You have to do more than open the book.

 You have to do more than open the book.

When we were in Lander one of the sisters in our ward said that the Book of Mormon had such a powerful spirit that all you had to do was to open the Book of Mormon and leave it on the table and the spirit would permeate the room.

People have strange ideas. Ones like this are not true and can lead us into many false ideas. The spirit that we receive comes from prayerfully reading and pondering the message. The prophet Joseph Smith said that the book contains the fullness of the gospel. It is to lead us to a testimony of the divinity of Christ and to prepare us to meet our Father in Heaven.

We need to read and internalize the writing. Opening the book does not let us digest the contents without reading or listening to the words and thoughts.

We are blessed to be able to have the scriptures available to us on a small handheld device that we can read or have the chapters read to us.

I am fortunate to have hearing aids that pair with my iPhone. I have been able to listen to all of the October general conference without disturbing my wife while she watches TV. I can hear and she doesn’t even know that I am listening.

I have the ability to listen to the Book of Mormon while I am getting dressed.

Many things come up all around us and each of our experiences are different. The answers to our challenges can be found by reading the Book of Mormon. The spirit of the Lord will inspire us. It may take some time. In my experience it has not come immediately but will come with effort on our part when we are ready and absolutely need it.

Don’t just leave the book open. Read or listen to its contents.

Love,

Grandpa