D&C 20:8-15; 84:57-58; Ether 5:4, 6; Moro. 10:27; refer in this text to 2 Ne. 33:4,14
“No member of this Church can stand approved in the presence of God who has not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon… .” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, Oct. 1961, p. 18)
“Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book? Yes, either to our blessing or our condemnation. Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise he is placing his soul in jeopardy and neglecting that which could give spiritual and intellectual unity to his whole life. There is a difference between a convert who is built on the rock of Christ through the Book of Mormon and stays hold of that iron rod, and one who is not.” (Ezra Taft Benson, A Witness and a Warning, pp. 7-8)
“For me there could be no more impelling reason for reading the Book of Mormon than this statement of the Lord that we shall be judged by what is written in it.” (Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, Apr. 1960, pp. 110-111)
“If the early Saints were rebuked for treating the Book of Mormon lightly, [D&C 84:54-57] are we under any less condemnation if we do the same?” (Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Nov. 1986, pp. 4-5)
“It [the history of the church] is the most important to us because that history contains the hand dealings of God direct to us through revelation as it has come in the Doctrine and Covenants, in the Book of Mormon, and in any revelation that comes to us through the servants of the Lord for our guidance. Do you know that the time is coming when we are going to be judged out of the books that are written.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:199-200)