The Book of Mormon and the three closely associated qualities of faith, diligence and heed found in the book provide a kind of celestial music that lifts the soul, according to Elder Robert E. Wells of the Seventy.
Referring to the three qualities as the Liahona triad, Elder Wells said to find Christ depends entirely upon each person's faith, diligence and heed. He gave the keynote address at the 20th Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium Oct. 26 at BYU.The symposium focused this year on "Doctrines of the Book of Mormon" and featured 26 speakers from the Church Educational System, LDS institutions and BYU faculty. Topics ranged from charity to prophecies of the last days. Excerpts from several presentations are printed on this page.
Elder Wells explained that the contents of the Book of Mormon and the power, the magnetic attraction, of the triad of faith, diligence and heed as a formula are "designed to lead us or pull us toward Christ. Faith in Christ, diligence in seeking and following Christ, and heed in obeying Christ are an intrinsic part of all the pages of the great Book of Mormon."
Looking at each principle of the triad, he said, "The Book of Mormon was written by holy prophets for the purpose of building the faith of the reader . . . faith in Heavenly Father and His eternal purposes; faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world and in the doctrines of His gospel; faith in Christian prophets of the Old World and the New World and faith in Joseph Smith as a revelator, seer, and prophet in these last days; and faith in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Lord's kingdom once again established on the earth."
Speaking about Nephi's faith, as written in 1 Nephi 3:7, Elder Wells said: "Nephi's faith that the Lord would open the way has encouraged and inspired countless prophets, leaders, missionaries and members. This miracle-producing trust in God was the kind of faith that powered the pioneers.
"Faith, combined with diligence, are an unbeatable combination to produce success in any venture. The Book of Mormon is replete with both. If we would be drawn to Christ, we need to understand `diligence' as used in the Book of Mormon.
"Diligence is synonymous with such terms as perseverance, persistence, dedication, determination, steadiness, dependability, hard work and endurance. Faith, together with this kind of diligence or perseverance, builds a person of unwavering character, of steadiness and dependability so much needed and so much sought after in our uncertain world."
The word heed is not in common usage today, but in the days of the Book of Mormon it was a strong and frequently used synonym for hear, hearken, listen to, pay attention to, or keep, Elder Wells explained. Today the synonym would probably be obey or be obedient to.
"One of the most repeated messages of the Book of Mormon, right from its first pages, is closely related to the injunction to heed the commandments.
"We see that just as the Book of Mormon is truly written to help the reader increase in faith, it also leads to an increase in heeding or obedience to the Lord - which will lead to prosperity in this land of promise.
"The Book of Mormon was written about a fallen people who would not heed the words of the Lord. They had great promises, but they would not listen. Time and time again they would become righteous only to fall into pride and sin and transgression and would not heed the words of the scriptures nor the prophets and would ripen into iniquity." - Sheridan R. Sheffield
