2004
Of All Things
February 2004

“Of All Things,” New Era, Feb. 2004, 40

Of All Things

February Fact Finder

2 February 1833: The Prophet Joseph Smith finished translating the New Testament.

8 February 2004: The Boy Scouts of America organization turns 94.

14 February 1853: President Brigham Young broke ground for the Salt Lake Temple, and President Heber C. Kimball, First Counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the site. Excavation began that day.

18 February 1979: In Nauvoo, Illinois, President Ezra Taft Benson organized the Church’s 1,000th stake.

29 February 2000: The Church printed the 100 millionth copy of the Book of Mormon.

Check Us Out Online

Did you know you can read the New Era online? At www.lds.org, you can access all the New Eras ever printed, even the one you’re reading right now! At the Church’s Web site, just click on “Gospel Library.” And while you’re there, you can also subscribe to any Church magazine or to the Church News. Church magazines are great gifts for your friends or your family, so check us out online!

Leadership Tip

When our desire to receive instruction is a greater force than our comfort in remaining as we are, we become teachable,” says Elder Robert R. Steuer, of the Seventy (Ensign, May 2002, 31). Great leaders always strive to become better by learning new things and following the counsel of their Church leaders.

Book of Mormon Hero: Who Am I?

Read about my life and try to figure out who I am, and then discover more about me from the scripture references below.

  1. My father was a prophet of God.

  2. I came from a large family.

  3. I was born in the wilderness.

  4. Growing up, I played with the children of a man named Zoram.

  5. When I was very young, my mother and father almost died.

  6. Some of my older brothers often picked on me.

  7. In a father’s blessing, I was taught that “there is an opposition in all things.”

  8. My father died when I was in my midteen years.

  9. I became a priest and teacher to my people in my 20s.

  10. The Book of Mormon contains four of my sermons.

  11. I wrote more of the Book of Mormon than all but three of its authors.

  12. I wrote the longest chapter in the Book of Mormon.

  13. During a sermon, I once took off my coat and dramatically shook it before my people.

  14. Near the end of my life, a wicked man challenged me to show him a sign from God. The power of God struck him down, and he died a few days later.

  15. During my life, I saw my Redeemer. I also saw angels, and they ministered unto me.

  16. The last word I wrote in my book was translated as “adieu,” a French word that means “I will see you again when we meet before God.”

Answer:

Salt Lake Temple groundbreaking.