On Sunday, January 31, 2016, we had our
ward conference and as is the typical lineup for the meeting, our Stake
President spoke to the congregation. He gave a wonderful talk that was full of
inspiring messages. He shared some personal experiences to illustrate certain
points, and one in particular stood out to me. He said that on January 1st,
he decided to start listening to The Book of Mormon in the hopes of finishing
it in 30 days. He listened to it in his car on the way to work, while shoveling
snow and other times during his days. He spoke about how much it meant to him,
how it helped his days and that he was cutting it close, but still able to
finish in 30 days. It was great message about making time for the scriptures
and being inspired throughout the day.
February is always a hard month for me because,
let’s be honest, February isn’t the funnest month. We’re done with the holidays,
the New Year excitement has worn off, it’s the shortest month of the year and
the weather is never consistently great. February is just ‘blah’ for me.So I
wanted something new to help my month go a little better and not be such a
drag. After hearing what the stake president said, I decided to try something.
I was going to listen to The Book of Mormon every time I was in the car to see
how fast I could finish the book. Now, I realize that reading and finishing The
Book of Mormon should not be a race and it’s not about how fast we are able to
do it. But I’ll get to that in a minute.
I began my quest on the morning of
February 1, 2016 (a Monday) while I drove the kids to school. Throughout the
month, I listened while driving to and from school, while driving to the gym,
shoveling snow (hehehe), while making lots of copies for Primary Teacher
Training, to and from the grocery store…..you get the idea. And I finished at
2:50 pm on Wednesday February 24th. I didn’t have any idea or
expectation about what I would experience, but I can say that in a few ways, it
changed my life. I’m not being dramatic, I promise! It was wonderful! I gained
a lot and I want to share how it made my life better. What I gained was not
what I expected, but it was awesome nonetheless. I might even share a few
things that I didn’t gain, but that were still meaningful and chances for
growth.
A Change in
Entertainment Choices
I’ll be honest, I had totally
fallen into a rut when it comes to what I was listening to in the car. I wasn’t
listening to anything bad, but it was a constant radio channel surfing (I had
like 6 favorites that I would jump between) and in the mornings I would listen
to lame morning radio talk shows. What I listened to on the way to and from
school was nothing awful, but it wasn’t enhancing my life at all. It wasn’t
making me better. It wasn’t helping me become the type of person that I want to
be. It reminds of a great talk by Elder Dallin H Oaks from General Conference
in October 2007. In his talk he said the following:
“….
just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing
it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to
accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things
that should command priority attention in our lives.” (Good Better, Best Oct 2007)
Listening to
the radio is fine, but listening to the scriptures is definitely better! I felt
like my time in the car, which, as it turns out, is a lot, felt like it was
almost consecrated. My mundane trips to and from school came to have more
meaning rather than just a means to an end. My trips to the grocery store
became a time for instruction rather than a drive that I could do with my eyes
closed.
Decrease
in Road Rage
I consider
myself to be a happy person and while I have my moments of anger and
frustration (I have 5 kids, its inevitable), I try to stay positive and upbeat.
But every now and then, I get really mad at other drivers who cut me off and my
kids acting squirrelly in the backseat. It becomes distracting and I don’t feel
like I’m the on my game as a driver. But when listening to The Book of Mormon,
my ‘in the car’ mood swings definitely decreased. It’s kind of hard to get mad
at someone who cuts you off when you’re listening to the story of Nephi getting
tied up by his brothers on a boat to the Promised Land (1 Nephi 18). It
puts things in perspective!
Now with my
kids in the early morning, they just never seem to be in a great mood. I’m not
sure any of them are really morning people. When they would start to fight in
the car, I would say, ‘Please quiet down and listen to the scriptures’ and it
would instantly calm them down (most of the time). And listening to the
parenting experiences of Lehi and Alma the Older and some of the other parents
in The Book of Mormon helped me deal with those moments of frustration with a
lot more patience, grace and love as I would try to follow their examples.
Increase
in Understanding with my Other Study
I mentioned
before that I would talk more about the speed in which we read The Book of
Mormon. I want to note that my listening to The Book of Mormon did not replace
my personal study of it. I still made an effort to read a chapter or two out of
my hard copy every morning (some days I did better than others). Those were the
times that I would actually ‘study’ and mark my scriptures. This offered my two
very different opportunities for learning and growth. When listening to the
scriptures, I was able to hear the large ideas and be exposed to the themes
found in The Book of Mormon, when reading in the mornings that was when I could
focus in on specific topics and read the details. Details like the frequency
that Christ is mentioned. You might be surprised!
I knew that Alma 32 existed because I knew that there was an Alma 31 and an Alma 33. I
know that throughout my life in the church I have read passages in the Alma 32
and I’ve actually read The Book of Mormon cover to cover a few times in my
life. So I’ve read Alma 32. A few times. But you know that thing of how every
time you read The Book of Mormon you get something new out of it? Well this was
one of those ‘new things’ that I got out of it this time. Alma 32 is an amazing
illustration of the power faith and the impact that faith has on our lives. And
what happens when we live the gospel. Take a look at Alma 32:28
Now,
we will compare the word unto a seed.
Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart,
behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief,
that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell
within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to
say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the
word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding,
yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
Doesn’t that sound amazing! Such wonderful blessings comes into
our lives just be allowing ‘the word’ to be planted in our hearts.
Families
I have a very strong
testimony of eternal families and I’m so grateful for the knowledge that I have
that I will be with my kids and husband and love ones throughout eternity. But until
now, I never truly understood how much The Book of Mormon testifies of
families. Not sure why it never dawned on me until now, but it really is a saga
of families and how our influence impacts our children for good or bad. We read
about Lehi who wants nothing more than to see his family together on the right
path. We learn about Alma and his desire for his son to stop rebelling and come
back to the Lord. Brothers who pass the records to one another. Mothers who
taught their sons to rely on the Lord and have faith. Parents who brought their
children to meet the resurrected Savior. So what does this all mean? Family is
important! A lot of the stories in The Book of Mormon are simply families who
are trying to make it through this life together. Of course some of the parents
and brother are prophets, but prophets are parts of families too. They all have
their own struggles. It was actually nice to see the human aspect of prophets
which is sometimes hard to see.
The
Pride Cycle and Revelation for Our Day
If you’re a
member of the church, you’ve probably read President Benson’s talk about Pride
(Beware of Pride). It’s a punch to the gut if there ever was one. It’s an amazing contemporary
description of the harmful effects of pride on not only the individual but on
society. But if you want a historical depiction of just how harmful pride is,
this book has it. Pride is one of those themes that stuck out to me in my
listening rather than my reading. Cities are built up and blessed by the Lord,
the people get excited and proud of themselves, they get weak, they fall….then
it starts all over again. Sounds familiar. It’s a fantastic reminder that even
though the Lord will bless you (you, me, us) we have to keep ourselves humble
and show honest, sincere gratitude to the one who gave it all to us. If the
Lord will bless us with prosperity, it is our responsibility to give the
gratitude where it should go.
And by the way,
Amalakiah is the Vladamir Putin of The Book of Mormon, am I right? He’s awful!
In listening to the corrupt governments throughout The Book of Mormon and
seeing how more often than not that would bring the downfall of an entire
people, it’s not hard to see that playing out in our day. It’s a little scary
to think about but one thing that I learned is that if you are strong in your
faith and hold fast to what you know, the Lord will bless you, strengthen you
and uphold you. He will bless you in your efforts to live righteously.
What
I Didn’t Gain
I did not become a scriptorian!
Dang it! I still don’t know all of my Nephis and the lineage of most of The
Book of Mormon is still shaky for me. But that’s OK! It’s a process. We are
supposed to learn line upon, precept upon precept, here a little and there a
little. I gained a lot in the last 24 days, but I have much more to go and I’m
excited for that! I still don’t understand 2 Nephi. And I’m okay with that too!
I will eventually! And I still don’t understand what the deal was with Laman
and Lemuel. Those dudes had problems!
When I was a
few days into this Book of Mormon adventure, my husband asked me an important
but meaningful question. He said, ‘Are you actually getting anything out of
this?’ As you can see from the above, I totally did. Was my experience always
amazing and spiritual and full of learning? No. I can admit that. But I
remember telling my husband that the Lord has asked us to the study his
doctrine and adopt it into our lives. The scriptures are a gift to use that our
Savior and our Father in Heaven want us to use. So I had faith going into it
that because I was doing they were asking of me, I would be blessed. I can
testify that I was blessed. My kids were blessed. And scriptures became a
little bit more important in our lives. Is listening to The Book of Mormon the
best way for everyone to experience it? No. We all learn differently and spirit
touches us in different ways. But what I do know for sure is that our Father in
Heaven blesses us in our efforts to live the gospel and learn his words. He
loves us and he wants us to draw nearer unto him.
Next up, the Doctrine and Covenants (link)!
All picture credits, lds.org
