Transcript The Book of Mormon www.kevinhinckley.com Honesty In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand.

The Book of
Mormon
www.kevinhinckley.com
Honesty
In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney
called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman
to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs.
Jones, do you know me?'
She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams.
I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've
been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you manipulate
people and talk about them behind their backs. You think
you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize
you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper
pusher. Yes, I know you.'
The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room
and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?‘
She again replied, 'Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster,
too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal
relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire
state. Yup, I know him too.‘
The judge then asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet
voice, said,
'If either of you geniuses ever ask her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the
electric chair.'
Question from an investigator
If the Book of Mormon
contains “the gospel”, why
is it that it says nothing
about the Three Degrees
of Glory, the Premortal
Life, Temple Work or
Baptisms for the Dead?
President Benson
The Book of Mormon was designed
by Deity to bring men to Christ.
First, it tells in a plain manner of
Christ and his gospel…It testifies of
His divinity and of the necessity for
a Redeemer and the need of our
putting trust in Him.
Second, the Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of
Christ…It fortifies the humble followers of Christ
against the evil designs, strategies and doctrines of
the devil in our day.
Ensign, Jan 1988
2 Nephi 28
Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach
after this manner, false and vain and foolish
doctrines, and shall be
puffed up in their hearts,
The
and shall seek deepPerfect
to hide their counsels from
Storm shall be in the dark.
the Lord; and their works
And the blood of the saints shall cry from the
ground against them.
Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have
become corrupted. Because of Pride
pride, and
False doctrines,
Doctrines
because of False
false teachers,
Teachers and false
their churches have become corrupted.
President Benson
Not only are there apostates within our
midst, but there are also apostate doctrines
that are sometimes taught in our classes and
from our pulpits and that appear in our
publications. And these apostate precepts of
men cause our people to stumble...
"Christ taught that we should be in the world
but not of it. Yet there are some in our
midst who are not so much concerned
about taking the gospel into the world as they are about
bringing worldliness into the gospel. They want us to be
popular with the worldly even though a prophet has said that it is
impossible, for all hell would then want to join us.
"Through their own reasoning and a few misapplied scriptures, they
try to sell us the precepts and philosophies of men. They do not
feel the Church is progressive enough." (CR, Apr 1969)
Nephi
And others will he pacify, and lull them away
into carnal security, that they will
say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion
prospereth, all is well--and thus
the devil cheateth their souls,
and leadeth them away
carefully down to hell."
(2 Nephi 28:21)
Elder Oaks
When we place our trust in our
property, we have "carnal
security."
In that state of mind we are
inclined to say that all must be well with us
and with Zion because we are prospering,
thus relying on worldly success as a mark of
divine favor. He who does this is an easy
mark for being led "carefully down to hell."
Elder Oaks Continues:
Some have charged that modern Latter-day Saints are peculiarly
susceptible to the gospel of success and the theology of prosperity.
According to this gospel, success in this world—particularly
entrepreneurial success—is an essential ingredient of progress toward
the celestial kingdom. According to this theology, success and
prosperity are rewards for keeping the commandments, and a large
home and an expensive car are marks of heavenly favor. …
Stock manipulations; residential mortgage financings; gold, silver,
diamonds, uranium, and document investments; pyramid schemes—all
have taken their toll upon the faithful and gullible. Whether inherently
too trusting or just naively overeager for a shortcut to the material
prosperity some see as the badge of righteousness, some Latter-day
Saints are apparently too vulnerable to
the lure of sudden wealth.
… Men and women who have heard and
taken to heart the scriptural warnings
against materialism should not be
vulnerable to the deceitfulness of riches
and the extravagant blandishments of its
promoters.
Pure in Heart, 83-84
Finally, Nephi warns
And there are also secret combinations, even as
in times of old, according to the combinations
of the devil, for he is the founder of all these
things; yea, the founder of murder, and works
of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them by the
neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them
with his strong cords forever."
(2 Nephi 26:20-22.)
Bro. Ted Gibbons
I tried to buy some flax thread one day... The lady at the counter told
me it was nearly hopeless. She said something like this:
“Flaxen thread is so fragile that it is almost useless, unless one is
willing to work very carefully by hand. A sewing machine will not
function with so fragile a thread.”
And yet Satan leads the Gentiles about with a “flaxen cord.” He is
ever so careful and so subtle. We may know when the first loops
of flax encircle our necks, but we feel no fear. It is only flax, and
we can break it any time we want to. And so the number of
strands of flax increases, imperceptibly and slowly.
We hardly notice that the movies and TV shows we see this year
are more degraded than those we watched last year. We become
less and less shocked by obscenity or vulgarity; common
standards of modesty and decency seem less critical than they
did to our ancestors.
Elder Marion G. Romney
In 1967 Sister Romney suffered a serious stroke. The doctors told then--Elder
Romney that the damage from the hemorrhage was severe. They offered to keep
her alive by artificial means but did not recommend it. The family braced
themselves for the worst. Brother Romney confided to those closest to him that in
spite of his anguished, personal yearning for Ida's restored health and continued
companionship, above all he wanted "the Lord's will to be done and to take what
he needed to take without whimpering."
As the days wore on, Sister Romney became less responsive. She had, of course, been administered to,
but Elder Romney was "reluctant to counsel the Lord about the matter.“…He fasted that he might
know how to show the Lord that he had faith and that he would accept God's will in their lives. He
wanted to make sure that he had done all he could do. She continued to fail.
One evening in a particularly depressed state, with Ida unable to speak or recognize him, Brother
Romney went home and turned as he always had to the scriptures in an effort to commune with the
Lord. He picked up the Book of Mormon and continued where he had left off the night before.
He had been reading in the book of Helaman about the prophet Nephi, who had been falsely condemned
and unfairly charged with sedition. Following a miraculous deliverance from his accusers, Nephi
returned home pondering the things which he had experienced. As he did so he heard a voice.
Although Marion Romney had read that story many times before, it now struck him this night as a
personal revelation. The words of the scripture so touched his heart that for the first time in weeks he
felt he had tangible peace. It seemed as if the Lord was speaking directly to him. The scripture read:
Blessed art thou, . . . for those things which thou hast done. . . . And thou . . . hast not sought thine own
life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.
And now, because thou hast done this . . . I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word
and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy
word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will. [Helaman 10:45]
Elder Romney continued
There was the answer. He had sought only to know and obey the will of the Lord, and the Lord
had spoken. He fell to his knees and poured out his heart, and as he concluded his prayer
with the phrase, "Thy will be done," he either felt or actually heard a voice which said, "It is
not contrary to my will that Ida be healed."
Brother Romney rose to his feet. It was past two o'clock in the morning, but he knew what he
must do. Quickly he put on his tie and coat, then went out into the night to visit Ida in the
hospital.
He arrived shortly before three o'clock. His wife's condition was unchanged. She did not stir as
he placed his hands upon her pale forehead. With undeviating faith, he invoked the power
of the priesthood in her behalf. He pronounced a simple blessing and then uttered the
incredible promise that she would recover her health and mental powers and yet perform a
great mission upon the earth.
Even though he did not doubt, Elder Romney was astonished to see Ida's eyes open as he
concluded the blessing. Somewhat stunned by all that had happened, he sat down on the
edge of the bed only to hear his wife's frail voice for the first time in months. She said, "For
goodness' sake, Marion, what are you doing here?" He didn't know whether to laugh or to
cry. He said, "Ida, how are you?" With that flash of humor so characteristic of both of them,
she replied, "Compared to what, Marion? Compared to what?"
Ida Romney began her recovery from that very moment, soon left her hospital bed, and lived to
see her husband sustained as a member of the First Presidency of the Church, "a great
mission upon the earth" indeed
(F. Burton Howard, Marion G. Romney: His Life and Faith [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], pp. 13742).