by Roy
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called the Mormon Church, regards the Bible as part of the holy scriptures, considers it sacred, and knows that is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. The Church encourages everyone to study the teachings of the ancient prophets and of the Savior. It also admonishes its members to strive to apply the teachings found in it in their lives. The word “bible” is of Greek origin, derived from ta biblia, meaning “the books.” It is like a divine library which is composed of many books rather than a single book.
The most important teachings of the bible include the gospel, the life, and ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There are so many Bible verses that illustrate the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel in both the Old and New Testaments. For example, Isaiah speaks of a Messiah to come in the meridian of time to be the Savior of the world. He also said, “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins” (Isaiah 11:1–5).
If you study the bible, you will find that there many verses that talk about the Savior Jesus Christ.
The Book of Mormon, which is regarded by the LDS Church as another testament of Jesus Christ, helps the Bible in clarifying some precious truths. For example, the Savior mentioned the other sheep he had: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:16). Soon after His resurrection and during His ministry with the Nephites in the Book of Mormon, Jesus said, “Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land. This much did the Father command me, that I should tell unto them: That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. And now, because of stiffneckedness and unbelief they understood not my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father concerning this thing unto them. But, verily, I say unto you that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were separated from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity that they know not of you” (3 Nephi 15:15–19).
The Bible is one of my favorite books, and I love to do Bible study along with other holy scriptures. I love to study the life of the ancient covenant people, their trials as well as their blessings, as they strive to follow God’s commandments. If we make it a habit of studying the holy scriptures, I’m sure our lives will become more meaningful, and we will also find that God has prepared a wonderful plan for our salvation. We will also begin to realize that our trials or hardships in life are but a small moment and that we will reap the blessings of eternal reward if we continue to keep the commandments of God.