Elder Allan F Packer's talk

Elder Allan F Packer of the Seventy had a talk called “The Book”.  I have a question, What is the handbook of instruction that he mentions?  Is this just for the General Authorities?

We need to qualify for exaltation.  Study the plan of salvation and we will know what we need to do to qualify and we can be saved by Christ’s Atonement.  There are 4 focuses of the church. 

1.  Help members live the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

2. Gather Israel through missionary work. 

3. Caring for the poor and needy. 

4. Enabling the salvation of the dead by building temples and performing vicarious ordinances.

Because the family is the center of the plan of salvation we need to focus our attention on our own family.  Temple and Family History work is part of that plan and we need to be teaching it in our home.  The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve have placed renewed emphasis on family history and temple work and if we work on this in our home our joy and happiness will increase.  THE BOOK is the book that will hold all the names of those worthy to enter into God’s kingdom.  When we do our family history work we are providing a way for our ancestors to be in that book.  This work is not limited to those who are retired and have extra time on their hands, it is for all.  I remember when I joined the church and learned about family history, I would take the kids down to the Family History Library in Salt Lake and spend the day there.  Each child would take a backpack with snacks and toys in them.  They would sit at a film reader and scroll through films looking for any mention of family names.  They each had an index card in front of them with our family surnames written down on them and when they found something they would call me over and I would either write it down or explain to them it was not one we were looking for.  After doing this for a while each one would sit on the floor under the reader and eat a snack or play with some toys for a while then get back up and start again.  Joy was 3, Jenn was 4, Jack had just turned 6 and Jeremy was 10.  Even a 3 year old could look for a name on a card and find it on the film she was scrolling through.  She took more breaks than the other but she still found many names we were looking for!  This is a family affair, not reserved for those who have a great knowledge.  This work is much easier now than just a few years ago.  This work is important.  It is different than it was in the past, it can be done at home and shared by all ages.  The church cannot do it for us, we must do the work ourselves.  We must change our priorities and put this work higher on our list of to dos.  We must not sacrifice our exaltation or that of our families for less important interests, this is the work of God!!