Tomorrow the World Will End

Today I'm going to put a plug in for this great book I've been reading lately: the Bible.

When I was a missionary, I had a problem. I didn't know exactly what I thought about the Bible. I mean, I believed it, I testified of it... but I think I only believed parts of it. Or better said, I believed the Book of Mormon more.

Why did I feel that way? In many countries of the world people have the Bible yet they still live in sin and unbelief. I saw it daily on my mission. Do you believe in the Bible? Yes. Will you marry your boyfriend then? No. But don't you know it says in the Bible that fornication is a sin? So what? Trust me, it happened more than once. And the poor Bible, I blamed it for all the disbelief I saw. I think I thought, "If this really is a book of God, how can it cause such confusion?"

Image courtesy of USAtoday.com

Speaking of which, did you know the world is going to end tomorrow? No seriously, look it up. People have quit their jobs, stopped paying the bills, and are out proclaiming in the streets. How do they know? Well, they applied a complicated math equation to the Bible, and voila! they found out the date of the end of the world is May 21, 2011.

So following my pattern, I should be frustrated and disappointed in the Bible today, right? Except that after Ben and I married, I expressed my doubts to him and he made a simple suggestion. Read it. Study it. Find out for yourself.

So since last year I've been reading. I began with the New Testament and am now into Deuteronomy of the Old Testament. And I'm loving it. Okay, I may have skimmed some of the chapters explaining animal sacrifice, but I can't believe how much I'm learning. After a lifetime of church activity I thought I knew the Bible, but I really didn't understand it at all. I'm beginning to believe it to the degree that I used to proclaim I did.

And if anyone else decides you want to read it too, don't do it alone. There are great supplemental materials to help with understanding and application. Jesus the Christ is a wonderful resource when reading the New Testament. And for the Old Testament I got the Student Manuals at the Church Distribution Center (the old testament is divided in two). I read it along with the scriptures every day and it helps me to get so much more out of my study.

So there's my religious soapbox for the day. Now excuse me while I go enjoy the last day of the world.