#4 RESOURCES FOR STUDYING THE BOOK OF MORMON

            The Lord and His Church have provided many resources to assist us in reading and studying the Book of Mormon. I’d like to discuss some of them in this blog post. I hope that doing so will be helpful to you and your family as you read and study the Book of Mormon this year. This won’t be an exhaustive list but will include suggestions for those resources that are most conveniently available and some that have been especially useful to me.

            But before doing that, I need to say again and emphatically – Read the Book! The power is in the Book! Don’t be diverted or bogged down (or, for that matter, “blogged down”) by reading about the Book of Mormon. Read the Book! If that’s all you do this year and don’t read anything else, just read the Book! It’s tempting to read other books, commentaries, articles, or blogs, and listen to talks or podcasts and watch videos and think we are reading and studying the Book of Mormon, but we’re not. When we do those things without reading the Book, we’re like a violinist stringing, tuning and unstringing their violin but never playing a tune! So, most important and above all – read the Book of Mormon this year!

Come, Follow Me

            For most of us, our main resource for enhancing our study of the Book of Mormon this year will be the manual Come, Follow Me – For Individuals and Families: Book of Mormon 2020. This is a wonderful resource and is very thoughtfully prepared! The manual is available in print, though copies seem to be limited. We received one copy for our family when we met with our Bishop for tithing settlement a few weeks ago. You can get additional copies from Church Distribution. In the USA, go to www.store.churchofjesuschrist.org and you can order it for $2.60. You can also pick up copies at a Distribution Center store. It should also be available in the UK.

            For those with internet access and a computer or device on which to view it, the Come, Follow Me manual is available online. It is most conveniently accessed in the Gospel Library app (see below) but can be accessed at www.churchofjesuschrist.org under the “Serve and Teach” tab. Some might prefer a paper copy of the manual in which to make notes and write answers to questions in the lessons. But you can highlight and make notes and answer questions in the online version of the manual in the Gospel Library app. Some advantages of doing so are that your notes are archived on the Church’s server, so you will have them indefinitely in the future, and that you always have the manual with you, as long as you have a device such as a phone or tablet with you. (And we hardly go anywhere these days without our phone and/or tablet!)

Conversion is our Goal!

            The Introduction to the Come, Follow Me manual begins, “Conversion is our Goal”. It goes on to say,

“The aim of all gospel learning and teaching is to deepen our conversion and help us become more like Jesus Christ.” That is the goal of the Come, Follow Me program and should be the goal of all gospel learning. And it is an underlying goal of this blog. Each of us is responsible for our own conversion. We can help others strengthen their conversion and we ought to do so, especially our children and grandchildren and those for whom we have responsibility as teachers and leaders. But ultimately no one can do it for them and no one can do it for us. I believe the Lord will meet each of us at the level of our conversion to the Gospel and help us move to the next level if we are humble enough to trust in Him and to be taught. The home is now the center for gospel teaching. The organizational church is to support the home. So the best place to read and study the Book of Mormon and to use Come, Follow Me as a resource in doing so is in your home (whatever setting that is) individually and/or with your family (whatever group of believers or truth-seekers that is.)

Helpful Ideas

            The introductory materials in the Come, Follow Me manual include some excellent “Ideas to Improve Your Personal Scripture Study.” Here is a list of the ideas they suggest. Go to the manual for more details.

·      Look for Truths about Jesus Christ

·      Look for Inspiring Words and Phrases

·      Look for Gospel Truths

·      Listen to the Spirit

·      Liken the Scriptures to Your Life

·      Ask Questions as You Study

·      Use Scripture Study Helps

·      Consider the Context of the Scriptures

·      Record Your Thoughts and Feelings

·      Study the Words of Latter-day Prophets and Apostles

·      Share Insights

·      Live by What You Learn

The Come, Follow Me manual also makes some excellent suggestions of “Ideas to Improve Your Family Scripture Study.” Here is the bulleted list:

·      Use Music

·      Share Meaningful Scriptures

·      Use Your Own Words

·      Apply the Scriptures to Your Life

·      Ask a Question

·      Display a Scripture

·      Make a Scripture List

·      Memorize Scriptures

·      Share Object Lessons

·      Pick a Topic

·      Draw a Picture

·      Act Out a Story

Again, there are more details on each of these ideas in the manual.

Gospel Library App

            The Gospel Library app can be a great asset to your study of the Book of Mormon. I’ve been “paper-based” in scripture study all my life since I was old enough to read until about the last three years. I have now converted completely to electronic versions of the scriptures. (Not bad for a 73-year-old!) I love my well-worn copies of the scriptures with their underlining and notes, but I don’t miss them. I find it much easier and more efficient to read and study the scriptures, General Conference talks, the Ensign and Come, Follow Me in their online versions. It doesn’t work for me on my smartphone. The screen is too small. I need more screen “real estate” than a phone provides. I find that a tablet with a Bluetooth connected keyboard is ideal for me. I can even read it on my stationary bike in the basement when I pedal and study in the morning (after playing pickleball!). You can also access the Gospel Library on a computer at www.library.churchofjesuschrist.org but it doesn’t work as well as in the app. Remember that apps run on devices (tablets and phones). Websites run on computers (laptops and desktops). But to each his or her own preference.

            The Gospel Library app, when connected to the internet by Wi-Fi or cellular connection, gives you access to the scriptures and a wide variety of resources to help you study them. The app has features that allow you to highlight and underline in different colors. I have worked out a color scheme and assigned themes to each of the colors in the app’s palette (For example, red for anything related to a member of the Godhead or the Atonement of Jesus Christ, etc.) It makes my scriptures “come alive” for me as I highlight in different colors. The Gospel Library app also allows me easily got to footnote references, to make notes related to highlights, to create links between scriptures, to have multiple pages open at once and to bookmark multiple places where I am studying or teaching. As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, you can also create a study plan in the app to keep you on schedule to read the Book of Mormon this coming year.

By syncing with the Church’s server using my LDS account username and password, my highlights, notes, bookmarks, etc. are stored in the Church’s “cloud” and are always available to me on whatever device I might be using wherever I am. It’s amazing! If you haven’t discovered the Gospel Library app and what it will do for your gospel study, I strongly suggest you give it a try.

Ensign

            The Ensign is also a great source for additional information and inspiration in your study of the Book of Mormon this year. Each month’s issue has a section which is a supplement to Come, Follow Me with good suggestions, especially for families. The January 2020 issue (which became available online about a week ago) has a number of excellent articles to supplement your study of the Book of Mormon. In anticipation of this blog post, I read most of them in my morning study last week. There are some excellent articles with titles like

·      “Have the Greatest Year with the Greatest Book”

·      “What Church Leaders are Saying about the Book of Mormon”

·      “The Translation of the Book of Mormon: A Marvel and a Wonder”

·      “The Power of Deliverance: Why Nephi Killed Laban”

·      “Sariah”

·      “Knowing is Nice but Not Enough”

In addition, there is a new section of “Weekly Book of Mormon Insights”. And the monthly section of “Support Articles and Activities” has good material for each week of January.

            The Ensign is a valuable resource to you and your family as you read and study the Book of Mormon this year. Don’t be without it!

Book of Mormon Stories

        Available in print and online in the Gospel Library app or at www.library.churchofjesuschrist.org is Book of Mormon Stories, a children’s illustrated book of the stories in the Book of Mormon. My wife, Lori, used to read to our children when they were young from this book so that when they joined the older children in family Book of Mormon study class at age 8 years old, they were already familiar with Book of Mormon names, places and stories. It was very helpful!

            While recently serving as missionaries in England and Wales, Lori, and I found this a very useful resource to use in helping those new to the Book of Mormon understand the storyline and get a feeling for some of the prophets and places. For some of you, as well as for children and youth, this may be the best place to start your study of the Book of Mormon.

Commentaries and Books

            There are several excellent commentaries on the Book of Mormon. A quick perusal of www.DeseretBook.com reveals at least half a dozen or more commentaries on the Book of Mormon and I know of more that aren’t listed. I’m sure they are all thoughtfully prepared and have value. The commentary I like best and have tried to read every 4 years as we study the Book of Mormon in Sunday School is the 4-volume Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon by Robert L. Millet and Joseph Fielding McConkie. Brent L. Topp also contributed to the 4^th volume. You can buy them in hardback or paperback or can get them in e-book format. If you have a Deseret Bookshelf account, you can download the e-books without additional charge. I find the e-book version very convenient because I can read them at the same time as I’m reading the Book of Mormon in the Gospel Library app. I can toggle back and forth on my tablet and copy and paste from the commentary into notes in the Gospel Library. It’s remarkable and easy to do!

This commentary focusses on the doctrines in the Book of Mormon. I find it very well written and incisive. The authors won’t try to tell you where the city of Zarahemla was located but will help you understand the many doctrines taught in the Book of Mormon.

There are also many good books written about the Book of Mormon. I’ll mention just two. The first is a new book by Tad R. Callister (author of The Infinite Atonement and other books) titled A Case for the Book of Mormon. Brother Callister addresses many of the objections and criticisms of the Book of Mormon by its critics. It is available in print, e-book or audio book read by the author. I highly recommend it!

            The father and son team of Lynn A. and David L. Rosenvall has produced a book that reformats the Book of Mormon in a most interesting and readable way. In their book, A New Approach to Studying the Book of Mormon (The Olive Leaf Foundation, 2017), they divide the Book of Mormon text into 214 events or episodes organized in a paragraph form, rather than numbered verses, with emphasis on narrators, speakers, locations, dates and quoted passages. Some of our teenage grandchildren have been reading the Book of Mormon using this format and found it much more readable for them than the traditional numbered verses format. Anything that can help a teenager discover the Book of Mormon is of value!

Online resources

            There is an abundance of online resources in addition to those mentioned above relating to the Book of Mormon. There is also an abundance of online material opposed to the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith 3 times on the night of September 21, 1823, one of the first things he told Joseph was that his name “should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.” (JS-H 1:33) That prophecy, amazing as it was to make about a 17-year-old upstate New York farm boy with little formal education, has been literally fulfilled. No one who knows of Joseph Smith and his work is neutral about him, just as no one who knows about the Book of Mormon is neutral about it. So be careful what you read on the internet about the Book of Mormon. It is an unfiltered source of information, much of which is true and helpful but some of which is not true and is calculated to undermine faith and testimony.

            I was recently referred to an internet site that is an excellent source of information about the Book of Mormon. The site is Book of Mormon Central and can be found at www.bookofmormoncentral.org. Their mission statement is “We build enduring faith in Jesus Christ by making the Book of Mormon accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to the entire world.” They have excellent people involved. This appears to be a truly valuable resource to explore for a more in-depth study of the Book of Mormon this coming year. I haven’t spent a lot of time on this site but expect that I will do so as the year goes forward.

Podcasts

            There are two podcasts I’d like to suggest to you as resources for your personal and family study of the Book of Mormon.

            For personal study, I’d like to suggest you visit Sisters in Scriptures, which is a scripture class sponsored by the Salt Lake Olympus Stake. They have a weekly class with excellent teachers. If you go to their site and look at prior years, you’ll see that they spent about two years studying the Book of Mormon (Fall 2017 – Spring 2019). My wife and I have listened to most, if not all, of those lessons. They are very good! Some are frankly amazing! These are especially good for women but I got a lot out of them, as well.

            Another podcast that may be helpful for you is Don’t Miss This, a weekly YouTube video by David Butler and Emily Freeman about the weekly Come Follow Me lesson. They are very good and fun, especially for a younger audience. I know a lot of people follow them regularly and get a lot out of their lessons.

Videos

            You are probably aware that the Church has begun to release the new Book of Mormon videos, produced in a similar format to the excellent Bible videos which were filmed in the area of Goshen, Utah. Looking on the Gospel Library app, it appears that they have released videos up through the Book of Enos. I’ve seen some of these and they are excellent. I also notice that there are now links to portions of these videos embedded in the scriptures in the Gospel Library app so you can access edited sections of these videos as you or your family read the Book of Mormon. Amazing!

Don’t get bogged down!

            It’s like trying to drink from a fire hydrant! There is more available than one person could assimilate in a year if that’s all we had to do. And we each have a life to lead with other important and necessary things to do in addition to reading and studying the Book of Mormon. As I’ve tried to emphasize, the most important thing is to read the Book! In addition to that, choose from among the resources available depending on your time, interests, the needs and situation of your family and your depth of gospel knowledge and experience. There is more than enough for you and your family to have a wonderfully rich year in your study of the Book of Mormon. Enjoy!

#3 HOW TO READ THE BOOK OF MORMON

            I am 73 years old and have read the Book of Mormon many times in my life – probably 40 to 50 times. (But who’s counting?) I love the Book of Mormon! It speaks to my mind and heart with a familiar voice and feels like taking a long walk with an old friend or visiting a place I love to go. And yet it is always fresh and new with insights, truths and treasures to be discovered each time I read it – not just each time I read the whole book but each time I sincerely apply myself to reading, even if only a chapter or for a few minutes. It is timeless and timely!

Many ways to read the Book of Mormon

            There are many ways to read the Book of Mormon either individually or as a family. (In this post and elsewhere in this blog, unless specified otherwise, “family” in the context of reading the Book of Mormon refers to any setting of two or more people reading the Book of Mormon together. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing [i.e. united in purpose], behold, there will I be in the midst of them – even so am I in the midst of you.” D&C 6:32) Any two (or more) truth-seeking people can read the Book of Mormon together and create a synthesis that is greater than the sum of the parts. We teach and inspire each other.

There is no wrong way to read the Book of Mormon, as long as we follow Moroni’s exhortation to read “with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ” (Moroni 10:4). I’ll discuss below some of the possible approaches for reading the Book of Mormon for you to consider.

Actually, there is a wrong way to read the Book of Mormon. The wrong way is to read it without a sincere heart and with the intent to prove it to be false. Some people read the Book of Mormon that way. They miss the forest for a tree or two. They focus on something that they see as a “deal breaker” in the Book of Mormon such as references to cement (such as Helaman 3:7, 9, 11) or horses (such as Enos 1:21) or Jacob’s use of the French word “adieu” (Jacob 7:27) or minor textural changes which have been made since the original edition of the Book which they feel “prove” the Book is a fraud and discount all of the remainder of the Book of Mormon with its profound truths, doctrines, stories and messages for our day. They never really read the whole Book. They see it through the pinhole of the unbeliever’s cynical eye rather than through the eyes-wide-open broad vision of the sincere truth seeker’s panoramic vista of this marvelous book.  (See Tad Callister’s A Case for the Book of Mormon for an in-depth discussion of the most commonly cited “deal breakers” of the Book of Mormon’s veracity.)

So, what are some of the ways to read the Book of Mormon?

Reading sequentially

Most people read the Book of Mormon from front to back, Nephi to Moroni, a chapter at a time or a certain number of pages at a time or for a certain amount of time at each sitting. (This is sometimes called “Netomo” – just like riding a bicycle from Logan to Jackson is called “Lotoja.”) This is a good way to read the Book of Mormon, especially for those who may be less familiar with the storyline and organization of the Book.  If you plan to read the Book of Mormon individually and/or as a family as part of Come, Follow Me with the rest of the faithful Saints in the Church in 2020 (And I hope you do!), this is probably how you should read it.

May I suggest three possibilities for how to pace yourself or your family as you read?

First, you can divide the number of pages in the Book of Mormon (531) by the number of days in the year 2020 (366– it’s a leap year) and determine that you need to read 1.45 pages/day, or about 1½ pages each day. That will work fine.

I have created a “Book of Mormon Reading Calculator” in Microsoft Excel that you are welcome to adapt for your own use to track your reading of the Book of Mormon this year. (Send me an email to the address below and I will send you the Excel file.)

I have also created this calculator in Google Sheets. Here is the link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SCPiEj4hiF_Uvm5YtKoGKzDNrS4wYZAJ76ycjKf1ALQ/edit?usp=sharing

You are welcome to go to this link in Google Sheets and copy the calculator into your own new Google Sheet. Copy and paste this link into the address bar of a browser and it will take you to Google Sheets. Then open a new Google Sheet for yourself and copy this calculator to your own sheet so you can track your own progress. Make sense? If not, email (rsboyer46@gmail.com) or call me (801-891-9931) and I’ll talk you through it.

Second, you can create a Study Plan in the Gospel Library App. On the “Library” page of the Gospel Library, you will see an option for “Study Plans”. Touch that link and follow the directions to create a study plan in Gospel Library for reading the Book of Mormon in 2020. It’s easy. You can create your own study plan in less than 5 minutes. I did this today with our teenage grandchildren. They did it faster than I did. (No surprise there!) The Study Plan will give you daily reminders at a time you specify. With it you can track your progress for the whole year. I suggest you use the option to allow chapters to be split. Notice that choosing to read the Book of Mormon (from the scriptures tab) will include the supplementary material at the beginning of the Book before 1st Nephi. That’s helpful because that supplementary material is what we will study in the first week of Come, Follow Me. Again, if you can’t figure it out, email or call me or ask a teenager to help you.

Third, you can follow the Come, Follow Me – For Individuals and Families manual and read the chapters indicated for each week in the manual. You can do this with either the print or online (Gospel Library) version. This will work well because you will be in sync with Sunday School classes through the year. There will be some weeks when you’ll need to read more and some weeks when you will read less to stay in sync, so you’ll have to be more flexible in what you read each day and each week to stay on schedule.

Reading topically

Another way to read the Book of Mormon is to read it topically – following the themes of key doctrines as they are taught in the Book. For instance, the Index to the Triple Combination under the heading of “Jesus Christ, Atonement through” contains about 40 references in the Book of Mormon that relate to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It also contains 11 other subheadings about Jesus Christ that expand our understanding of His Atonement. Finally, there are about 15 cross references to other topics in the Index that relate to Jesus Christ and His Atonement. For those who are comfortable with the story line and organization of the Book of Mormon, studying it topically will yield an understanding of the depth and breadth of the doctrinal foundations of the Book of Mormon that is hard to appreciate reading it sequentially from front to back.

A combination of both methods suggested by President Nelson

A fascinating way to read the Book of Mormon is a combination of the first two suggestions above (sequentially and topically). This way is to read the Book from beginning to end (sequentially) but to do so looking for a specific doctrine or teaching. Pres. Nelson asked the sisters of the Church to do this in his talk to them in General Conference October 2018. In that talk, given in the Women’s session of the Conference, he invited the sisters to "read the Book of Mormon between now and the end of the year.  He went on to suggest to the sisters, 

As you read, I would encourage you to mark each verse that speaks of or refers to the Savior. Then be intentional about talking of Christ, rejoicing in Christ, and preaching of Christ with your families and friends. You will be drawn closer to the Savior through this process. And changes, even miracles, will begin to happen. (“Sisters’ Participation in the Gathering of Israel”, Ensign, November 2018) 

Some, perhaps many, of you followed the Prophet’s advice and read the Book of Mormon in this way between General Conference in October 2018 and the end of the year. I know you were blessed for doing so. (I did and I was blessed. And I’m not even a “sister”!)

Combining both methods to read for inspired answers to important questions

Our mission president in the England Manchester Mission, President Stuart McReynolds, taught us a variation of reading the Book of Mormon in this way (sequentially but following a specific topic). He suggested to the missionaries, including ourselves, that we read the Book of Mormon looking for answers to important questions on which we are seeking inspired direction. He suggested we take a clean, inexpensive copy of the Book of Mormon (We had a whole shelf full of them to give out as missionaries.) and read it from beginning to end (sequentially) in a relatively short period of time (i.e. 1 to 3 months) looking for the answers to a specific question (topically) and marking the passages that relate to that question and provide inspired answers. Pres. McReynolds told us that he has about 20 such copies of the Book of Mormon each marked with the inspired answers to a different question.

Lori and I each followed this process at his suggestion. Lori has actually done it four times since he suggested this approach, starting with a clean copy of the Book of Mormon each time with each new question. She marked each passage that related to the question for which she was seeking inspiration. She also made notes in the margins of inspired insights and answers as they came to her. We shipped those copies of the Book of Mormon home from England so that she can treasure them.

What we found is that the Book of Mormon is like a beautiful tapestry created by weaving lovely but unique threads together, each thread representing the answers to an inspired question that weaves its way through the Book of Mormon. The combination of all the threads woven together produces a lovely picture of the Doctrine of Christ which is taught in greater fulness in the Book of Mormon than anywhere else in the scriptures. Try this approach sometime – if not this year, maybe another year.

By the way, you can use this approach in the Gospel Library app instead of using a paper copy of the Book. Just choose a different highlighting color for each question or topic as you read the Book of Mormon each time looking for inspired answers. You can also tag important passages and create notes about important passages and save them in specific note files for later reference.

You don’t have to read at all!

            Actually, you don’t have to read the Book of Mormon at all to be blessed by it. You can listen to it very conveniently in the Gospel Library App. Just touch the headphones icon in the lower right corner of any page in the Book of Mormon and you can listen while you work at home, drive in the car, work out, bike, ski, shovel the walks or whenever you want. It’s magic! You can choose whether to listen to a male or female voice and even choose which language you would like to hear it in. There are dozens of options from Afrikaans to Zulu! (I chose English for obvious reasons.)

I remember the first time I listened to the Book of Mormon all the way through. I was a resident in medical training in the Los Angeles area in the 1970’s and had a long commute from Torrance to UCLA for a rotation of 4 months. I had a box of cassette tapes of the Book of Mormon which were read by a man with a rich, deep male voice. I played them on a small tape player in my ’67 VW bug as I drove. I still remember feeling the Spirit and loving the Book as I drove the San Diego Freeway to and from work. It is a great antidote for road rage! Sometimes I would drive around the block when I got home just to finish a chapter! It was a wonderful and spiritually powerful way to experience the Book of Mormon.

Sister Lisa L. Harkness had a somewhat similar experience listening to the Book of Mormon. She told of her experience in the Women’s Session of the recent General Conference. She said:

Not long ago, I was listening to the Book of Mormon. In the last chapter of 2 Nephi, I heard Nephi say something that I had never read the same way before. All throughout his record, he teaches and testifies of the “Redeemer,” the “Holy One of Israel,” the “Lamb of God,” and the “Messiah.” But as he closed his account, I heard him say these words: “I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul.” When I heard these words, my heart rejoiced and I had to listen over and over again. I recognized and responded to that verse just as I recognize and respond to my own name. (“Honoring His Name”, Ensign November 2019)

Don’t get bogged down in methodology!

            Having made all of the above suggestions, the most important thing is to not get bogged down by reading goals, schedules, calculators or different techniques. Don’t overthink this and make it too hard. Remember, the power is in the Book, not in any of the aids that help us read it or track our progress. So just start wherever you are and do the best you can. Don’t beat yourself up for what you don’t do or because you can’t do it like someone else. We always want to compare ourselves to someone else (parent, child, sibling, spouse, friend, ward member, leader, etc.) and seldom if ever feel better for doing so.

            In her article “Have the Greatest Year with the Greatest Book” in the January 2020 issue of the Ensign, Church Magazines staff author, Onnastasia Cole, gives some excellent suggestions for how to get more out of reading the Book of Mormon as a family in the coming year. After doing so, she writes, Don’t overthink it; don’t give up. Family study shouldn’t be complicated. You know your family’s circumstances and individual needs, so prayerfully consider what will work best for you and try different approaches. If one week doesn’t go as planned, try not to get discouraged! Simple seek Heavenly Father’s guidance on what adjustments to make. Then try again and watch the blessings flow.

Don’t let Satan win!

            This is wonderful advice! Satan doesn’t want you to read the Book of Mormon so he will throw every obstacle in your path that he can. Don’t let him win. Just say, “Get thee behind me, Satan!” (Matt. 16:23) ‘Get off my covenant path. I’m going to follow the Prophet and read the Book of Mormon this year and we’re going to do our best as a family to do so. And you can’t stop us!’

Author's Note

Dear family and friends,

I published the first two posts on this Blog yesterday and notified family and friends through email and Facebook. Thanks to many of you for your supportive comments.

I'm new to the blogging world and to the Google program Blogger which is the platform I'm using on which to publish. I can't figure out how to make the "Subscribe" link on the blog page work so that you can be notified when a new post is published. If anyone reading this knows how to make it work, please call or text me (801-891-9931) or email me (rsboyer46@gmail.com) and let me know. I'll try to figure it out today or as soon as possible and put another note here to explain when I do. If I can't figure it out or if it is not possible, I may change publishing platforms. I will notify readers if I do.

Thanks for your patience and support. Input and feedback are always welcome. If of general interest, post comments in the Comment section on the Blog page. If not of general interest or personal, send comments to me via email.

Have a good day!
Richard

12/31/19
Update:
There are now two places on the Blog (near the top on the right and at the bottom) where you can enter your email address and receive notification when there is a new post in the blog. Hopefully, this will work for you.
I still haven't figured out the Subscribe feature. There are links to NetVibes, My Yahoo and Atom. If you already use one of these services, hopefully you'll be able to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts. Let me know if it works.
Thanks!

#2 WHY CREATE YET ANOTHER BLOG?

Welcome to the Boyer Family Book of Mormon Study Class blog! Thanks for reading!

Why create yet another blog? The world has more than enough blogs, podcasts and websites already! In my mind, there are at least three reasons for this blog:

First: Our kids have been after me for years to “write a book” about the insights I shared with them as we studied the Book of Mormon together in our home as they grew up. (I’ll tell you more about that later.) Actually, I don’t plan to write a book. I suspect this blog is as close to writing a book about the Book of Mormon as I will get. But I would like to put in writing for them (and for anyone else who might be interested) some of the things we’ve discussed about the Book of Mormon - its people, stories, doctrines and lessons for life. I hope this will be useful to our children and their spouses in their own lives and as they teach the Book of Mormon in their own homes to their children. Hopefully, this blog will also be helpful to our grandchildren (24 at latest count), who range from 1 to 22 years in age. If even one of our posterity is helped through a difficult time in life or is strengthened in testimony and chooses to stay on the Covenant Path because of something they read here (or someone shares with them from these blog posts), then the whole effort is well worth it.

Second: I’ve taught Book of Mormon in a number of different settings, most recently as a missionary with my wife, Lori, in England and Wales. We had Book of Mormon reading groups in three wards where we read the Book of Mormon weekly or biweekly with new and returning church members as well as long-time seasoned veteran church members and friends not of our faith learning about our church from the missionaries. This blog is to help the good people who were in those groups and others like them to better understand the Book of Mormon and learn from it. Much of what I will write will be directed to those who are just learning the gospel and whose testimony is in growth mode (and possibly being tested). I hope this blog and the insights contained herein will help them.

Third: I love the Book of Mormon! I’d like to capture some insights and thoughts about the Book of Mormon, its writers, prophets and people, its stories, doctrines and teachings and its witness of the Savior and His atonement. This blog is my testimony of the Book of Mormon. Hopefully, it will resonate as true with any honest, truth-seeking individuals who will read my words. If I can help anyone discover some of the love for and conviction of the truth of the Book of Mormon which I feel, then this effort will be well worth it.

The Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum gave their lives as martyrs in 1844 as witnesses to the truth of the Book of Mormon and sealed their testimonies of its truth with their blood. Many of my own ancestors and my wife’s ancestors also “gave” their lives, not by dying but by living, by faithfully and courageous following the Prophet Joseph Smith and subsequent prophets and presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because they knew that the Book of Mormon is true and was translated by the “gift and power of God.” If they could give their lives for this work, I can give some hours over the next year to write about the Book that inspired them and kept them moving forward despite great adversity.

What I will try to do:

            My plan is to use the platform of this blog to write about the Book of Mormon. I intend to follow the schedule of the Come, Follow Me – For Individuals and Families (CFM) manual (written or electronic) and post at least weekly about some of the verses in the weekly reading assignments. I’ll write some additional posts to get started on this project during this coming week before we actually begin with 1^st Nephi. Hopefully some of the information and experiences I will share will be useful to you as you consider how to approach your reading and study of the Book of Mormon individually and as a family in the coming year.

            I will also make reference to other sources where you can learn more and point you to them. There are certainly plenty of educated and wise people who have written much that is helpful about the Book of Mormon. I hope neither to compete with them nor to be redundant by copying them, but rather to direct you to places where you can learn more if you are motivated to do so.

What I will try not to do:

            I will try not to bore you! I’ll try to make this interesting and readable. I’ll try to write clearly and succinctly and say things economically without multiplying words. Sometimes, I think people must be getting “paid by the word” because they write so much on a topic! It’s a talent to communicate clearly and compactly, walking the fine line between writing too much and not enough. I’m not certain I’ll always be able to walk that line, but I’ll try. You can be the judge.

            I also hope not to simply “copy and paste” from other sources. You can read them for yourselves. The majority of what I write will be my own thoughts, impressions and (hopefully) inspired ideas. I’m sure I will quote from other scriptures, Church leaders, Church magazines, commentaries and writers, but I’ll try to capture the nuggets of what is said and let you go to the reference to read more, if you like.

What I hope you will do:

            I hope you will read and pray about the Book of Mormon this coming year. That’s what is most important! Whether you read any of the posts in this blog is of secondary importance, though I sincerely hope you will do so.

            I hope you will be patient with me as I learn how to best write in the blog environment, never having done so before. I welcome your input and feedback about format and content. There is a comments section on the blog page. I welcome your comments, questions, suggestions and insights. Please share them with me and other readers.

What I hope you will not do:

            I hope you won’t replace your reading of the Book of Mormon itself with this blog or any other commentary, article or blog post written about the Book. The power is in the Book! The information in this blog is intended only to enhance your reading of the Book of Mormon, not replace it.

            If you are skeptical about the divine origin of the Book of Mormon or have doubts about the origin of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the decisions or actions of its leaders, I hope you won’t dismiss what I write here without giving it a fair chance. I invite you to suspend judgment for a season. Read the Book of Mormon with an open mind. Give it a fair and honest chance. If you will do so, the Book will speak for itself. The Book of Mormon is not on trial. Its truth is not up for a vote. We are the ones on trial to see what we will do with this newly revealed scripture from the Lord through His modern prophet.