Skip to main content

The Book of Mormon Reading Challenge

With just a little over a week left until the end of the year, I’ve been thinking a lot about President Nelson’s challenge to the sisters to read the Book of Mormon. When he gave us the challenge to read the BoM by the end of the year, it reminded me of a similar challenge President Hinckley gave to all members of the church about 15ish years ago. I was in high school, and we were studying the Book of Mormon in seminary. I was the only seminary student in my class that was actually doing the assigned reading everyday, and I justified that I didn’t need to do President Hinckley’s challenge because of it. In the years to follow, many of my friends bore testimony of how much the experience meant to them. I always felt bad that I hadn’t completed the challenge myself. So when President Nelson gave his challenge in October, I knew this was my chance. 

As with most lofty goals, I was super motivated and on top of things in the beginning, but by the end of October I started to fall behind. It was really hard to find the time necessary to read that amount of scriptures each day. Everett has been sick or teething since the beginning of September, so I have been getting little sleep. Getting up early before the kids wasn’t an option. I would try to read during the day, but as soon as I would start, one of the kids would need me for something. Once the kids go to bed, Ethan and I have about two sacred hours of alone time before we too had to go to bed. It was so hard to give up that time to read the scriptures. So, by the time November rolled around I was probably three weeks behind! It was still important to me to complete the challenge though, and I knew I could do it. Luckily I was in Michigan alone with the kids, watching the dogs for the Kennedys. I spent several evenings reading the Book of Mormon. By Thanksgiving, I was less than a week behind, but with half of the book left to read, I couldn’t slow down. I had to learn how to fit several chapters of reading into my everyday life. I could usually find some peace and quiet whenever I nursed Brother. That was usually enough to make sure I didn’t become further behind. If I could get Annie busy doing other things, I could listen to my scriptures while I got ready, made dinner, or did the dishes. And when I had long car rides, I could easily get through several chapters. Now, with ten days left in the challenge, I am finally ahead of schedule! Woot!

In the past week I have finished 3 Nephi, 4 Nephi, Mormon, and most of Ether. I can’t help but think we were asked to read the Book of Mormon for the chapters in these books alone! 3 Nephi focuses so much on ministering, I think this is what the President Nelson and the apostles had in mind when they asked us to minister to one another. Too, isn’t it beautiful the peace that resided in the land after Christ appeared and taught them. For three generations to remain completely faithful in the gospel following his visit speaks to the power and love of Christ. And then as the Book of Mormon comes to an end, the people become so extremely wicked that God destroys them from off the face of the earth. Too, the prophets describe what the world will be like during the last days. It was like going through a checklist in my mind, so many of the things prophesied are happening. 


I am so grateful for this challenge. I have had a testimony of the Book of Mormon for a long time, but I felt like my testimony of the Book of Mormon was forming all over again. I know it is true. I feel the spirit while I’m reading the scriptures, and I feel the spirit more in my every day life. In three short months, I feel more spiritually protected and prepared than I have in a long time. Too, for the longest time, I have relied on the speakers and lessons at church to feed me spiritually, but with young children I come home still hungry. The church is changing directions to be more home based. I realize that I am responsible for my own spiritual feast, and that of my family. Reading the Book of Mormon in such a short period was the best pep talk I could have been given going into the new year and the new Come Follow Me format. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Like Dominos....

It all began with glare.  Simple, obnoxious, I-can't-stand-it-anymore glare. Our 60" rear projection TV in the family room was basically unviewable except after 10 o'clock at night.  The glare from the windows was making it impossible to see anything during my 10 minute lunch break each day, and something had to change. Too, the TV didn't fit in the entertainment center from Germany.  John, wanting bigger and better, hadn't considered that the space is only 40" wide.  For the past five years, I have been nagged by 6" of overhang on both sides of the TV stand. I went to Lowe's to price blinds.  $1,043 for five blinds, and that was at 20% off. I figured a new TV would be cheaper than that.  I was right, even with the state-of-the-art receiver and new HDMI cables that sly salesman told us we needed to have. But where to put the old TV?  It just needed a quiet, dark place to retire. Glo's bedroom.  Her TV was a relic from the paleoneoneand...

The Quest for Birkenstocks

One of the main reasons I go to Germany every couple of years is to restock my supply of Birkenstocks.  I started buying them when I lived there, and I basically can't live without them now.  It just about kills me when a pair runs its course and needs to be thrown away.  I think in my lifetime, I've thrown away only three pairs.  One that never was quite right (the straps were plastic and would cut into my skin after a long day), one pair that I wore gardening one too many times (the brown dirt stains wouldn't come out of the white leather), and the pair that I was wearing when I broke my ankle (they were an unfortunate casualty of broken ankle PTSD because those purple and blue paisleys go down as one of my favorite pairs of all time).  I only threw out the garden ones a couple of days before I left for Germany, because I knew I would be getting a new pair. The only store where I have ever bought my Birkenstocks is Hoffmann's in Speicher.  (Well okay, t...

Thinking Beyond Ourselves

In our church, most adults hold a “calling”.  What this really means is they have a job, or a specific way to serve within the local congregation.  We believe that this calling is inspired from God—it’s a specific way that he wants us to serve, so that we can either learn and grow ourselves, or so that we can help someone else. I have had more callings in the church than I can count, and with few exceptions, I have loved every one of them.  I have come to love people (adults, teens and kids) who I might never have met.  I have learned much--from how to organize a Christmas music program, to how to make a Sunday School lesson meaningful to apathetic teenagers.  I have served as president of the children’s organization, and I have been the leader of 30 young, single adults. With every calling comes a lot of work.  Of course, the amount of work one puts into a calling is up to an individual.  I choose to put everything into a calling.  I give up ho...