The Power of the Book of Mormon - a Lifetime Pursuit

Referring to President Romney's promises, President Ezra Taft Benson, 13th President of the Church, said: "These promises--increased love and harmony in the home, greater respect between parent and child, increased spirituality and righteousness--are not idle promises, but exactly what the Prophet Joseph Smith meant when he said the Book of Mormon will help us draw nearer to God."

Conference Report, Oct 1986, 6; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 7

In that same conference talk, Pres. Benson also repeated what he had said in a conference 10 years earlier:
“Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise he is placing his soul in jeopardy and neglecting that which could give spiritual and intellectual unity to his whole life. There is a difference between a convert who is built on the rock of Christ through the Book of Mormon and stays hold of that iron rod, and one who is not” (Ensign, May 1975, p. 65).

Keystone of our Religion

Read only on the Best

President Ezra Taft Benson of the Quorum of the Twelve (and later 13th President of the Church) taught:

"Today with the abundance of books available, it is the mark of a truly educated man to know what not to read. “Of making many books there is no end” (Ecclesiastes 12:12).  Feed only on the best. As John Wesley's mother counseled him: 'Avoid whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, ... increases the authority of the body over the mind.'"

"In His Steps," in 1979 Devotional Speeches of the Year [1980]m 61)