We must do everything in our power to qualify for the Holy Ghost and remove anything that offends and denies the power of God in our lives - for without His guidance we will be deceived (D&C 45:57). As we live worthy of and act upon the whisperings of the spirit we grow in faith and qualify more fully to receive the Holy Ghost as our constant companion. (D&C 121:34-46) We qualify for the spirit of the Holy Ghost as we “feast upon the words of Christ” with the promise that we will be taught “line upon line” and “shown all things that we should do”. (2 Nephi 32)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie has said, “I sometimes think that one of the best-kept secrets of the kingdom is that the scriptures open the door to the receipt of revelation.” Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught, “We do not overstate the point when we say that the scriptures can be a Urim and Thummin to assist each of us to receive personal revelation. Because we believe that scripture reading can help us receive revelation, we are encouraged to read the scriptures again and again. By this means, we obtain access to what our Heavenly Father would have us know and do in our personal lives today. “ (Ensign - Jan 1995 – Scripture Reading and Revelation)
There is tremendous power and promises associated with reading the Book of Mormon. President Ezra Taft Benson has said, “It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not 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.” (President Ezra T. Benson – Oct 1986 General Conference – The Book of Mormon – The Keystone of our Religion”)
We invite every individual, adult to child, to read the Book of Mormon with greater emphasis to invite the Holy Ghost more fully into our lives. As we “feast upon the words of Christ” through this sacred book that has been written specifically for us in these the “last days” we will qualify for a special endowment of the spirit of revelation so needed in our daily lives. We ask every member and family to set your own goals, to establish your own schedule to read the Book of Mormon with greater emphasis.
We testify that the blessings promised by the Prophets concerning our children and our homes will be yours as you follow this counsel. “Without reservation I promise you that if each of you will observe this simple program, regardless of how many times you previously have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God”. (President Gordon B. Hinckley – Ensign, Aug. 2005)