1 Nephi 15:24-25

24 And I said unto them that it was the ^aword of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would ^bhold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the ^ctemptations and the fiery ^ddarts of the ^eadversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

 25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give ^aheed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the ^bfaculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.

The word of God is the Gospel, the Gospel is found in the scriptures. My favorite part of scripture is The Book of  Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. That book has the power to change lives. I've seen it happen. In this scripture Nephi is talking to his brethren about the vision of the Tree of Life. He tells them to hold fast to the Iron Rod (which is the word of God). He promises them that they will NEVER PERISH neither will any of the FIERY DARTS or TEMPTATIONS overpower them, or lead them away. If they will but read the scriptures they will not be overcome.

BLINDNESS AND DESTRUCTION comes when we distance ourselves from God. The easiest and fastest way to distance yourself from the Father is by not reading your scriptures and not praying. If you would like to live life with unnecessary challenges and unwanted consequences; stop reading your scriptures... never pick up the Book of Mormon..settle for less then your best. Those things will leave you alone and destroyed. Of that I have no doubt.

GIVE HEED UNTO THE WORD OF THE LORD, and you will have eternal life. This is a promise made to us not only by prophets of old, but by modern day prophets as well. President Boyd K. Packer said, "I bear certain witness of the scriptures as a key to our spiritual protection. I also bear witness of the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, "that through him all might be saved" who will be saved."

I love this scripture so much. I remember sitting across from my mission president in my departing interview. Slightly nervous about what he would say. Praying that he wouldn't mention marriage, and hoping that I could remember all the things he said. He told me how proud of me he was, even when times were hard. This made me feel better. Then, he had me open up to this scripture and read it line by line. We discussed what each line meant to us, how it effected eternity, and then... he look me in the eyes and made me a promise. He said, "As a representative of Jesus Christ I promise you that if you read The Book of Mormon everyday for the rest of your life, you will have Eternal Life." he went on to explain, "I can promise you that, because right here in the scriptures it promises us that."

Ever since that day, wether it be one verse or a few pages, I have not failed to read The Book of Mormon- the book of books- I love this book. And I can testify that my life is going as well as it is going right now, if not only for my missionary service, but more for my obedience to READ everyday. I am indeed grateful for promises made to me with my Heavenly Father, he ALWAYS keeps his end of the deal, of that there is no question.