This is a post my sweet husband wrote about a challenge we recently did. I feel that he's better than I am with words, so I stole his blog post :)
I recently heard a story of a woman who had been estranged from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a significant period of her life. This woman’s relatives often encouraged her to return to the faith she had left, but were regularly met with resistance. Years passed and the distance between this woman and the church to which she previously belonged gradually increased. Meanwhile, this woman’s nephew had been called to serve as a missionary for the church she had long forgotten. When this young missionary arrived in his field of service he was challenged by his mission president to read The Book of Mormon in a single week. The missionary accepted this 531 page invitation and faithfully completed the book in 7 days. Excited to share his experience, the young missionary wrote home to his family (which included his aunt) and encouraged them all to accept this challenge to read The Book of Mormon in one week. As the story goes, the challenge was accepted by the young missionary’s aunt who read the entire Book of Mormon in one short week. As a result, this woman’s life changed. She found a happiness she had long forgot, returned to a forsaken religion, and now actively participates in her own ward where she teaches a Gospel Doctrine class.
That story has been told in thousands of different ways by thousands of different people (perhaps millions). It is a story unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When my wife and I heard that inspiring story we decided ourselves that we would accept that challenge and attempt to read The Book of Mormon in one week. This post is about our experience reading the book, and hopefully may be taken as an invitation for you to do the same.
The Book of Mormon may be one of the most polarizing books in existence. Millions throughout the world proclaim its divine authorship and validity while many others simultaneously castigate the book as a fraudulent work of fiction. I have listened to many people share personal experiences of how they have come to know the book is true, and have studied many articles and academic works seeking to prove its falsehood. I’m fairly conversant with both sides of the story, and as someone who has read the book myself I can tell you this, it is a book worth reading.
For Katie and I, reading the book in a week seemed like a difficult task as we both work full-time jobs and have other activities throughout the week, but in an odd way this sort of became a great blessing that brought both of us closer together. All of our free time was spent together quietly sitting next to each other reading our books. We would share with each other what we read, what we thought about it, what we learned, and why it mattered. As we moved through the week reading each day we found ourselves planning our days a little differently to make more time to read The Book of Mormon. We discovered we could listen to the book on our phones or other devices as we drove to work or did chores around the house. We spent less time on the internet or watching television and more time with each other. We eliminated the distractions in our lives and focused our attention on one simple task, and as a result, Katie and I enjoyed a little more peace in our lives.
But what meant the most to us wasn’t simply that we read, it was what we read. The Book of Mormon, at its core, is a book about a family, a family not unlike ours. This family is warned of the evils that exist in the world and is given instruction on how to live in peace and happiness. Throughout the week Katie and I read read about fidelity in marriage, service in the community, humility and sacrifice towards those around you, love and understanding for those with differences, patience and faith during hard times, the power of unity, and the terrible consequences of pride. We read about who we are and how much we matter to the Lord. We read about God’s plan for us and the purpose of our lives. Most of all, we learned of Jesus Christ, what He has done for us, and how we can be close to Him.
As the book comes to an end it asks you to do something. Find out if the book is true. It doesn’t tell you to listen to someone’s personal experience about The Book of Mormon. It doesn’t tell you to read an academic journal. It simply tells you to ask God himself if it’s true. Read the book, pray to God, ask Him if it’s true. That’s it.
Some say The Book of Mormon isn’t true, some say it is. Either way, I think you should find out. I know I did.
