Monday, April 23, 2012

What is the Great Question?

What is the Great Question? There are many great and important questions, not the least of which are questions concerning the purpose of life and of existence, the origin of man, and individual destiny. But these are only ancillary to the Great Question. The Great Question is found in the pages of a book. Which book is an inestimable treasure trove of truth, a fountainhead of faith and a reservoir of love? Which book has merited the divine description of "marvelous"? Which book provides answers to the Great Question? My heart and mind resonate with the following portion of a panegyric to this book:

"For my part, I am glad the book will be with us 'as long as the earth shall stand.' I need and want additional time. For me, towers, courtyards, and wings await inspection. My tour of it has never been completed. Some rooms I have yet to enter, and there are more flaming fireplaces waiting to warm me. Even the rooms I have glimpsed contain further furnishings and rich detail yet to be savored. There are panels inlaid with incredible insights and design and decor dating from Eden. There are also sumptuous banquet tables painstakingly prepared by predecessors which await all of us. Yet, we as Church members sometimes behave like hurried tourists, scarcely venturing beyond the entry hall to the mansion. -Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Although Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham answers many if not most of life's most perplexing questions, the Book to which I am referring is none other than the Book of Mormon. It is the keystone of our religion, written for our day. As President Benson taught:

"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."

This is true.  As Elder Maxwell taught: "the Book of Mormon provides resounding and great answers to what Amulek designated as “the great question”; namely, is there really a redeeming Christ? (Alma 34:5–6.) The Book of Mormon with clarity and with evidence says, 'Yes! Yes! Yes!'"

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