"Christ and the New Covenant" by Jeffrey R. Holland

Christ and the New Covenant. Jeffrey R. Holland writes, "The principal and commanding figure in the Book of Mormon, from first chapter to last, is the Lord Jesus Christ. In its unparalleled focus on the Messianic message of the Savior of the World, the Book of Mormon is rightly referred to as God's 'new covenant' with the house of Israel. It is literally a new testament or 'another testament' of Jesus Christ."

In his preface, Elder Holland shares with the reader that this book is the result of several years of private study. I felt almost guilty pleasure in being able to glean from his life's work. Quoting extensively from the Book of Mormon, he adds his thoughts to some passages and to others carefully dissects them for the benefit of understanding all of the doctrines mentioned.

This book helped me to better understand how the Book of Mormon is truly a companion to the Holy Bible, how I can more thoughtfully study the scriptures, and opened up to me just how extensively the Book of Mormon does testify of Christ.

Some sections of the book that I found most interesting include:

*Chapter 2 "Rending the Veil of Unbelief" - sharing the doctrines that were made available to the Jaredites
*Chapter 10 "The Atonement"
*Chapters 11-13 "Christ in the New World" (days one through three and beyond)
*The Appendices (Titles for Christ, Book of Mormon References to Isaiah, "The Father and the Son: a Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency and the Twelve," and a Comparison of the Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount).

I give this book five ***** stars. This is one that I will be picking up again later. It took me nearly seven or eight months to complete - it's not a book that you can just sit down and read all the way through quickly. I own the paperback edition - I waited for a couple of years for it to come out.