One of my spiritual goals is to read The Book of Mormon twice a year.
I started this streak a decade ago on my 30th birthday in June
finishing on my anniversary in December.
I have kept this schedule since.
Just last month, on my 21st wedding anniversary,
I finished (and started again) reading The Book of Mormon,
but this year, after finishing it, I studied two fabulous
talks by Elder Tad R. Callister about how The Book of Mormon
is an indispensable witness of the doctrines of Christ and His divinity,
and how God's fingerprints are all over the Book of Mormon.
I, too, witness the truth of this book.
Within its pages, I have felt enormous comfort and peace- especially
this past year when I struggled with unanswered questions
and unwanted change.
Some days felt super dark and scary, but my daily reading
of The Book of Mormon
always grounded me and kept me close to the Savior.
I never really felt abandoned or alone.
I discovered that The Book of Mormon linked us together,
and daily reading became essential to our relationship and the
inspiration I need for myself, for my children, in my relationships,
and for those to whom I minister to.
There is power and influence in its pages.
It has changed my life, outlook, motives, and direction.
When I turned eight and was baptized (in 1989), my primary class
gave me my first real Book of Mormon with my name inscribed on the cover.
It sat beside my bed all growing up and was my favorite copy to read.
I used it all throughout seminary in high school and am
still reading from it today.
It's cool to read the notes I've written between the verses and
on the side of the pages and see how my
insights have grown throughout the years.
And, somewhere in a chapter of 2 Nephi, I wrote
my 9th-grade crush's name is at the top of the page.
