Why the Book of Mormon Is Key to Mission Preparation

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By Robert B. Walker, Young Men General Advisory Council, 

“What can I do to prepare for a mission?”

It is probably the most common question I receive when visiting with youth. Although there are many good answers, mine is always to read the Book of Mormon and seek a personal witness of its truthfulness.

When I was a 14-year-old young man in Calgary, Canada, a good friend of mine who was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, surprised me by telling me that she was studying the Book of Mormon. She said, “May I ask you some questions?”

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I agreed and watched as she pulled out her well-worn copy and a notepad with about 20 questions written on it. She asked me the first question and I had no idea what the answer was. She then asked me two more questions that left me dumbfounded. Finally, she looked up and asked, “Have you ever read the entire book?” I regrettable answered, “No.” She then quietly put her Book of Mormon and her questions in her backpack and left me sitting alone at the library table.

I felt terrible. I decided right then and there that I would read every page of the Book of Mormon. It was not easy for me, but I read a few pages every night and over the course of many months, I completed it. I then did as Moroni instructed and asked God if it is true. I asked, “with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ,” and Heavenly Father did “manifest the truth of it ... by the power of the Holy Ghost” (see Moroni 10:4-5). I received an unmistakable personal witness of the book’s divine authenticity.

Several years later, on the first day of my mission in Geneva, Switzerland, I had the opportunity to teach a lesson about the Restoration with Elder Steven Bodhaine. I will never forget the power of the Holy Ghost as he testified of the Book of Mormon.

After the lesson, I asked him how he had prepared to be able to testify with such great power and strength. He humbly told me that he read the Book of Mormon seven times before his mission. I realized I still had so much more to learn.

Church President Ezra Taft Benson testified that the Book of Mormon “will change your life. It will fortify you against the evils of our day. It will bring a spirituality into your life that no other book will. It will be the most important book that you will read in preparation for a mission and life” (“A Witness and a Warning: A Modern-Day Prophet Testifies of the Book of Mormon,” Ezra Taft Benson, pages 14–15).

President Benson went on to promise that any youth “who has read it [the Book of Mormon] several times, who has an abiding testimony of its truthfulness, and who applies its teachings will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and will be a mighty tool in the hands of the Lord.”

At October 2020 general conference, current Church President Russell M. Nelson testified that “The Book of Mormon is our latter-day survival guide” and that “few things build more faith than regular immersion in the Book of Mormon.”

In October 2017, President Nelson promised that “as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions — every day."

I do not know whatever happened to my teenage friend. I hope she joined the Church and is now reading this. I hope she will now know that she motivated me to read the Book of Mormon. I hope Elder Bodhaine is reading this too. I hope he knows what a great example he was for me. Most of all, I hope those who are reading this will share my story with a young person who is preparing for a mission.

In the “Mission Instruction and Call Packet,” President Nelson has asked each young man and woman to read the Book of Mormon prior to starting their missionary service. I know from my own experience that there is great wisdom in his prophetic counsel.

— Robert B. Walker is a member of the Young Men General Advisory Council.

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