October 17 2017 2 Nephi 1-3 by Bekah Ellsworth

“God himself, the Father of us all, ordained and established a plan of salvation whereby his spirit children might advance and progress and become like him. It is the gospel of God, the plan of Eternal Elohim, the system that saves and exalts, and it consists of three things. These three are the very pillars of eternity itself. They are the most important events that ever have or will occur in all eternity. They are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement.

Before we can even begin to understand the temporal creation of all things, we must know how and in what manner these three eternal verities—the Creation, the Fall and the Atonement—are inseparably woven together to form one plan of salvation. No one of them stands alone; each of them ties into the other two; and without a knowledge of all of them, it is not possible to know the truth about any one of them.” – Elder McConkie, Christ and the Creation, Ensign, Jun 1982

“But, be it remembered, the Atonement came because of the Fall. Christ paid the ransom for Adam’s transgression. If there had been no Fall, there would be no Atonement with its consequent immortality and eternal life. Thus, just as surely as salvation comes because of the Atonement, so also salvation comes because of the Fall”  – Elder McConkie, Christ and the Creation, Ensign, Jun 1982

“Just why the Lord would say to Adam that he forbade him to partake of the fruit of that tree is not made clear in the Bible account, but in the original as it comes to us in the Book of Moses it is made definitely clear. It is that the Lord said to Adam that if he wished to remain as he was in the garden, then he was not to eat the fruit, but if he desired to eat it and partake of death he was at liberty to do so” – President Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols. [1957–66], 4:81

“Adam and Eve came into this world to perform exactly the part they they acted in the garden of Eden; and I will say, they were ordained of God to do what they did, and it was therefore expected that they would eat of the forbidden fruit in order that man might know both good and evil by passing through this school of experience that this life affords us.” – President Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses, 23:126

“The ‘Fall’ was as much a part of God’s earth-planned life for man as the ‘redemption’ provided for him… and no redemption would have been provided but for anticipation of the ‘Fall.’” – Elder B.H. Roberts, The Truth, the Way, the Life, BYU Religious Studies Center, p. 345

“The plan of redemption must start with the account of the fall of Adam…just as man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ. No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall and its effect upon mankind.” – President Ezra Taft Benson, “The Book of Mormon and The Doctrine and Covenants”, Conference Report, Apr 1987, p. 106

“One of these days, if I ever get to where I can speak to Mother Eve, I want to thank her for tempting Adam to partake of the fruit. He accepted the temptation, with the result that children came into this world. And when I kneel in prayer, I feel to thank Mother Eve, for if she hadn’t hand that influence over Adam, and if Adam had done according to the commandment first given to him, they would still be in the Garden of Eden and we would not be here at all…Brethren an sisters, let’s thank the Lord, when we pray, for Adam.” – President Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, Oct 1967

Comparison of Adam and Christ found in The Lost Language of Symbolism by Alonzo L. Gaskill

Sept 5 2017 Book of Mormon Class 1 Rebekah Ellsworth

“It has been said that nationally prominent radio commentator once made the statement that he had been asked what message could be broadcast to the world that would be considered more important than any other. After giving the matter much thought and consideration, he came to the conclusion that to be able to announce that a man who had lived upon the earth had died and then had returned again with a message from God would be the most important message that could be broadcast to the world. This being true, the Latter-day Saints have the most important message for the world today. In the western part of the state of New York in 1936 they erected a monument upon the Hill Cumorah to such a person, Moroni, a prophet of God, who lived upon the American continent four hundred years after Christ. This is the only such monument in the world today.”

– Elder LeGrand Richards, A Marvelous Work and A Wonder, opening lines

“The Book of Mormon is like a vast mansion, with gardens, towers, courtyards, and wings. My tour of it has never been completed. Some rooms I have yet to enter, and there are more felicitous 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 décor dating from Eden. There are even sumptuous banquet tables painstakingly prepared by predecessors which await all of us. Yet we as church members sometimes behave like hurried tourists scarcely entering beyond the entry hall. May we come to feel, as a whole people, beckoned beyond the entry hall. May we go inside far enough to hear clearly the whispered truths from those who have slumbered – which whisperings will awaken in us individually a life of discipleship as never before.”
– Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Great Answers to the Great Question, FARMS Symposium Address, October 1986

“I have read [the Book of Mormon] many times. I have also read much that has been written about it. Some authors have focused upon its stories, its people, or its vignettes of history. Others have been intrigued by its language structure or its records of weapons, geography, animal life, techniques of building, or systems of weights and measures. “Interesting as these matters may be, study of the Book of Mormon is most rewarding when one focuses on its primary purpose—to testify of Jesus Christ. By comparison, all other issues are incidental. “When you read the Book of Mormon, concentrate on the principal figure in the book—from its first chapter to the last—the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God.”

– Elder Russell M. Nelson, “A Testimony of the Book of Mormon,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 69.

“What is the major purpose of the Book of Mormon? To bring men to Christ and to be reconciled to him, and then to join his church—in that order.” – President Ezra Taft Benson, “A New Witness for Christ,” Conference Report, October 1984
The Book of Mormon and the Feast of Trumpets: Lenet Hadley Read, “The Golden Plates and the Feast of Trumpets,” Ensign, January 2000

Mentions of Christ in the Book of Mormon: Susan Easton Black [then Susan Ward Easton], “Names of Christ in the Book of Mormon,” Ensign, July 1978

Book of Mormon Oxford experience: Clayton Christensen, “Why I Belong, and Why I Believe

Elder Holland, Testimony of the Book of Mormon, LDS Media Library