studying the book of Mormon

[Avatar4321]

I was catching up on what I missed at conference. I was particularly impressed with the comments about President Monsons last conference address and it occurred to me that in all likelihood it is his last ever conference address.

add to that President Nelsons, president Eyring, Elder Anderson, and Elder Callister witness this past weekend it seems important for us to study it better.

so how do you intend to study it? I figured we could share insights with one another. When particular passages strike us as we study we can share what the Spirit permits.

I've been reading it straight through lately. Today I over slept so I didn't get my normal study in. I thought id read where ever I saw the first reference to at the church web site and it was to the sacrament prayer in moroni.

I've decided I should memorize it like I was challenged to do twenty years ago as a priest. Perhaps its time to observe that invitation.

I invite all to read and participate. Even critics. But lets keep it positive.

[Raingirl]

I've tried to study the Book of Mormon daily since I joined the church in 2011. No fancy process, just a goal of a chapter a day, making notes on whatever strikes me. When I get to the end, I start all over again at the beginning. 

[Jeanne]

27 minutes ago, Raingirl said:

I've tried to study the Book of Mormon daily since I joined the church in 2011. No fancy process, just a goal of a chapter a day, making notes on whatever strikes me. When I get to the end, I start all over again at the beginning. 

I did this...what I did was read just before breakfast/dinner...then blessed the food.  I would not eat until I had read a chapter or two...then I would also read at the same time the D&C..I got through the B of M 5 times in a year.  I was hungry most of life then...

[Tacenda]

4 hours ago, Jeanne said:

I did this...what I did was read just before breakfast/dinner...then blessed the food.  I would not eat until I had read a chapter or two...then I would also read at the same time the D&C..I got through the B of M 5 times in a year.  I was hungry most of life then...

Wow Jeanne, talk about dedicated. I've never been much for reading the scriptures. Now no one can say that it was because you didn't read your scriptures or weren't faithful enough, that you no longer hold onto believe in the church. 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Tacenda

[Darren10]

If I get just a verse in in one day I consider that part of my daily Book of Mormon study.

[snowflake]

To be honest, i really struggle studying the BOM, it just does not seem inspired by the holy spirit to me.  Also, i haven't come across any good expository teachers of the BOM.....If anyone has suggestions i'm open to them as well. 

The Bible is totally different, many excellent bible teachers are out there with excellent daily resourses, my favorites are Chuck Missler, Alistar Begg and John McArthur, these guys dig deep into the text of the Bible.  

 

[Robert F. Smith]

1 hour ago, snowflake said:

To be honest, i really struggle studying the BOM, it just does not seem inspired by the holy spirit to me.  Also, i haven't come across any good expository teachers of the BOM.....If anyone has suggestions i'm open to them as well. 

The Bible is totally different, many excellent bible teachers are out there with excellent daily resourses, my favorites are Chuck Missler, Alistar Begg and John McArthur, these guys dig deep into the text of the Bible.  

You might find the regular KnoWhys at Book of Mormon Central of interest:  https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/ .

[Avatar4321]

3 hours ago, snowflake said:

To be honest, i really struggle studying the BOM, it just does not seem inspired by the holy spirit to me.  Also, i haven't come across any good expository teachers of the BOM.....If anyone has suggestions i'm open to them as well. 

The Bible is totally different, many excellent bible teachers are out there with excellent daily resourses, my favorites are Chuck Missler, Alistar Begg and John McArthur, these guys dig deep into the text of the Bible.  

 

I would encourage you to keep the effort.

today I was reading one of the Isaiah chapters.

verse that stuck out at me was that we stumble because of ignorance. I must have read that chapter dozens of times and I don't think I've ever noticed it before

[JLHPROF]

12 hours ago, Darren10 said:

If I get just a verse in in one day I consider that part of my daily Book of Mormon study.

I prefer to study by topic.  If that topic is reference in the Book of Mormon then I read that.
But I just don't get much out of reading the Book of Mormon as a story, a novel cover to cover.

It is the principles contained inside that I go looking for.  And I don't play favorites over any of the 4 standard works as reference.
(For personal reading I find the D&C and NT more readable).

[JLHPROF]

5 hours ago, snowflake said:

To be honest, i really struggle studying the BOM, it just does not seem inspired by the holy spirit to me.  Also, i haven't come across any good expository teachers of the BOM.....If anyone has suggestions i'm open to them as well. 

The Bible is totally different, many excellent bible teachers are out there with excellent daily resourses, my favorites are Chuck Missler, Alistar Begg and John McArthur, these guys dig deep into the text of the Bible.  

That is because you have a testimony of the Bible and not of the Book of Mormon.

Expecting the BoM to seem inspired when reading it before receiving a witness that it came from God is putting the cart before the horse.

[mnn727]

54 minutes ago, JLHPROF said:

 

Expecting the BoM to seem inspired when reading it before receiving a witness that it came from God is putting the cart before the horse.

Really? then why do the missionaries tell you to read it. I finished the BoM long before I received my witness (and many times since)

[JLHPROF]

1 hour ago, mnn727 said:

Really? then why do the missionaries tell you to read it. I finished the BoM long before I received my witness (and many times since)

They tell you to read it so you can receive a spiritual witness, no matter when it comes.
That's why I suggested to snowflake that "it may not seem inspired" to him the first time reading through.  He still has not received a witness.

Expecting the Book of Mormon to "seem inspired" before receiving a witness that it was inspired seems illogical.
 

[Darren10]

6 hours ago, JLHPROF said:

I prefer to study by topic.  If that topic is reference in the Book of Mormon then I read that.
But I just don't get much out of reading the Book of Mormon as a story, a novel cover to cover.

It is the principles contained inside that I go looking for.  And I don't play favorites over any of the 4 standard works as reference.
(For personal reading I find the D&C and NT more readable).

That's a great point. most of my study of the Book of Mormon, when I really delve into the content, is when I do so by topic. It usually comes about when a subject, mostly doctrinal, comes up and I want to address it or learn more about it. That's when I carefully read word for word and verify claims made by others. So I think studying by topic is a superb approach.  

[Rain]

I totally missed President Monson talking about this.  However, I ended up studying more than I ever have before.

I was reading Elder Bednar's book, "Increase in Learning" at the end of last year. The hard copy has a CD, the Kindle copy has video links in it somehow. So you read and then every now and then you watch a video portion. 

They are classroom settings where he is talking to the students.  In one of them someone talks about being inspired,  but how do you continue to do the things you are inspired to do - how do you stay the course?  

This has been one of my toughest problems. Diligence. He suggested you get a new copy of the Book of Mormon, read it and highlight parts where leaders have felt inspiration and then quickly followed it - basically. I've kind of searched for my own problem concerning this with it. 

So it took me MUCH longer than planned because I wasn't very...diligent. .. with it on a day to day basis. 

Then I was going to read through  just the highlighted parts. I started looking at my gospel library app and found you can actually save things to a notebook without highlighting them. So I went through my book and app and put them in the notebook. Just got done today. 

As I read the BoM and then read through the highlights I started noticing themes. Blessings the Lord gives you when you do what you are inspied to do. Helps he gives you to do them. Problems with not doing them. Etc.

So tomorrow as I start to read through I will assign different scriptures to the topics. 

Elder Bednar also suggested writing a one page paper on it. So after I figure out the different things I will also write what I learned. 

It's kind of thrilling.  I've only ever just read the Book of Mormon before. There is peace and strength I get from it that I have never got before.  I've discovered insights that I didn't get from just reading it.  I have heard of looking for answers in the scriptures, and I've had a taste of that, but I never really got it before now. 

Edited October 5, 2017 by Rain

[snowflake]

22 hours ago, JLHPROF said:

That is because you have a testimony of the Bible and not of the Book of Mormon.

Expecting the BoM to seem inspired when reading it before receiving a witness that it came from God is putting the cart before the horse.

How would I know if the book was inspired without reading it? Do some people get a witness it is from God without reading the BOM?

[JLHPROF]

1 hour ago, snowflake said:

How would I know if the book was inspired without reading it? Do some people get a witness it is from God without reading the BOM?

Not what I said.

Reading it and it seeming uninspired is due to not having a witness yet.

Reading it and it seeming inspired follows the witness.

You can read it forever, for your entire life, and it will never seen inspired until the spiritual witness is sought and received. The best expository teachers in the world can't provide what only comes from God.  Even reading the words alone doesn't guarantee that testimony.  Mark Twain read it, never got a witness so called it chloroform in print.  Willard Richards read it and said it was either of God or the devil and determined to find out which.

Get the witness from God that it is his book and I guarantee you will find the inspired nature of the words the next time through.

Edited October 5, 2017 by JLHPROF

[sheilauk]

4 hours ago, snowflake said:

How would I know if the book was inspired without reading it? Do some people get a witness it is from God without reading the BOM?

Personally,  yes, I did.    Before I joined the church, before I met with the missionaries,  I talked with a friend about religions and she told me about the Book of Mormon and it's origins.   I knew I had to read it and that it was from God from the first.  It took me some time, but I eventually spoke to missionaries in the street for the sole purpose of obtaining a copy of it.  I did not intend to join the church or have lessons; I was baptised just under 4 weeks later, because of the Book of Mormon. 

[Garden Girl]

On 10/4/2017 at 5:48 AM, snowflake said:

To be honest, i really struggle studying the BOM, it just does not seem inspired by the holy spirit to me.  Also, i haven't come across any good expository teachers of the BOM.....If anyone has suggestions i'm open to them as well. 

The Bible is totally different, many excellent bible teachers are out there with excellent daily resourses, my favorites are Chuck Missler, Alistar Begg and John McArthur, these guys dig deep into the text of the Bible.  

 

 

On 10/4/2017 at 12:18 PM, mnn727 said:

Really? then why do the missionaries tell you to read it. I finished the BoM long before I received my witness (and many times since)

Hello Snowflake... I've told this story here a couple times but would like to share it with you...  I was glad to see emphasis on the BoM by several speakers this conference...

From the time I was 12, my family became very active in Church when my step-father converted to the Church.  When I was a 17-year old seminary student, our studies followed the 4-year rotation pattern, i.e., Old Test., New Test., BoM, D&C... At the end of the BoM year, I followed Moroni's challenge in Moroni 10:4... to seek to know if the book was true.  I went into my room and knelt down, and prayed with a sincerity of heart and mind like never before.  I stayed on my knees for some time in earnest prayer... finally a feeling of peace started to fill me... but more, a feeling of warmth started in my navel and spread up through my body until my face felt hot and my heart was pounding while at the same time peace filled me.  It was incredible... so much so that the memory of that witness of the Spirit stayed with me all through my life... through 35 years of being inactive... to playing a major part in my reactivation into the Church in 1995 at age 55... through these past years until now at age 76 I remember that experience and witness as if it was yesterday.   And I'm grateful... every time I open that book.  And as I've studied, a renewed witness though never like that first time so many years ago...

Not everyone receives such a strong witness... sometimes it is simply a feeling of peace, confidence, or happiness... the important thing is to listen, whether the Spirit whispers gently or shakes a person, it is answer to our heartfelt prayer...

So I encourage you, Snowflake, to continue praying with faith, and listening for the Spirit... 

from the beach on a beautiful fall afternoon as the sun starts to sink toward the western horizon, its rays sparkling on the ocean... GG

Edited October 5, 2017 by Garden Girl