Book of Mormon Challenge

I'll be honest, I can't say that I've always been a faithful reader of the sacred book we call

"The Book of Mormon."

Before and after my mission, I was real good.

Then life kicked in,

I was "too busy."

Then one day, a bit before the year 2010 was to start,

someone read aloud from the Book of Mormon in our humble branch.

They read about Ammon and his work with the people.

I remember feeling something tug at my heart.

"I miss those people, those stories, I miss the Book of Mormon!"

I had grown up with those accounts, of Ammon and Amulek, of Nephi and Laman, of the people of the Lamanites and the Nephites, of Christ in the Americas.

I knew their stories, and I had learned from them many times. I felt that I knew them, and I realized that I missed them.

So

I decided that day, that I would start the New Year's right.

No more excuses for not reading, in fact, I wanted to read it again.

So what did I do?

To some, it may seem ridiculous, but to me, it was keeping it real.

I decided to read at least ONE VERSE every day.

JUST ONE VERSE.

I've tried the "time" thing, and the "I'll read 'how many' chapters/day" thing, but none have stuck with me (otherwise, I wouldn't be writing this). I've often been discouraged that I don't continue...and therefore, I wasn't even starting anymore.

But ONE VERSE a day?

I'm happy and proud to report that we are in April, and I'm still doing good on my goal.

Some nights, I'll even find myself reading a few more verses than just one, but I've found that this was a reasonable goal for me.

Apart from that, I've also discovered myself pondering about the verse and reading it more carefully now.

Because I only "have to read one verse," I seem to pay better attention to every word that I read.

I'm not saying this should be the way for all, I know a lot of you can and are doing better than I am, but I've also learned that the Lord will be, and is pleased with ANY effort that we make in this life to do His will (Thanks, pte. Wilcox---from his book The Continuous Atonement). I truly think that at the end of the day, if all we could have accomplished was to open the book and we had collapsed from exhaustion and our cares of the day,

He would look at hearts and accept it.

I challenge anyone who might be holding off on the reading, see what is realistic for you, and open that book again and start reading!

The most important thing is, that you continue something, rather than burn yourself out and not do it at all! :)