The Lord said that those who mocked would be fools and that he gives people weakness so they would be humble, but that if people are humble and have faith in the Lord, he will make weak things become strong.

Personal application of scripture

As I pondered these verses, I couldn’t help but think back to my mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Taiwan. It’s safe to say that Mandarin Chinese was a major weakness of mine at the start of my journey in the Missionary Training Center and for weeks even after I arrived in Taiwan. I had no background in the language at all prior to arriving in the MTC and would never have guessed I would ever have to learn it.

Interestingly, I never doubted that I would learn it, because I just knew that God would not have called me to serve in Taiwan if I was incapable of learning. I wasn’t about to call God a liar.

So no matter how challenging it was, and no matter how many frustrating moments I had to endure, I always had confidence that somehow, through diligent study and prayer, Heavenly Father would help me learn. He wanted me to learn. He needed me to learn. He would obviously help me to learn.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

And he did. Though I never became completely fluent, I managed to learn exactly what I needed to in order to teach the gospel and build and maintain relationships with the people of Taiwan. I still remember several translations of various NBA team names from discussions on the topic that I had with people.

I reminisce about this miracle of learning Chinese because it proves the truthfulness of the words found in Ether, which I know because we are blessed with scriptures – including the Book of Mormon.

I hope that as my children read the scriptures, they will learn things that they can apply to their lives that help them. I hope our discussion on this topic inspires them to believe that no matter what they are asked by the Lord to do, they can do it well and he will help them, no matter what weakness they think they have.

Introduction to Elder Quentin L. Cook’s talk

The blessing of having scriptures was the topic of an address by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the general conference of the church in October 2024. His talk was titled “Sacred Scriptures — the Foundations of Faith.”

Elder Cook noted that “any device or even one equipped with artificial intelligence will never be as important or significant as the spiritual guidance that comes from divine revelation.”

Think about that. Think about all that artificial intelligence can do and will be able to do in the future. Spiritual guidance from divine revelation will always be more important. If you’ve felt spiritual guidance from divine revelation, you know that’s true.

Take my mission again as an example. What device with artificial intelligence could have given me the sure knowledge that I would learn Chinese? That kind of confidence came directly from heaven. And a huge reason why I was able to access that confidence was because I was immersing myself in scriptures, thereby building my faith.

Purpose and necessity of scriptures

In his talk, Elder Cook explained the purpose of the scriptures and why they are necessary.

“Whether handheld or digital, the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ provide spiritual guidance and teaching from Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world,” Elder Cook said.

“We treasure these books for their profound role in documenting God’s direction to ancient prophets and people and the guidance they provide for our own personal lives.

“Combined with the teachings of living prophets, these sacred scriptures provide doctrinal direction for us in today’s world. These scriptures are most powerful when they give instruction, correction, comfort and consolation to individuals and families who seek guidance from the Lord.

“The scriptures, combined with spiritual inspiration from the Holy Spirit, continue to be the primary source that facilitates the conversion of those who have broken hearts and contrite spirits and desire to follow Jesus Christ. The scriptures help build a foundation that can withstand the adversary’s constant efforts to undermine faith.”

Later in the talk, he provided further answers to those questions.

“We cannot underestimate the significance of sacred scriptures both in conversions and in remaining faithful in the gospel. The ancient prophets described in the Book of Mormon knew about the mission of Jesus Christ and taught His gospel. The Book of Mormon helps us draw closer to God as we learn, understand and apply its teachings. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, ‘A man [or woman] would get nearer to God by abiding by [the book’s] precepts, than by any other book.'”

He added:

“President Russell M. Nelson has said, ‘I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions — every day.’ He also promises that if ‘you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day.'”

These are powerful promises, given because of the power of the person from which the guidance and teachings in the scriptures come: Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. If you study what he has given us in the scriptures to help us, how could we not be nearer to God? How could we not make better decisions every day? How could we not be immunized against the evils of the day?

Spiritual immunizations

Immunizations are a hot-button political discussion these days. Many people lament that a single person would ever refuse to receive certain immunizations. Yet, I wonder how many of these people knowingly refuse to immunize themselves against Satan and his constant attempts to destroy faith by shunning or disregarding the scriptures.

Measles? Mumps? Polio? We all know we would want to avoid these diseases. Satan’s influence over us? Somehow that danger isn’t as clear as it should be, even though we can readily see his influence all throughout the world. He’s not hiding. He’s not being subtle. His handiwork is out there for all to see.

The power of ‘a spiritual confirmation’

To emphasize the impact the scriptures can have, Elder Cook recalled a personal experience from when he was a bishop that involved a family learning about the church that had a large cardboard box full of literature critical of the church.

“The sister missionaries invited me as a recently called 34-year-old bishop to help answer the questions being raised,” Elder Cook said.

“When we gathered in their living room, the large box of pamphlets critical of the Church was in the middle of the room. I had prayerfully approached this assignment. During the opening prayer, the Spirit whispered to me, ‘He already knows it is true.’ This was important. The sisters believed that the rest of the family already had a testimony. They were unsure about the father.

“I immediately informed him that the Spirit had prompted me that he already had a testimony. ‘Was that true?’ He looked at me intently and said that the Spirit had confirmed the truth of the Book of Mormon and the Church to him.

“I then asked whether it would be necessary to review the pamphlets, if they already had a spiritual confirmation.

“The father replied that it would not be necessary. The rest of the family concurred with his answer.”

Elder Cook added: “The entire family was baptized. One year later they were sealed as a family in the Oakland California Temple. I was privileged to be present. The son completed law school, passed the California Bar Exam and immediately served a faithful mission in Japan. I have watched over the years as the succeeding generations have remained faithful to the gospel. I was privileged to officiate at the sealing of one of the granddaughters.”

One might wonder, how could this father not be curious about what was inside those pamphlets? He may have had “a spiritual confirmation,” but how could he truly trust a feeling not knowing all that was inside those pamphlets? Wouldn’t he want to be sure?

The answer is remarkably simple. A spiritual confirmation is the most important type of knowledge one can acquire. No information in some pamphlet could ever be enough to supplant that kind of knowledge.

Jesus praised spiritual confirmation

There’s a reason the New Testament includes the following:

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

“And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

“He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17)

Simon Peter knew that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and that was undeniably important, but what was even more important was the way he was able to know that, which Jesus explained as being revealed by “my Father which is in heaven.”

When we have knowledge directly from our Father in heaven, what material from Earth could ever outweigh that?

Imagine if some doubting Pharisee witnessed this interaction between Jesus and Simon Peter and said, “I think you really need to study this literature we have before you really accept that he is who you think he is.” I think we all know how seriously Jesus would have taken that suggestion.

Conclusion

Near the end of Elder Cook’s address, he answers the question of what our thoughts should be regarding the Internet and Latter-day Saint-related content found there.

He also addressed how one can know if the Book of Mormon is the word of God and the relationship between the Book of Mormon and the Bible.

Studying the scriptures requires commitment. For many, it means a reshuffling of priorities. But when the reward is direct revelation for your personal life, hearing the voice of the Lord and being closer to God – all of which necessarily means better decisions made and ultimately peace no matter what Satan tries to throw at us, I see such a commitment as a blessing rather than a burden.

I know the Lord delivers on his promises, because he has delivered on them for me.

Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net. Follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rbcomer8388.