“With help from your parents, begin your own library of favorite tapes, books, and pictures which are available at Church distribution centers. Enjoy reading each month in your home the Friend magazine or the international magazines.” (President Ezra Taft Benson).
President Benson was the 13th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church) and in this address he was speaking directly to the children of the Church.
I was a fairly new mother when I first heard this counsel concerning building a library of good books but it has stayed with me throughout the years. Although President Benson’s comments were directed to children, his message is meant for all of us. Over the years, we’ve made a conscious effort to add to our library of good books, vides, dvds, and music cds. This library of uplifting books and other materials has enhanced our family life in so many different ways.
Mormons are encouraged to study. We are taught that we need to seek wisdom and knowledge out of the best books. (D&C 88:118) We are further commanded in D&C 90:15 that we must “…study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books…” The Prophet Brigham Young (2nd President of the Church) is known for his leadership and loyalty to the Lord. One of the greatest lessons I take from his life is his unceasing quest for knowledge. Although he had only 11 days of formal schooling, he was undoubtedly one of the most learned man of his time. “He never ceased learning from books, from the scriptures, and from the revelations of the Lord, and he taught the Saints to establish schools and to delight in learning.”
If you are interested in learning more about Mormons and about what we teach and believe, one of the best things you can do is to read any or all of the Church’s publications that are readily available online. These manuals contain teachings taken from the Scriptures as well as teachings from our modern day Prophets. Key principles and beliefs are presented in a clear and concise language.
I recommend that you start with these publications:
True to the Faith – This publication is meant to be a companion to our study of the Scriptures and the teachings of modern prophets.
Gospel Principles – This manual answers most questions about basic principles and teachings of the Church.
For the Strength of Youth – A wonderful resource that explains clearly the Church’s standards and other teachings.
Family Guidebook – This guidebook offers information on the organization of the family as well as key concepts that we can all use to make our families more unified.
In addition, video files have been made available for you to download or viewed online. Visit this page for a list of what is available now. There is going to be more added so check back often.
Church publications are also available as audio files in MP3 format. Click here to access the extensive list of titles that are available for you to download.
Your For example, our library includes a couple of titles from the popular series “Chicken Soup for the Soul” by Jack Canfield as well as a couple of titles by author Stephen Covey, and our favorite children’s books. We’ve also been able to add a fair number of classics to our collection. Since buying books can be expensive, not to mention the fact that you probably won’t have space for all the books you want, we’ve made it a point to only buy those books that we’ve really enjoyed for our library. These are books that we’ll read over and over.
If you are serious about starting a personal library of good books, I suggest you start at your local public library. Check out those titles that you are normally interested in and start from there. Decide if it is a title that is worth owning. You can also find a large number of classics online. Many of these titles are now in the public domain so you can read them online or download them for free. Of course, if you decide that it is a classic that you’d want for your personal library, you may want to invest in a hardbound copy. There are a number of online sites dedicated to offering free classic books, short stories, plays, and other texts that are either in the public domain or are not under copyright. These sites include: Classic Reader, Project Gutenberg,Classic Literature, PSU’s Electronic Classics Site, and Bibliomania.
