Quotes About the Book of Mormon
"For some Church members the Book of Mormon remains unread. Others use it occasionally as if it were merely a handy book of quotations. Still others accept and read it but do not really explore and ponder it. The book is to be feasted upon, not nibbled (see 2 Nephi 31:20)."
Neal A. Maxwell, "But for a Small Moment", p. 28
"I have noted within the Church the difference in discernment, in insight, conviction, and spirit between those who know and love the Book of Mormon and those who do not. That book is a great sifter."
Ezra Taft Benson (1975)
"At present, the Book of Mormon is studied in our S.S. and seminary classes every fourth year. This 4-year pattern, however, must not be followed by Church members in their personal and family study. We need to read daily from the pages of the book that will get a man 'nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.'"
Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, Gen. Conf., "Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon" Oct., 1988
"It seems to me that any member of this Church would never be satisfied until he or she had read the Book of Mormon time and time again, and thoroughly considered it so that he or she could bear witness that it is in very deed a record with the inspiration of the Almighty upon it, and that its history is true....No member of this Church can stand approved in the presence of God who has not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon."
Joseph Fielding Smith "Conference Report", Oct 1961, p. 18
"It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just 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."
Ezra Taft Benson "Ensign", Nov. 1986, pp 4-7
"The Book of Mormon is not just a book that helps us feel good; it is a heavenly document that helps us be good. It is not only an invitation to come unto Christ; it is a pattern for accomplishing that consumate privilege. It is not just a book about religion. It is religion."
Robert L. Millet "So Glorious a Record - Ensign", December 1992
"There are … millions of sincere and devout persons who disbelieve, oppose, and openly fight the Book of Mormon. …What is it about some words on a printed page—all of which are clean and uplifting and pertain to historical and doctrinal matters—that arouses such violent antagonism?
"Men ordinarily do not rise up to fight the Bible; they do not organize mobs and incite them to shed the blood of others because such persons believe in the scripture of the Old World. The violent opposition to the Book of Mormon is one of the great evidences of its divinity. If it were not of God, Lucifer would not overly concern himself with it."
"Brothers and sisters, without reservation I promise you that if you will prayerfully read the Book of Mormon, regardless of how many times you previously have read it, there will come into your hearts an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord. There will come a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to his commandments, and there will come a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God."
Gordon B. Hinckley "The Power of the Book of Mormon", Ensign, June, 1988, p. 6
"The Book of Mormon is tough. It thrives on investigation. You may kick it around like a football, as many have done; and I promise you it will wear you out long before you ever make a dent in it."
Hugh Nibley (Of All Things, 2nd Ed, Deseret Book, SLC, 1993, page 125)
"Do you want to get rid of a bad habit? Do you want to improve relationships in your family? Do you want to increase your spiritual capacity? Read the Book of Mormon!"
Elder Russell M. Nelson - Ensign, Nov. 1999, 71 "A Testimony of the Book of Mormon"
"I take in my hand the Book of Mormon. I read its words. I have read Joseph Smith's explanation of how it came to be. To the unbelieving it is a story difficult to accept, and critics for generations have worn out their lives writing books intended to refute that story and to offer other explanations than the one given by Joseph the Prophet.
But to the open-minded, this critical writing has only stimulated them to dig deeper; and the more deeply they dig, the greater the accumulation of evidence for the validity of Joseph Smith's story.
Still, as has been demonstrated for a hundred and fifty years, the truth of the Book of Mormon will not be determined by literary analysis or by scientific research, although these continue to be reassuring.
The truth about the origins of the Book of Mormon will be determined today and tomorrow, as it has been throughout the yesterdays, by reading the book in a spirit of reverence and respect and prayer."
President Gordon B. Hinckley - "Praise to the Man," Ensign, Aug. 1983, 4
President Ezra Taft Benson gave us great insight when he told us that "the Book of Mormon was written for us today" (CR, April 1975, p. 94).
Each time you read the Book of Mormon, why don't you say to yourself, "Why did the Lord have Mormon put that particular information in the book?"
—L. Alden Porter— Speeches 1994-95, p. 116
"I have a vision of thousands of missionaries going into the mission field with hundreds of passages memorized from the Book of Mormon so that they might feed the needs of a spiritually famished world."
President Benson “Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon” Oct. 1988 General Conference