We are 9 days into our 30 day challenge of reading the Book of Mormon. I bet some of you are wondering how that's goin' for us. Well, the answer to that would be....GREAT! Like really honestly, knock on wood, GREAT!
If you want to read about this challenge and why we are doing it, click here. Otherwise, read on!
I LOVE the Book of Mormon. It is by far my most favorite book ever. I LOVE, love it. There is just something about it. It is perfect in every way. It is entertaining. It is easy to read. It is full of so much gospel. Every page speaks of Christ and strengthens my testimony in Him. It is full of teaching moments for my children as we follow the story line. It is so easy to apply the teachings to every day life. It is the story of this land that I love, the American continent and its earliest civilizations. It is full of promises to those of us who live in this land. It is full of examples of how blessed we can be if we keep the commandments. I LOVE it!
Our family is always reading the Book of Mormon. We read it every day during our family scripture and prayer time. When we finish it, we start over the next day. So it is usually always a part of our lives. This year though, we decided to read the Doctrine and Covenants since that is what we are learning in Sunday School. I have enjoyed reading it, but I must admit, I have missed the Book of Mormon terribly.
So when we started reading it on August first, it felt so good. We read together the first three days because we were on a trip that occupied almost every minute of our day. It was really hard not to stop every few verses to discuss what we were reading with my kids. When you are trying to read an average of 20 pages a day, there isn't a lot of time for discussion.
We arrived home from our trip and on Aug 4th, 4 days into our challenge, I turned the reading over to individuals. It was up to everyone on their own now on to keep caught up. I can't even believe it, but for the most part, we are all on track for finishing it in 30 days.
This is the thing though. It hasn't been perfect. It by far has not been perfect.
First of all, there really isn't a lot of actual reading going on. Listening. There is a lot of listening going on. On phones, ipods and computers, anything that will read the text to us.
The first day we were home from our trip, Emily asked if she could listen to the Book on the computer while she was on Pintrest. My first reaction was to say, "Uh, NO! What are you going to get out of it by listening to it while you are looking at stuff on Pintrest?" But thankfully I ran that through my head before I uttered it out loud. A little voice inside my head said, "Really? Are you really about to tell your daughter no. She can't listen to the scriptures? Because if you do, what will she listen to while she is on Pintrest instead?"
So this is how it is. We are keeping caught up, everyone on his or her own time. But like I said, it isn't perfect. We still get a lot of Pintrest listening done. Addy and Aubrey listen to it together while they color or play. There is a lot of multi-tasking going on while we are staying caught up. Sometimes, in the mornings, when we are all at the same spot starting out the day, I will play it in the kitchen while we are eating breakfast. Sometimes people leave the room to go get something. Sometimes we have conversations right over the top of the reading. Sometimes people are a few chapters behind when we start in the morning and listen together. Sometimes people fall asleep while listening. But this is what I have learned from it....
So what?
Would we get more out of it if we sat and actually read the text on the page? Yes. Would we get more out of it if we were not listening to it while browsing the internet for awesome cool ideas of how to decorate our bedrooms? Yes. Would me get more out of it if we didn't have people holding conversations right over the top of the dialogue? Yes. Of course we would. Would we be able to finish the book in 30 days if we did it perfectly? Absolutely not.
This is what I have come to realize in the last 9 days.
IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT!
This is what is going on at my house right now. For 30 days, the Book of Mormon is the background noise of EVERYTHING we do. It is being listened to at almost every hour of the day in some part of my house by someone. I have yet to brush my teeth in the last 9 days without listening to it. I haven't driven my van anywhere in the last 9 days without listening to it. My children have not surfed the internet (do people even still use that expression?) in the last 9 days without listening to it. They have not drawn or colored a picture or eaten lunch or played with dolls or gone to sleep in the last 9 days without listening to it.
Last night, at 11:30 PM as I was making my usual rounds to make sure everything was all tucked away in my house before I went to bed, I could see a light on under Zac's bedroom door and I could hear talking. I was so mad because I had ordered my children to bed an hour earlier. I opened the door ready to yell at people and tell them to go to sleep. What did I find when I opened the door? Zac sitting at his desk working on his latest wood carving project. Emily was sitting in his chair with the computer on her lap. And the talking I heard? That was the Book of Mormon playing on the computer. And instead of yelling, I said a little pray of gratitude in my heart.
So if you were to ask me how our 30 challenge is going, I would have to say it is going Imperfectly PERFECT!
To read or listen to the Book of Mormon online click here.
To download the free app, click here.
The request a free copy click here. Or you can ask me and I will send you one.
To find out more about the book click here.
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