#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.