I finished reading the Book of Mormon again today. No matter how many times I read it, this beautiful book never ceases to amaze me. The Book of Mormon is a miracle sent directly from Heavenly Father to us! As I read the Book of Mormon this time, I was struck by the vivid descriptions that the prophets gave of our time. There is no doubt that they truly saw our world today and tailored the messages they wrote to us. It is filled with important lessons and evidences of the Lord's tender mercies. In fact, in and of itself, it is a tender mercy. It is revelation specific to our day and time so that we can remain faithful and true through the turbulent times in which we live.

The Book of Mormon stands as a witness that God hears and answers prayers. Along with the Bible, the Book of Mormon testifies that God loves His children and He listens to their desires and their needs. If nothing else, the Book of Mormon is a record of God's merciful interactions with His children through prayer. God is not silent - He spoke to His children then, and He still speaks to His children today. His arms are always outstretched toward us, and He will give us multiple opportunities to come unto Him, just as He has done for His children in days past.

Another treasure that I discovered during my study of the Book of Mormon was this: when we remember the many things that the Lord has done for us, we will remain righteous. When we forget the many things that He has done for us, we will fall into wickedness. This tender mercy is ever important in a world that is forgetting the very being who created them! By remembering what the Lord has done for us, we can remain humble and acknowledge that His will is more important than our will.

I came across a quote in the margin of my scriptures while I was reading today. I don't have the source written down, but the words are profound and ring true to me:

"Righteous character becomes eternal when we exercise self-control." (Anonymous)

 As we align our will with God's will, we will have increased power to exercise self-control because we will remember what is truly important. We see this in the Book of Mormon time and time again! As people remember God and are righteous, they are given increased strength to exercise self-control and remain righteous. This same principle and promise applies to us today.

My mind has been turned recently toward the beauty and miracle of habits. We are creatures of habit, and although it may not seem such at times, this is a tender mercy! While bad habits are destructive, there is also incredible power to be found in good habits. And we have the power to form good habits! This is truly a gift from Heavenly Father. He can help us form righteous habits that will bring much happiness in this life and in the life to come. As the people in the Book of Mormon established righteous habits of having faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, being baptized, keeping their covenants, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, they were truly strengthened and given power to remain faithful.

The Book of Mormon ends with a powerful plea to come unto Jesus Christ and be perfected in Him. The Book of Mormon is our road map to developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ while we are here on earth and becoming like Him so that we can return and live with God again. There is only one way back, and that is through Jesus Christ.

I wish I had time to write about all of the tender mercies that I see in the scriptures. But perhaps it is better anyway that I leave that to you to discover for yourselves. I can't think of a better way to close than with the words of Mormon to his son Moroni:

"...be faithful in Christ...may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.

And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the right hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you forever. Amen." (Moroni 9:25-26)