BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” BYU students take nearly a semester of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.
In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.
In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America. (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names. We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)
Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.
Mormon Thoughts: You Can’t Do Wrong and Feel Right
We all make mistakes on a daily basis. Not one of us is perfect, and not one of us is expected to be perfect. Not one of us is ever going to be perfect on our own. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are taught that Jesus Christ is the only perfect being that has ever walked on this earth. We are also counseled to become like Him. Without Him, we are not able to progress in our lives simply because we AREN’T perfect and we need His help in order to return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father. We are able to be forgiven of the things that we do wrong on a daily basis because of Jesus Christ’s infinite Atonement. Whether the mistakes we make are large or small, it doesn’t matter. We have the opportunity, and have been commanded, to repent of our wrongdoings.
A prime example of this was Alma the Younger, a prophet in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon stands as another testament of Jesus Christ alongside the Bible. Alma, in his youth, went about trying to destroy and bring down the Church. Because of the seriousness of his actions, he was visited by an angel who struck Alma dumb for 3 days. When Alma was finally able to speak again, he admitted his mistakes and the truthfulness of the gospel. He lived the rest of his life as a teacher and leader in the Church. Alma, in later years, recounts this experience to his sons. It seems that while Alma was “harrowed up” by his sins (Alma 36:12), the feelings he experienced were that of “torment,” “destruction,” “bondage,” “pain” and “damnation.” He experienced the pains of hell. It was during this time of horror, when Alma was experiencing the regret of his sins, that he remembered what his father had taught him in his youth about Jesus Christ who atoned for the sins of the world. Once he thought about Christ, he began to pray and to plead for the mercy of his own soul. Only after he turned to Christ did he begin to be free of the pains he had previously felt. He instead began to experience “joy,” “mercy,” “support,” “marvelous light,” “strength,” “sweetness,” “deliverance,” “singing and praising” and “glory.” He began to experience the exquisite joys of heaven.
It was only after Alma the Younger turned to Jesus Christ that he was saved from the damning feelings that were harrowing up his soul. Jesus Christ is always the turning point in the Book of Mormon. He is always the turning point in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And He is always the turning point in our lives, if we let Him be. His arms are always outstretched. He is always there waiting for our return, for our commitment, or recommitment, to Him. It is never too late. We have never gone too far. We will never be out of the reach of Christ’s eternal love and infinite Atonement. When we truly turn ourselves to Christ and desire to take part in His love and His light, we will feel the influence of the Atonement in our lives. We will be healed by the love that our Savior Jesus Christ has for every one of us as His children.
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