Friday, February 1, 2008

Book of Mormon stories teach me how to live the gospel


February 2008, Talk #3

When President Ezra Taft Benson was the living Prophet and President of the Church, he wrote a letter to all of the children of the church. In this letter he said:

"How pleased I am to hear of your love for the Book of Mormon. I love it too, and Heavenly Father wants you to continue to learn from the Book of Mormon every day. It’s Heavenly Father’s special gift to you. By following its teachings, you will learn to do the will of our Father in Heaven."

In this special message to primary children everywhere, President Benson told us that the stories found in the Book of Mormon will help us live the gospel.

In the book of Mosiah we can read the story of Abinadi and Alma. Abinadi was a prophet who tried to teach a wicked king named King Noah about the gospel. He told the wicked king that he needed to repent. The king did not like this so he had Abinadi burned to death. Before Abinadi died, he was able to preach the gospel to the king and his wicked priests.



One of King Noah's wicked priests was a man named Alma. He believed Abinadi's words about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He knew that he needed to repent of his sins and obey the commandments.

Alma did repent of his sins and he became a great missionary. He went to the Waters of Mormon and preached the gospel. He taught people about Jesus Christ and about the importance of baptism. The Lord gave Alma the authority to baptize the people who believed in the gospel. Alma taught and baptized many people.

Even though this is just one of the many stories that can be found in the Book of Mormon it teaches us many ways that we can live the gospel. Like Abinadi, we should always stand up for what we believe in. Like Alma we should know that we can repent, obey the commandments and be good missionaries. This story also teaches us that to live the gospel of Jesus Christ we must be baptized.

I am thankful for the Book of Mormon. I know that what President Benson said about following its teachings is true.


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