Let me start this blog by saying I am both a nerd and a convert. Oh, yes, and a readaholic. When you add those three together, you get someone who did an amazing amount of research into the church both before and after joining. I’d like to take a great resource that you may have overlooked – your manuals.
The church has provided an amazing number of resources throughout the year. My first calling in the church was as the ward librarian, and I was amazed at the number of books available. (I’m one of those people who has to stay out of the LDS bookstores or risk spending more money than I have, with the justification that ‘it’s good for you’.) I set about reading them. Imagine how startled I was when folks cleaning out their closets pulled out manuals from Priesthood and Relief Society ten years ago for other members to help themselves to. Guess who went home with her car stuffed to the brim? Okay, not that full, but close. Every time the ward librarians clean out the library, they know to give me a call.
Why read the manuals from days gone past? Well, first, the gospel is pretty much unchanging. Whatever President Joseph F. Smith said about the atonement is as viable as what President Hinckley might say. However, the manuals themselves change. Of course there will be some overlap, but a lot of the quotes (and thought-provoking questions) differ. Second, while the core of the gospel stays the same, the focus differs. Right now, the Relief Society and Priesthood manuals concentrate on specific prophets, but in the past this was not the case. Some of the most interesting manuals I have found come from the 80s. As a graduate of a women’s college that did not offer Home Economics as a degree or a class, I found the section on improving the home quite interesting.
But don’t limit yourself to Sunday manuals. The church distribution center also offers Institute manuals, which I love. These manuals are a fantastic resource, providing not only gospel topics but also historical context. As I worked my way through Isaiah, I finally realized who the different kingdoms were and how they related to Israel, thus helping me put the symbols in context and take far more from the scriptures. The Institute manuals (available online for free) are a fantastic resource.
And although they are not manuals, one of my first resources for learning about the gospel was back issues of the Ensign (also available online). The monthly message from the first presidency inspires, the lessons from past Sunday school classes provide more background, and the Random Sampler always helps me find ways to literally bring the gospel home – much as the current Ensign does. Sometimes these can be checked out from the church library, if you prefer to read them in hand instead of online like I do.
The scriptures should always be our first source of inspiration and guidance, but the various other materials the church provides can help us understand and implement these profound truths. These various materials also give us something additional to read on Sunday, or can give us ideas as we read about the modern-day struggles of others. Today’s technology provides us with so many tools to expand our knowledge and testimony; to not take advantage of them would be a waste of the blessings God has provided to us.
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