President Nelson has asked us as individuals to do several things this year.  He has asked us to each read the Book of Mormon, and to ask ourselves questions as we do so; questions such as, what would my life be like without the Book of Mormon, or could Joseph Smith have written this book?  We're to come up with our own questions.

I have two:  One is, "Why me?  Why am I so blessed?"  The other is, "Am I (are you) essential to the plan?"

I'd like to address the second question first.  It arose as I read about Zoram in the Book of Mormon.  Zoram is a minor character in the Book of Mormon.  He is little more than a footnote, and yet it occurred to me that he was essential to the plan.  Without him there would have been no Book of Mormon.  Without him there would have been no story for the Book of Mormon to tell.  There would have been no righteous Nephite civilization to write about.  He was the keeper of the keys to the treasury where the brass plates were kept.  Without the brass plates, which were the scriptures that Lehi carried on their journey, all of Lehi's descendants would have devolved into the same wild, ferocious, and blood-thirsty state (Enos 1:20) that the Lamanites descended into.  A similar thing happened to the people of Zarahemla who "brought no records with them" and who "denied the being of their Creator."  (Omni 1:17).  They forgot about God, just as do the people of today who never pick up the scriptures.

Zoram was essential to the plan.  Who can doubt but that he was placed in the service of Laban by the Lord Himself so that he could be on the spot at the right moment.  Without him the brass plates would have been destroyed along with Jerusalem and its inhabitants when the Babylonians invaded.

Zoram was essential to the plan.  Are you essential to the plan?  That's what I keep asking about myself.  My conclusion is that, yes, I am essential to the plan, and so are you.

I once found myself reading an exciting adventure book for the second time.  Because of things that were left up in the air at the end, it was obvious to me that the author had intended to write a sequel.  He died before he did it.  I could see where the story ought to go, so I did the only thing that could be done under the circumstances:  I wrote the sequel.

There is another book that's worth rereading, and which also ends with the story being left up in the air.  That book is the Old Testament.  Most of the world, including most Christian churches, discount the Old Testament as being of little worth.  But I am here to tell you that it is true, and is of great worth.

Listen to how the book ends:

"For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch...

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."  (Malachi 4:1, 5-6).

The Jews believe that book.  They are looking for the sequel to be written.  It will be a sequel without an equal.  They're looking for Elijah to come as Malachi promised.  They set a place for Elijah at their Passover meals in case he should choose that particular Passover to make his appearance.  They hang a chair on the walls of their synagogues so that they can take it down and give him a place to sit when he comes.

The Jews are waiting and watching for Elijah to come, but they don't know why he is supposed to come, nor do they know that he already has.

The prophecy that Elijah would come is in all four of our Standard Works.  The prophecy is that important.  That prophecy is in the Book of Mormon because the Lord Himself quoted Malachi's words as He spoke to the Nephites.

Doctrine and Covenants, section 2, says that Elijah came to reveal the Priesthood and to plant in the heart of the children the promises made to the fathers.  (D&C 2:1-2).  Joseph and Oliver already had the Priesthood when Elijah appeared to them in the Kirtland Temple April 3, 1836, but they didn't have the sealing power which Elijah there conferred upon them.  After that date (which, significantly, was both Passover and Easter) people the world over began seeking after their ancestry.  Everyone wants to know about their family history.  Their hearts have turned to their fathers.

What were the promises made to the fathers?  I'm sure that refers to our pre-earth existence where we agreed with our fathers that if they would go to earth when life would be difficult, and when gospel teachings, and ordinances, and covenants, and sealings would not be available—that if they would go and prepare the way—then we would see to it that they would receive these crucial things vicariously.

What if I don't do it?  I am essential to the plan.  Their salvation depends upon me.  They're my roots.

And what about my children?  They're my branches.  What if I don't teach them?  That verse from Malachi says that if I ignore these responsibilities I'll be left with neither roots nor branches.

I am essential to the Lord's plan where all of these people are concerned.

Which brings me back to my first question:  Why me?  Why wasn't I born in the Middle Ages when the world had no electricity, or computers, or penicillin, or temples, or Priesthood?  Why was I born in a place and a time where I was able to hear about the Restoration of the gospel and embrace it?  Why were you?

There are reasons.  They relate back to our pre-earth life, and to what the Lord knows about your strength and faithfulness.  They relate back to promises that you made there to your family and to the Lord.

Because of your faithfulness and spiritual strength you have been placed in possession of the two most valuable documents in the world.  One is a 531-page book, the Book of Mormon.  It proves the Bible to be true.  It has changed you, and it will change the world.  It's true!  It brings you closer to God every time you read in it.  The Nephites didn't have it.  It wasn't written for them.  The Jews don't have it.  The Gentiles don't have it.  It wasn't even available to anyone at all until just 190 years ago.  In 10 more years we're going to see a bicentennial celebration like no other.  The Book of Mormon and the Church will both be 200 years old.

Why you?  Why me?  We're in the vanguard of the effort that will flood the earth with the Book of Mormon.

The other most valuable document in the world is a little 3" x 4" piece of paper that you have in your purse or wallet.  Your temple recommend is a testament to God and to the world that you are worthy to enter the most sacred and holy places on earth, and by extension, to enter the celestial kingdom itself.

Who in the history of the world has had this privilege?

The Priesthood used to be withheld from all but male members of the tribe of Levi.  The Melchizedek Priesthood was only held by certain prophets and a few designated men.  Suddenly in our lifetime it is available to every worthy male member of the Church.  That Priesthood opens the doors of what will be hundreds of temples, that have suddenly appeared in our lifetime, so that holder of the Priesthood can take his bride there to have her sealed to him for time and for all eternity.  There is thus a welding of Priesthood and of Motherhood, and the man and the woman then get to share these two great powers together.

Women should not worry that they don't hold the Priesthood.  That is like men worrying that they can't be mothers.  Worlds without end, that's the way it will always be.  Men will never be able to have babies, but together men and women can exercise both powers, and both powers together are necessary for the exaltation of either the man or the woman.  Priesthood and Motherhood:  the way we magnify these two powers with which we have been entrusted will determine our eternal destinies.

Who in the history of the world has had the blessings of being able to regularly attend temples, to have marriages and families eternally sealed, and has been able to provide ancestors with the crucial ordinances of baptisms, endowments, and sealings?

Why me?  Why you?

After receiving our own endowment we have the blessing of returning to the temple again and again to receive the endowment and sealings for those who have gone before.

The first endowments for the living in this dispensation were given in the early days of the Church.  A giant effort was put forth to finish the Nauvoo Temple before the Saints left for the West.  Over 5,000 endowments were performed in the Nauvoo Temple as Brigham Young and the brethren and sisters worked day and night to spiritually prepare the Saints for the ordeal ahead.  They then went west, and built more temples.  It wasn't until 1877, when the St. George Temple was completed, that the first endowments for the dead were performed.  That's recent history!

Why me?  Why you?  Because we have them, we take these things for granted.  We must not do that.

If we have a Book of Mormon and a temple recommend in our possession—if we don't use them—are we any better off than the billions of people who don't have them?

These things are now theoretically available to every soul on earth, and it is our responsibility to offer these things to them.

You are essential to the plan.  I am essential to the plan.  If I don't do my part, who is going to do it?  Who is going to teach my children?  Who is going to worry about my grandparents' sealings?  Who is going to offer a Book of Mormon to my friend?  We're a part of the ongoing Restoration.  We are assisting in what President Nelson says is the greatest undertaking in the history of the world—the gathering of Israel.

Why me?  Why you?  It's because we are each essential to the plan.