I think I got about 5 or 6 "forwards" from friends all over the country about the challenge to honor President Hinckley by reading the Book of Mormon in 97 days...beginning today. At first I thought it was a bit cheesy. I mean, it was some random person who started this and made the website, etc. As more people forwarded it to me, I thought to myself...it won't hurt anything. I need to be better at reading my scriptures every dayanyway, so this will only benefit me.
Then I thought back to 2.5 years ago when President Hinckley extended this challenge:
"I offer a challenge to members of the Church throughout the world and to our friends everywhere to read or reread the Book of Mormon. If you will read a bit more than one and one-half chapters a day, you will be able to finish the book before the end of this year."
It came out in an August Ensign address...it wasn't official, from conference or anything, so it didn't seem that I had to do it. I had a brand new 2 month old baby...it was hard enough to read a page a week. I first saw it as a "suggestion" as with many things that should be seen as council. I didn't think I could do it. Michael began the challenge, and I started feeling guilty. I wanted to, but I hated to start something I couldn't finish and I wasn't sure I was up to it. I then decided to do it and began about a month late and charted out what I needed to have read every day. I was determined. I read every chance I could to catch up. I remember hearing about friends and family members all joining in the challenge. People reading in their cars, at work, out and about. It was so great to be unified in this way with others and have an inward smile that they were doing the same thing I was. I wondered if President Hinckley would offer some accolades to those to completed the task. We were at my parents home for Christmas and I had decided I didn't want to leave it up to the last day of the year, so I finished right around Christmas. Feeling good at my accomplishment. Feeling good about having "immersed" myself in the scriptures, having "feasted" upon the word instead of my casually "snacking" on the scriptures. My days go easier, I get less frustrated, I feel better when I daily study my scriptures. To my rememberance, I don't remember President Hinckley saying much to those of us who took on his challenge, but we didn't need to hear it from him, we felt it in our whole beings, that was enough. So why not participate in this challenge this time around?
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1 day ago
4 comments:
I felt the same way about the first challenge. I had just finished reading through the Book of Mormon, so I thought that would "count". But DH was reading, and everyone else was reading, so I humbled myself and started over again. Then, I ended up breaking my tailbone and had nothing but time on my hands, laying on the couch. So, I read and read, pages and chapters at a time. It was so wonderful and I will always remember the experience of reading through it at that pace, rather than casually reading a verse or two or a chapter or two at a time.
I hadn't seen this new challenge till yesterday, and my first thought was the same as yours -- how cheesy. But you're right - it will only benefit us, anyway...
I am going to give it a try too. Only good can come from such a challenge.
Such good advice...I've been really feeling lately like I could be doing more with scripture study. Thanks for the inspiration!
I have a testimony of that challenge, and consider it a standing one. I won't tell you how long it took me and my husband to finish it with that first challenge--but that didn't matter to me. I felt that added measure of the Spirit President Hinckley promised, and my testimony was strengthened, even if it was only a small portion some days. I never want us to stop--can we really afford to lose the extra boost?
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