Sterling W. Sill on the Book of Mormon
Story #1)
"In 1915, near Vernal, Utah, 3 archeologists from the East were tramping over a ranch about 6 miles from the town, when the men noticed that there was something unusual about the terrain and they started probing and digging. They uncovered the burial ground of the biggest find of dinosaur remains ever discovered in this country. To these trained men it was a real treasure. The bones were carefully dug up and reconstructed in Vernal and back East. The Dinosaur National Monument as it is now called, gave them a rare possession a treasure.
People come from all over to see it. The interesting thing about the find is that men had walked over that same ground for hundreds of years. They had looked at it, hunted over it, fished the stream running through it, and Indians had camped, played, fought over it, with no one realizing the great value beneath their feet."
Tying it in to reading and treasuring our Book of Mormon, you could ask? How many of us have one of the greatest treasures on earth in our own homes without actually discovering it?
Does that treasure do us any good if we don't understand its value?
Story #2)
"We might compare our scripture reading to a group of tourists who were once going through the Louvre. They were agitated in anticipation of seeing the great art treasures and one particular painting which had such great international significance that armed guards were kept on duty day and night to protect it. (I think he is referring to the Mona Lisa--it is the only painting in the Louvre that has it very own guard).
As the tourists stood before it one of them said, "I don't see anything so hot about that."
The guard said, "But don't you wish you could?"
It had not occurred to the tourist that the picture was not on trial. Its value was well known. It was the tourist who was on trial and this man was adversely judging himself.
Follow up comments--Actually the holy scriptures are not on trial. Pres. Benson said: "The people of this world-including the members of the church are on trial as to what they will do with this second witness for Christ--The Book of Mormon."