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Continue ShoppingHow President Russell M. Nelson Wants You To Prepare for General Conference April 2021
Last October 2020 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson ended the Sunday morning session with the talk "Let God Prevail," saying:
As you study your scriptures during the next six months, I encourage you to make a list of all that the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel. I think you will be astounded! Ponder these promises. Talk about them with your family and friends. Then live and watch for these promises to be fulfilled in your own life.
So how do you accomplish this challenge? In a footnote of his talk, President Nelson noted that the word Israel appears more than 1,000 times in the scriptures. He also pointed out that he has spoken of Israel in at least 378 of the more than 800 messages he has delivered since becoming an Apostle. Maybe start there with your study.
As well, continue to use the Come Follow Me resources that the Church has provided for all members. The weekly discussions that you can have with your family will not only build your testimony, but also others. And as always, when all is said and done with your study, make sure to pray about it.
One of the best resources that you and your family can have when taking on President Nelson's challenge is David Ridges Book of Mormon Made Easier. Besides having the full text of the Book of Mormon, each verse is given commentary and context so that the reader better can understand the teachings of the Book of Mormon.
David Ridges isn't just anybody. For 35 years he taught for the Church Educational System. He taught adult religion and Know Your Religion classes for BYU Continuing Education and spoke at BYU Campus Education Week for many years. He has served as a curriculum writer for Sunday School, seminary, and Institute of Religion manuals. His callings in the Church include Gospel Doctrine teacher, bishop, stake president, and patriarch. He and his wife, Janette, served a full-time eighteen-month mission where they trained senior CES missionaries and helped coordinate their assignments throughout the world.
Here's a sample of 1 Nephi 17:40. The bold is Ridges commentary:
40 And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.
The word “loveth,” as used in the context of verse 40, above, as well as numerous other scripture references, means, in effect, “is able to bless.”
Imagine this type of context and commentary coming from a scripture scholar throughout your entire reading experience?
