When the Lord taught the parable of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45–46), he could have had direct reference to the great teachings on missionary work found within the Pearl of Great Price we value today as one of our choicest scriptural records. Contained within the histories, visions, doctrinal teachings and other inspired revelations in this standard work are some of the most important foundations and principles of missionary work for this and previous dispensations. As we learn of them our appreciation for the importance of sharing the gospel with others grows, and our understanding of the role of each member of the Church in taking the gospel to the nations of the earth deepens.

Prophets and apostles have counseled us how to use the Book of Mormon. In April 1986, President Ezra Taft Benson pleaded: “I would particularly urge you to read again and again the Book of Mormon and ponder and apply its teachings. . . . [One] who knows and loves the Book of Mormon, who has read it several times, who has an abiding testimony of its truthfulness, and who applies its teachings will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and will be a mighty tool in the hands of the Lord.”

Many parents, as they have labored through the process of raising a teenager, may have wondered at times if Satan’s idea of destroying agency was such a bad idea. However, most parents have learned from experience that trying to control a child’s decisions, even in the right direction, can often result in the child’s rebellion. Very few, if any, like to be forced to do something, even if it is good. Having the right to live according to our personal desires and to exercise our agency, even if what we choose is not wise or good for us, is very precious to us. We prize our moral agency so highly that any attempt to undermine, circumvent, manipulate, control, or eliminate it often leads to conflict. These battles have spanned heaven and earth and have included both individuals and great assemblies.

Teachers should eagerly anticipate the lesson when their students will learn about the Fall of Adam and Eve. This doctrine is one of three great doctrinal topics that all Latter-day Saints should understand. According to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, “These three are the very pillars of eternity itself. They are the most important events that ever have or will occur in all eternity. They are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement.”

The choices we make may not affect the future history of our nation, but they do impact our personal destiny and influence those in our families and other circles of influence. Indeed, the cause-effect relationship of our choices is a major message of the Book of Mormon. In its pages, we learn about the nature of human agency and the enduring consequences of our choices. This chapter will discuss what agency is; how, where, and by whom various principles of agency are taught; and how understanding and applying the basic elements of agency will bring us nearer to God.

The greatest concept we can study or teach is the plan of redemption—sometimes called the plan of salvation or the plan of happiness. The doctrines of the plan of redemption have more power to bring men to God than any other truth or concept. Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints quickly recognize the following diagram.

When Alma the Younger returned to Zarahemla following his mission to the Zoramites, “he caused that his sons should be gathered together, that he might give unto them every one his charge, separately, concerning the things pertaining to righteousness” (Alma 35:16). The Book of Mormon contains a significantly larger amount of counsel from Alma to his wayward son Corianton than to Helaman and Shiblon.

Within Alma’s teachings, we discover a concise explanation of the Fall of Adam and three elements necessary to reclaim each individual from the Fall, namely, death, the Atonement, and the Resurrection. This chapter will discuss the Fall of Adam and these three elements in Alma’s teachings to Corianton and also in the inspired teachings of modern apostles and prophets. This chapter will conclude that we can control only one of the three elements necessary to reclaim mankind from the Fall: whether we use the Atonement to repent of our sins and forgive others.

The more we are acquainted with the life and ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the more evident it becomes that Elder John Taylor did not overstate reality when he said that “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it” (D&C 135:3). This passage goes on to specify that it was the abun­dance of revelation and scripture given Joseph Smith that particularly qualified him for such a lofty epithet.

The Prophet Joseph Smith’s statement, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book,” may be one of his most recognizable quotes. Millions of readers of the Book of Mormon find it in the sixth paragraph of the book’s introduction. Hundreds of thousands of general conference participants hear it cited repeatedly from the pulpit. Books, articles, and even entire symposia use it as a theme. However, how many people familiar with the quote understand its context? For example, why did Joseph say what he did regarding the Book of Mormon? Who were “the brethren” to whom he made the statement? What sparked the declaration? How has it been used over time? Answers to these important historical questions help us better appreciate the power and application of Joseph’s prophetic statement in our modern day.

The choices we make may not affect the future history of our nation, but they do impact our personal destiny and influence those in our families and other circles of influence. Indeed, the cause-effect relationship of our choices is a major message of the Book of Mormon. In its pages, we learn about the nature of human agency and the enduring consequences of our choices. This chapter will discuss what agency is; how, where, and by whom various principles of agency are taught; and how understanding and applying the basic elements of agency will bring us nearer to God.

In this article Madsen introduces B. H. Roberts and presents a synopsis of his rigorous life-time study of the Book of Mormon. Roberts approached the Book of Mormon from many different perspectives, all adding to his conviction that it was authentic scripture. The article explores these perspectives and suggests that B. H. Roberts\'s five- decade probing of the book was “shrewd,” “ground-breaking,” and faith-promoting. Through Roberts the modern reader can come to understand the kind of challenge the Book of Mormon poses for an honest inquirer and how one can try to deal with that challenge.

On November 28, 1841, the Prophet Joseph Smith met with the Nauvoo City Council and members of the Quorum of the Twelve in the home of President Brigham Young. History of the Church records that he conversed “with them upon a variety of subjects. Brother Joseph Fielding was present, having been absent four years on a mission to England.” It was in that setting, at the Sunday city council meeting in the Young’s residence, that Joseph Smith made what has come to be one of the most axiomatic and memorable statements in Mormon literature: “I told the brethren,” he said, “that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” In what follows, we will consider the possible meaning and implications of the various parts of this rather bold declaration about this extrabiblical document. We will consider the nature of the Book of Mormon’s correctness, how it is the keystone, the precepts it contains, the poignancy of those precepts, its importance to the world, and finally, its prophetic destiny as a book of holy scripture.

Reprinted as “Christ among the Ruins,” in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8. 380–434.

Presents information about the names used and the political and the social conditions of Lehi’s Jerusalem based on contemporaneous messages written on pottery found at Lachish.

Although the Book of Mormon is composed of such literary elements as stories, poetry, symbolism, letters, archetypes, typology, and allegories, it is not just literature; it is sacred literature, and millions of people with open hearts have found the power behind the Prophet Joseph Smith’s inspired words that “a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (introduction to the Book of Mormon). For believers, there is no question that the Book of Mormon has the power to change the lives of those who are willing to let it. What believers may not so readily understand, however, is the powerful role that the book’s literary features play in changing their lives. These literary elements are not decorative add-ons included by the prophets merely to make reading the book more interesting. Often the literary nature of the Book of Mormon conveys the doctrine and other life-changing precepts in ways that help us better abide by them and experience their power in our lives.

Prophets and apostles have counseled us how to use the Book of Mormon. In April 1986, President Ezra Taft Benson pleaded: “I would particularly urge you to read again and again the Book of Mormon and ponder and apply its teachings. . . . [One] who knows and loves the Book of Mormon, who has read it several times, who has an abiding testimony of its truthfulness, and who applies its teachings will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and will be a mighty tool in the hands of the Lord.”