Making a plan...

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Tomorrow is Day 1! I know some people have already started...which is great! Here are some things to consider today as you make  a plan and prepare for the month ahead:

Remember--this challenge is about reading.  It's about reading...and understanding. It's about reading and understanding...and feeling the Spirit--every day. It's about growth. It's about blessings. It's about setting good habits. It's about testimony and faith and obedience. You don't have to answer any questions (although you should find answers to your questions). You're not graded or scored or ranked. There is no pressure, just opportunity. Opportunity for blessings and strength and knowledge--and much more. Much more. 

From David B. Marsh, "Getting the Most out of Your Scripture Study:"

"The Savior and His servants have encouraged us to read, seek, search, ponder, study, feast upon, and treasure up His words (see Isaiah 34:16; John 5:39; 2 Nephi 31:20; 3 Nephi 17:3; and D&C 11:22). The number and variety of invitations suggest that there are different ways to study the scriptures. My own experience confirms this. Sometimes I like to read from cover to cover. At other times I search for answers to personal questions or challenges... One thing is certain: there is no one right way to study the scriptures.

While there is no one right way to study the scriptures, there are certain skills that can help us get the most out of our scripture study. Like a cook who uses specific skills to prepare delicious meals, so an able student of the scriptures uses specific study skills to prepare delicious scriptural feasts to feed the soul. The more we master these skills, the more satisfying our scripture study will become."

Unfortunately, the skills he is referring to here are not listed in the article. But...here are some things to consider:


Pick a time to read each day. You may not be able to read at the same time each day, but make a plan, set aside time every day--write it in your planner and be specific, like scheduling a doctor's appointment.

Pick a good place to read. Find a spot where you are comfortable (but not so comfortable that you fall asleep!) and where you can feel the spirit. For me this means a quiet, clean room with lots of light. I love to read in a comfy chair by a window.

Keep it simple. If you want to take notes, take notes. If you want to highlight or journal or cross reference, do it! But...keep in mind your goal. The shared goal here is to read the whole Book of Mormon in thirty days. However, we all have individual motivations and purposes for doing this challenge. Make sure that your daily reading practices enable you to meet your goal--not prevent you from finishing. My friend Rachel wrote about exactly that...here.

Start with a prayer. Invite the Spirit to enhance your learning, to open your mind and infuse your memory with the things you need to understand and remember.

Ask questions. You will find answers. Begin your reading each day with one specific question in mind. You may not find the answer right away, but it will give your thoughts direction and help you focus on what you are reading...because you will be looking for the answer. Whenever I do this, I am amazed at what I find. It always increases my testimony of just how much Heavenly Father is aware of me and my needs and how divinely inspired the words in the scriptures truly are.

What suggestions do you have for more effective scripture study?

Thoughts for your day...

I have been thinking about all of you--you who are joining me in this challenge. And I have been thinking about those who are still undecided. And I have been thinking about what my motivations are for doing this. I have high hopes for what great blessings will come from reading the Book of Mormon. So I thought I would share a few of my favorite quotes about the Book of Mormon, to prepare for what is to come. It's going to be AMAZING!

President Ezra Taft Benson said:
“There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called ‘the words of life’ ( D&C 84:85 ), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 6; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 7 ).

President GordonB. Hinckley said:
“I would like to urge every man and woman ... and every boy and girl who is old enough to read to again read the Book of Mormon during this coming year. This was written for the convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. There is nothing we could do of greater importance than to have fortified in our individual lives an unshakable conviction that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of the living God. That is the purpose of the coming forth of this remarkable and wonderful book.  ( Teachings of GordonB. Hinckley [1997], 44). 

President Marion G. Romney said:
“I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity— the pure love of Christ—will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1980, 90; or Ensign, May 1980, 67).

I hope these help solidify your resolution to accomplish this challenge. Find your favorite quote (it doesn't have to be one of these), print it out, and stick it on the fridge or your bathroom mirror and read it every day.

Tomorrow I will post a few more ideas for making a plan for success. I remember my mom teaching me, "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail." So in the two days we have before we begin, take some time to plan for success!

Have a great memorial day! The thought came to me today that while we remember those who have died in the name of freedom, our thoughts might also include the many prophets and people of the Book of Mormon who also gave their lives for the most precious freedoms that we enjoy. We have much to be grateful for.

Comments....hmmmmm

Sorry to anyone trying to leave a comment. For some reason it's not working for anyone. And I'm sad--those comments are what I am so excited for! I'm working on the problem and hope to have things fixed soon. :)

Have a happy weekend!

We are about to begin!

I am so excited to get this challenge started! Wednesday, June 1st will be Day 1.  Are you smiling yet?

My hope is that reading the Book of Mormon this way will provide both a personally enriching experience, as well as an uplifting group experience. There will be a new post every day--either my own thoughts or comments about the reading, quotes from general authorities related to the reading, or other links to keep our thoughts gospel centered, and hopefully some guest posts from you! But the thing that will make this really awesome, is going to be your comments each day. Please share your thoughts and experiences. Please take time to read what others are saying--be uplifted and find added encouragement to keep going throughout the month. Reading 15-20 pages of scriptures every day should and can be wonderful, but it is not always easy. That is why we are doing this together!

I've had a few questions about how to do this...can we listen to the audio recordings of the scriptures?...are we supposed to be taking notes?...what if I can't read every day?...can my kids do it with me?...My answer to all of these is: you do it your way. There will not be awards or prizes at the end--except your own stronger testimony--so there are no rules to follow. It is entirely for you and can be designed to fit your needs and style. Read online, read from your scriptures, read in the morning, read during your lunch break or on the bus. Take notes, or don't. Highlight, or don't. However you want to accomplish the goal is fine with me. But remember, the point is to have an experience reading the scriptures that will allow you to see things and understand things differently--hopefully better--than before. My hope is that reading larger chunks will give each of us more time to feel the Spirit stronger each day, more time to draw our thoughts toward heaven, more time for the stories and principles we read to really solidify in our minds and soften our hearts.

Thank you for all your encouragement and support so far. I am excited to do this with you! And hopefully June will prove to be a very memorable month for all of us!

Using this Blog and other Resources

I hope the features on this blog will make it helpful and easy to use.

On the left side I have included a few links that you may find useful--things like lds.org, mormon.org, and others. As the month progresses, I may add more, and if you have any suggestions, please share them!  I have also included two buttons; one will take you directly to the Book of Mormon on lds.org where you can read, download, and listen to the scriptures. I have recently started using the feature called "My Study Notebook" on lds.org and I LOVE it! Take some time this weekend to make sure you have a login name and password for lds.org and check out the study notebook feature. If you're going to be reading online, this is a wonderful tool for taking notes, highlighting, tabbing, and journaling.

The other button a nice resource called ReadTheScriptures.com. If you click that button, create a user account and set it up for 30 days, you will receive an email every day containing the entire reading assignment each day for 30 days. It also offers other features such as taking notes, sharing your notes or thoughts with friends, and listening to the audio recoding as well. The daily reading assignment is not exactly the same as I have outlined for us here, but it will keep you on track and provide an added benefit of having all the scriptures right there in an email for you. So if getting your scriptures off the shelf when you're already at the computer is too much work--you won't have an excuse!

On the right sidebar, you will find several ways to connect to this blog: become a follower, get emails each time there is a new post (which should be every day), and use the RSS feed however you like it.

There are other features that should help as the month progresses--a search and blog archive, and of course, the reading schedule. The schedule will always appear at the bottom of your screen, so you don't have to wait for my posts each day to see where we are at. And you can also see how big of a chunk you have to accomplish each day, allowing you to prepare for times when you may need to make your own adjustments to fit your schedule.

If there is anything else that would help make this blog more useful for you throughout the month, please leave me a comment and let me know! This is not my  blog--I am just the one getting it started. Once we get started I hope that the daily interaction of reading and posting comments will help us all feel a piece of ownership in this challenge as we do it together.