2008 is just a few days away. Hard to believe, but true. With the change of year, most of us feel some strangely innate need to make the coming year better than the past one in some areas of our lives.
I resolve this year to consistently read the Book of Mormon. Sure, as a born and raised Mormon who served a mission, I’ve read it numerous times. I’m a religious slacker though. I have times when I read the scriptures but those times have become more rare as I’ve aged. The last time I read it was when President Hinckley challenged all members to read it in 2005.
So why should I read it again now? I’m always conflicted on what facet of the gospel or LDS church history to study. What will benefit me most at the time? Scriptures frankly bore me and are a chore to read, probably because as I was growing up, scripture study often interrupted more “fun” things I was doing. I like to read the Ensign and some books written by General Authorities so I often pass this off as my “scripture study.” But let’s be honest – lately I haven’t even done much of that type of study. Anyway, I feel now is a good time to get back to the Book of Mormon for the following reasons:
1) I need to teach my children the Book of Mormon. I don’t want them to be teenagers when I realize that I’ve never read the Book of Mormon with them and they have no idea what the book is about.
2) The LDS curriculum calls for the study of the Book of Mormon in Sunday School this year. So by studying it maybe I’ll actually be able to contribute in class.
3) I need a spiritual boost. I was remembering recently some of the spiritual experiences I’ve had in my life. These almost always occurred when I was doing the right things, studying and actively making God a part of my life.
So this is my plan for this year:
I will read the entire Book of Mormon for my personal gospel study.
I will STUDY the Book of Mormon with my wife and children. By this I mean I don’t care how much we read, I want them to learn while we’re reading it. The main thing is to establish the habit. The best time for us to read is immediately after dinner. This last year we had some times where we studied the New Testament and we would usually only read a few verses but I made sure the kids were listening and we discussed what we were reading. We will do the same with the Book of Mormon.
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December 30, 2007 at 9:43 pm
ldspad
Thanks Joey for that post! If anyone is wondering, this is my good friend Joey who I have invited to write here as well. We work together and he’s is someone I look up to. He probably doesn’t know it but every day he somehow sets an example for myself and others.
I’ve been meaning to read the Book of Mormon from beginning to end since it was mentioned by a councilor on the Bishopric a few weeks ago. His entire family spent 48 hours of their Thanksgiving break to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover together in a room, but silently to themselves. After each one would complete the book they would leave off to their rooms to test what Moroni has said to do:
As he told the story he reflected on the enthusiasm and happiness he felt when he knew where they were going, what they were going to ask, and what answers they would receive.
Today during a combined Priesthood / Relief Society Meeting the Bishop reviewed things that we’ve learned over the year.
There were two things the Bishop said that stuck with me:
1. Only by the power of the holy ghost can we know the truth. Only by the power of the holy ghost can we teach the truth.
2. The Bishop said “The Book of Mormon is a record of what happened in a different time but it was not for them, it was written for us in this time, today.”
It is only 531 pages, but so important. As I’ve been growing in the gospel I found myself skipping around to the Old Testament and New Testament. I admit that the past few months I’ve favored those over the Book of Mormon, however it is time to just sit down and read it.
In those 531 pages are 239 chapters. If I read at least 2 chapters per day it would take 120 days to finish. This is 3 months. So my goal for this New Years is to finish the Book of Mormon by April 1st.