“As great as a podcast you might [listen to is], ... the real magic is one person, the scriptures, and the influence of the Holy Ghost.” President Mark L. Pace

My intent is to begin each lesson this year with a useful quote about the Book of Mormon from the prophets. Here is the first one.

INTRODUCTION: I wrote the following about an experience in 1980 during a visit to the Holy Land:

Who Was Zelph? | Book of Mormon Central “And it came to pass that many of the Lamanites did go into the land northward.” —Helaman 6:6

Mary Magdalene is one of the best-known characters in the New Testament, yet we know surprisingly little about her. In all but one of the twelve times that she is mentioned in the four Gospels, she is either named alone or first in a list of women. The sole exception is in John’s account of the women who stood by the cross in which the mother of Jesus is listed first (John 19:25). Nevertheless, in the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene is the premier witness of the Resurrection and the only one commissioned to tell others the stunning truth. The primacy of her name in these accounts, the frequency of her mention, and her role on the morning of the Resurrection suggest that she was a prominent and respected disciple in the first century. From the earliest interpretations of her, however, she has been assigned polar opposite roles: at one extreme, a repentant sinner who quietly served; at the other, the apostle to the apostles.

To find out more about Mormons and their beliefs, Business Insider traveled to upstate New York earlier this month for the Hill Cumorah Pageant, the flagship pageant of the LDS Church, which takes place on the hill where Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith, is believed to have found the Golden Plates that he later translated into the Book of Mormon. Despite the almost entirely Mormon cast and audience, the Hill Cumorah show, America's Witness for Christ, is actually written for non-Mormons. It amounts to a Book of Mormon 101 course, depicting pivotal scenes from the church's seminal sacred text, which Mormons believe to be a "record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas" and consider to be a "volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible," according to the Book of Mormon introduction.

The Mormons’ adherence to chastity and clean-cut family values has been mocked in a hit musical. But the leading opera singer Bryn Terfel has called for greater tolerance towards the faith after revealing how a musical journey to Salt Lake City resulted in a spiritual awakening. The second-fasted growing religion in American, Mormonism continues to attract hostility over its opposition to gay marriage and suspicion over some of the faith’s beliefs. The Book of Mormon musical mocked the do-gooding naivety of its young missionary protagonists.

"A good question ... is like an alarm clock," wrote Elder Tad R. Callister. "It awakens us out of our mental doldrums [and] jump-starts our mental engines."

Excerpt from "Dare to Stand Alone" by Thomas S. Monson

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