In the days of the early Christian church, the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, "my own son in the faith," and exhorted him: "Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12.) Today, leaders of Christ's church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, give similar counsel to those who take upon themselves the name of the Savior. In Be Thou an Example, Gordon B. Hinckley, a counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, tells how one can be an example of the believer and outlines some of the basic beliefs of the Latter-day Saints. "Paul never hedged nor quibbled when setting forth the requirements of the gospel of Jesus Christ," he writes. "It is so today. The Lord himself declared that 'strait is the gate and narrow is the way.' Any system dealing with the eternal consequences of human behavior must set guidelines and adhere to them, and no system can long command the loyalties of men that does not expect of them certain measures of discipline, and particularly of self-discipline. The cost in comfort may be great. The sacrifice may be real. But this very demanding reality is the substance of which come character and strength and nobility." Chapters for the book have been adapted from addresses delivered by President Hinckley in general conferences of the Church, and deal with such basic subjects as honesty, forgiveness, self-discipline, avoiding contention, and opposing evil. He writes, as he speaks, with forthrightness and with conviction. Be Thou an Example is a book for every believer!
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