About valuing our Scriptures

 Since we have the perfect manual, we should not ignore it. The only way it can help us is if we open it daily and search it for the instructions we will need that day.

The Book of Mormon – the most perfect manual. Through it we will know that Jesus is the Savior of the world; that Joseph Smith brought back the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, or rather that God brought back the true Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith! Because Joseph Smith was the tool in God’s hands so He could give us the manual to follow.

Joseph Smith had the plates 11 years. That is a long time considering the persecution he had while they were in his possession. He had to keep them safe all that time. When I realized that, I thought that it must have been a huge relief to finally give them back.

But then I thought that maybe he was a little sad, too, to give them back. I can sort of imagine how he might have felt because after 11 years, he must have grown to love them. They must have become very precious to him - knowing of the prophets, almost knowing the prophets personally, that had written such marvelous things on them.

I have had many sets of scriptures in my life. When I turned 8, my Primary teacher (a teacher in San Rafael ) gave me a New Testament.  I was new there, so she hardly knew me, but I was so touched that she would give me scriptures. I loved her for that and loved and treasured that book of scripture. She wrote a little message to me in it and I loved and appreciated it so much. It held great value because  of the circumstances under which I got it.

I also have a Bible in English that I treasure that I got when I worked for the Church. The cover is of fine Italian leather. It has an inscription from the First Presidency. I love and highly value that Bible. I have other copies of the Scriptures that I love and that mean so much to me because of the revelations and insights I have received while reading them.

These experiences help me understand some of what Joseph Smith must have felt to give back the golden plates. He had received them from an Angel from God; an Angel he had come to know well and love. They were of gold and contained all the answers he had sought so earnestly as a child. It had to have been a bitter sweet experience to have to hand them back over to the Angel.