We need only approach the Book of Mormon prayerfully and with faith, and the Savior’s peace will permeate our searching…
From Elder Neil L. Andersen, then a member of the Quorum of the Seventy (now an Apostle), in an Ensign, (January 2008 Ensign) said: Before the rededication of the São Paulo Brazil Temple in 2004, the temple doors were opened to many notable leaders from government, business, and education. As I accompanied a highly respected, elected leader through the temple, I noticed that his attention was acutely focused. It wasn’t until we reached a sealing room at the end of our visit that I fully understood why.
In a solemn tone he said to me: “Mr. Andersen, I want to tell you something about my family. My oldest son passed away five years ago at age 35 of cancer. In his final months he could find no peace. He was nervous, distraught, and concerned about his family, his life, and what was ahead of him. Knowing of my son’s situation, a friend of mine who is a member of the Church shared with me a copy of the Book of Mormon and suggested I share it with my son.
“It was a miracle to me to see the effect of that book on my son. He devoured it. He wrote notes and thoughts in the margins. His concerns and anxieties disappeared. In reading the Book of Mormon he found enormous peace. When he died, the book was next to him. I am so thankful for the peace it brought to him.”
We live in that time long prophesied when peace would be taken from the earth: “And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail them” (D&C 45:26). We speak not only of the conflict of nations but also of the pace and frenzy of modern cities, the distraction of media and technology, the obsession with material possessions, the uncertainty of economic stability, and the turbulence of shifting values. We thirst for peace. The words of the Savior are so inviting: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
Do you desire more peace in your life and for your family? Would you change something you are doing in your life if you could have more of the Savior’s peace? The Book of Mormon is a wellspring of peace to the thirsty soul. It is a great purveyor of the Savior’s peace. The introduction to the Book of Mormon explains that the book tells us what we must do “to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come” (emphasis added). Counting the ways the Book of Mormon brings peace to the soul is like counting the sand on the seashore. Let me discuss a few of the ways, allowing you to multiply the list by your own experience.
Peace from Faith in Jesus Christ
From the beginning to the end of the Book of Mormon, “we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, … that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:26). More than half of the verses in the Book of Mormon refer to or speak of the Savior.1
Each year, often at Easter and Christmastime, news magazines across the world ask the questions: Who was Jesus Christ? Did He live? Are the writings in the Bible authentic? 2 (below) Yet we know that the Bible is correct. Mormon declared, “This [the Book of Mormon] is written for the intent that ye may believe that [the Bible]” (Mormon 7:9).
When I was a missionary in Europe in the early 1970s, we began much of our teaching with the Apostasy because the divinity of Christ was widely accepted. When I returned as a mission president 20 years later, the emphasis of our teaching changed because belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who gave His life for our sins and rose the third day, had faded significantly. The importance of our testimony of Jesus Christ as the Son of God will continue to grow not only in Europe but also throughout the world.
One of the blessings of our day and the coming days is that we are able to take our message to so many who know little about Jesus Christ and His mission. The assurance of Christ fills the Book of Mormon, bringing in its wake abundant peace to all who embrace it.
To watch, listen to or read Elder Anderson’s complete talk click on… ‘The Book of Mormon’.
2. See, for example, Laurie Goodstein, “Crypt Held Bodies of Jesus and Family, Film Says,” New York Times, Feb. 27, 2007, sec. A, p. 10; Jay Tolson, “The Gospel Truth,” U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 18, 2006, 70–79.
