All that week, my mind kept going back to words spoken the previous Sunday. One of the members of our Bishopric encouraged us to finish the challenge so that "we would receive the blessings that Heavenly Father had in store for those who followed the counsel of their leaders." Those were powerful words, and I decided I needed to finish. On Friday, I read for 3 hours straight. I have never had a more powerful experience with the Book of Mormon in my life.
At the beginning of those three hours, I read about Christ coming to the Americas. It has always been one of my favorite parts of the book, particularly the amazing effect his teachings had on the people. 4 Nephi 1:15-16:
"And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God."At the end of the 3 hours, I was sobbing. The happiest people who ever lived were completely destroyed because of their own wickedness. I have never read these accounts in one sitting and was completely overwhelmed by grief. Mormon describes these feelings in Mormon 6:16-20:
"And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried: O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss."I finished the Book of Mormon on the 9th, the official end date. While I do not recommend slacking in order to read it in 2 days, I do feel like I have been blessed for finishing the book. During my marathon reading sessions, I saw very clearly that true happiness is dependent on keeping the commandments and always being able to feel and show the love of God. When we depart from these things, even in small ways, we are, in essence, destroying part of our own happiness. I guess that is the whole message of the Book of Mormon. When we follow Christ, we are happy-- not a carefree, fleeting happy, but a peaceful happy that can endure the ups and downs of life. I know that our whole society won't be perfectly righteous like those chosen people who saw Christ nearly 2,000 years ago, but hopefully, our family can feel some of that same joy and happiness as we try our best to follow him today.
That's what I learned. That was my blessing for finishing. It was worth it.
4 comments:
(Sorry! This is a really long comment!)
What a great post! I have never spent hours straight reading the Book of Mormon. The most I have ever read in one sitting is probably 10 pages (and to be honest, that probably took me hours since I don't have the best attention span while reading it). I just recently had another friend mention that she sobbed at the same part. Looks like I need to kick up my reading.
Back in January our friends lost their little boy. It was heartbreaking. At the memorial service, the bishop suggested that we use that point in time as a reference. That we be able to look back in a year and say, "When Cooper died, I ________." His parents have been so strong and such an inspiration in the way they have clung to the gospel in their time of grief, so I decided that I would be able to say, "When Cooper died, I made scripture reading a constant in my life in order to strengthen my spirituality." Even just reading a tiny bit each day has been wonderful. I'm sure reading even more each day would be exponentially better.
Sarah, I'm SO glad that I'm not the only one who was sobbing about the destruction of the Nephites this year! I'm reading the Book of Mormon backwards -- from Moroni to 1st Nephi, but each of the books in order. I just got to 3rd Nephi and I'm looking forward to being so joyful about the Nephites accepting Christ.
p.s. I think you're awesome.
Sarah, Thanks for the reminder. We were challenged at our last Stake Conference to read the Book of Mormon by next Stake Conference. Well that next conference is in 2 weeks. Like you I just finished Helaman 2. I'd better kick it into gear.
I also remember having a similar experience as you when Pres. Hinckley challenged us to read the Book of Mormon a few years back. I was behind toward the end and read, read, read to be finished and it WAS a great experience to read everything all together, especially the visitation of Christ.
I think I know a little bit of what I'll be doing today.
What I want to know is how you managed to find 3 hours straight to read...fill me in on your secret.
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