A Lamp Unto My Feet

When I was a young teenage girl, I was very active in sports as well as an academic leader in my class.  At the close of my 8th grade year of school we had a "graduation ceremony."  There were several trophy awards that were given at this graduation and I went home with the majority of them.  As the years rolled by I carried these trophies with me; they were a symbol of all that I had accomplished during a wonderful phase of my life.  However, after I was married, these trophies became less and less important to me.  I reached a point where I no longer wanted to carry them around.  The glory from those days was long past and I had moved on to bigger and better things.  I decided to throw my trophies away, keeping only the metal placard from each of the awards.  

During the year that I had received these academic and sports trophies, I also received another trophy but for a completely different reason.  I have not been able to part with this special trophy. 

 

In the mid 1980's, a prophet of God, Ezra Taft Benson, taught a great deal about the importance of a book of scripture, the Book of Mormon.  My paternal grandparents wanted to help their grandchildren develop a love for this sacred book of scripture and issued a challenge.  They invited each one to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover and upon completion of this goal, a trophy would be awarded.  It was not an easy challenge for me.   I loved to read but not the scriptures.  At that time in my life, the scriptures were boring and hard to understand, however because of my desire to please my grandparents, I accepted the challenge.

I can remember very vividly the night that I stayed up late because I was so close to finishing the first book in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi.  I had never read that many pages in the scriptures before.  I felt such a sense of accomplishment for having finished this first part of the Book of Mormon that I eagerly went into my parents room.  They were both asleep but because of how excited I was to share the good news,  I woke them.  This simple accomplishment was all it took to fan the fire of my faith and I eventually was able to finish reading the entire Book of Mormon.

I love this trophy.  I love that the symbol on the trophy is a lamp for "God's word is a lamp unto my feet" (Psalm 119:105).  In 2 Nephi 29:2 we learn that the Book of Mormon is "for a standard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel," and in verse 9 to "prove unto many that [He] is the same yesterday, today, and forever."  After reading the Book of Mormon, my life was changed.  While I did not understand everything that was written, I did understand a good majority of it.  I came to feel the Spirit in my life like I never had before.  I noticed that I was happier and that my ability to do the right things had been increased.  I came to have a greater faith in my Savior because of what I learned from my reading.

I have been so grateful for the challenge that had been extended to me to read this sacred book of scripture.  Because of the challenge and my completing it, I came to gain a strong testimony of God's love for me.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.  Joseph Smith, the prophet of the restoration, promised that "a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts,  than by any other book (Introduction Page of the Book of Mormon)."  I have come to know that this is true.  My relationship with God the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ, has grown by leaps and bounds and has come because of my study of the Book of Mormon.