President Hinckley's Challenge

You will notice that I have added myself to the long list of people accepting the President Hinckley Challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days. When Aspen originally invited us to join her in this, I had decided not to take the challenge because this was my year to take the entire twelve months to savor each page and do some in-depth studying. However, I noticed that none of my other favorite bloggers have added their names or graphs to their blogs, thereby making Aspen a very lonely little scriptorian. So, I decided to throw all caution aside and toss my hat into the ring as well...with one tiny little adjustment for lost time. I am starting at the place I am actually at right now, and giving myself credit for already having read the first 100 pages. I don't think President Hinckley will mind. And, I am sure that Aspen will catch up with me quickly because she reads much faster than I do.

I would also like to add a personal story. I attended an Inservice meeting one night several years ago. That night we were given the assignment to read ten pages a day from the Book of Mormon. With 531 pages, we would complete the Book of Mormon in 53 days. Well, I had six children at home at the time and not a whole lot of extra time on my hands. I was really irritated with the instructor and believed that she had overstepped her authority. I fumed about it for a week and then, after talking to someone else who had attended the same meeting and gone home that night to begin, I somewhat ashamedly but still quite reluctantly began my own reading.

It changed my life forever.

You think you will have less time, but you find that you have more.

You think it will be tiresome, but it eventually becomes invigorating.

Avoiding sin becomes less of a challenge and obedience becomes more of a desire.

As a mother, one thing I did right (among the many mistakes) was to let my children see me reading the scriptures. In the mornings after we read and prayed as a family, there were many times when it was so hard to concentrate over their music, but I always felt it was important for them to see me read. And, once in awhile, a deeply profound bit of wisdom and understanding would open up to me; indeed, during the time I took that first reading assignment I went through one of the hardest mothering challenges of my life. (There have been so many of them that I'm not worried about embarassing any one child in particular!)

But the point I want to make is that the answer to that challenge came to me as I was studying the scriptures.

So, I'm on board with you, Aspen!