormon that year with that in mind, and I’ve got a whole shelf of them.”
2. What is a practical application of ‘holding fast to the word of God’?
3. When was the last time you invited your child or children to ‘read and pray about the Book of Mormon’? When was the last time you ‘read and [then] pray[ed] about the Book of Mormon’?
4. Are you too busy with life to ‘receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life’?
5. What distractions are getting in the way of ‘prayerfully study[ing] the Book of Mormon every day’?
  - 5/3/2024 journal entry: Don’t allow minutiae to get in the way (a reference to ‘I Will Teach You To Be Rich’ – see the April 7, 2024, What? Eye. Read. 💡 Newsletter). Begin small, and establish a daily Book of Mormon habit. We have been promised answers and peace – the distractions of the world don’t offer that to us!
6. How might your life we blessed by ‘mak[ing] better decisions every day’?
7. How might ‘receiv[ing] answers to your own questions and direction for your own life’ actually end up blessing others’ lives?
8. While the Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price are all important canons of scriptures, why has our prophet invited us to ‘prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day’?
9. When you ‘receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life’, what do you do with it?
  - “Conversion Is Our Goal“, President Mark L. Pace, April 2022 General Conference: “Each week when I open my Come, Follow Me manual, I write this question at the top of the page: ‘What is the Holy Ghost teaching me this week as I read these chapters?’
    
    “As I study the scriptures, I ponder that question over and over again. And without fail, spiritual impressions come, and I make note of them in my manual.”
  - “Stillness Is the Key” by Ryan Holiday: “Take note of insights you’ve heard. Take the time to feel wisdom flow through your fingertips and onto the page.
    
    “This is what the best journals look like. They aren’t for the reader. They are for the writer. To slow the mind down. To wage peace with oneself.
    
    “Journaling is a way to ask tough questions: Where am I standing in my own way? What’s the smallest step I can take toward a big thing today? Why am I so worked up about this? What blessings can I count right now? Why do I care so much about impressing people? What is the harder choice I’m avoiding? Do I rule my fears, or do they rule me? How will today’s difficulties reveal my character? …
    
    “That is what journaling is about… It’s a few minutes of reflection that both demands and creates stillness. It’s a break from the world. A framework for the day ahead. A coping mechanism for troubles of the hours just past. A revving up of your creative juices, for relaxing and clearing.
    
    “Once, twice, three times a day. Whatever. Find what works for you.
    
    “Just know that it may turn out to be the most important thing you do all day.”
10. Why is it so important for you to be able to testify that you know the Book of Mormon is true?
  - “The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion“, President Ezra Taft Benson, October 1986 General Conference: “There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone in our witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony.
    
    “The Book of Mormon is the keystone in our witness of Jesus Christ, who is Himself the cornerstone of everything we do. It bears witness of His reality with power and clarity. …
    
    “[It] broadens our understandings of the doctrines of salvation. … The Book of Mormon … was written for our day. … In [it] we find a pattern for preparing for the Second Coming. …
    
    “… The Book of Mormon teaches us truth [and] bears testimony of Christ. … 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,’ and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. … ‘Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit.”

Take Action

How will you take action on the invitations extended in this General Conference address?

Conclusion

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