Read The Book of Mormon in the home and as a family

[Heather]

In Dyer and Kunz’s study of effective Mormon families (Effective Mormon Families), they found that only 28 percent of effective Mormon families read their scriptures regularly. Eder Gene R. Cook has estimated from traveling as a General Authority that only 10 to 15 percent of Church members read the scriptures together as families.

See Raising Up a Family to the Lord, p. 110

A recent study conducted by the Church has forcefully confirmed statistically what we have been told again and again. That is, if loving, inspired instruction and example are not provided at home, then our related efforts for success in and around Church programs are severely limited. It is increasingly clear that we must teach the gospel to our families personally, live those teachings in our homes, or run the risk of discovering too late that a Primary teacher or priesthood adviser or seminary instructor could not do for our children what we would not do for them.

Jeffrey R. Holland, “Within the Clasp of Your Arms,” Ensign, May 1983, p. 36

Presently the Book of Mormon is studied in our Sunday School and seminary classes every fourth year. This four-year pattern, however, must not be followed by Church members in their personal study of the standard works. All scripture is not of equal value.

Ezra Taft Benson, A Witness and a Warning, p. vii

True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than the study of behavior will improve behavior.

Boyd K. Packer, Conference Report, October, 1986, p. 20

I have a vision of homes alerted, of classes alive, and of pulpits aflame with the spirit of Book of Mormon messages. I have a vision of home teachers and visiting teachers, ward and branch officers, and stake and mission leaders counseling our people out of the most correct of any book on earth—the Book of Mormon. I have a vision of artists putting into film, drama, literature, music, and paintings great themes and great characters from the Book of Mormon. I have a vision of thousands of missionaries going into the mission field with hundreds of passages memorized from the Book of Mormon so that they might feed the needs of a spiritually famished world. I have a vision of the whole Church getting nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon. Indeed, I have a vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon.

Ezra Taft Benson, Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon, 1988, 4-5

[Traveler]

I have a friend that works for the church and they told me a while back that the church had just completed a study of what things the most effective families all have in common. This was a most important study because it was discovered that there seems to be a critical mass for wards to also be successful. In essence there is a minimum number of effective families that act a leaven to raise the rest of the ward. Anyway these effective families are valiant and supportive with callings, examples and strong.

It surprised many to find out that these most effective families failed on many things the church pushes – like regular family home evenings, regular family prayer and family scripture study and even attending church together. There were two things at the very top of the list and it would seem that families with these two things did well despite doing or not doing other things. Guess what the two things were?

I will not make you guess or wait but they were. Number 1. Regular individual personal prayer. At least twice daily. Number 2. Regular individual personal commitment to read, study and ponder the scriptures – at least twice a week minimum.

I found it interesting it was not what parents push and/or demand but what individuals within the family seek on their own. I have a theory of how parents can best encourage their children concerning personal prayer but it is only my theory.

Just one other thing. My next door neighbor is a highly respected doctor of physiology that says the number one thing most common with children and families with problems in getting along is certain vocabulary words and the one vocabulary word used the most often by failing families is the ever famous “F” word.

The Traveler

[Heather]

The study you mentioned really makes sense to me. Children follow by example far more than they follow what you instruction them do.

[Palerider]

When our kids were younger at all at home we read from the Book of Mormon as a family. We could always tell and we still talk about what a difference it made in our home and family. I know when I use to sit on the stand I was always concerned about those who had family prayer. I always felt there were not very many that had that time together to pray as a family.

[Heather]

Help me out here, but I heard it was said that if you read the scriptures daily as a family, your children would never go astray? I'm probably way off on that one.

[Hemidakota]

I did the same but one of my children did go astray and only later to return after we stopped due to our clashes of schedules.

I for one talked about this late last night with my companion and she agreed that we are going back to this principle.

[Palerider]

Help me out here, but I heard it was said that if you read the scriptures daily as a family, your children would never go astray? I'm probably way off on that one.

I will add this......I have 4 kids....and only one strayed away and was ex'd ....and she did come back and was rebaptised and has been active in church since being rebaptised.

[utcowboy]

Something about if you raise them up right when they are young they will always return to what they know.... I know thats not the right quote but its as close as I can come at the moment. :)

[lostnfound]

Help me out here, but I heard it was said that if you read the scriptures daily as a family, your children would never go astray? I'm probably way off on that one.

Hey yes, the bible tells us something like that. does the bom say that too?

[Canuck Mormon]

Something about if you raise them up right when they are young they will always return to what they know.... I know thats not the right quote but its as close as I can come at the moment. :)

Help me out here, but I heard it was said that if you read the scriptures daily as a family, your children would never go astray? I'm probably way off on that one.

I think the quote by UT is more accurate, at least it was in my case. My parents made us all have family prayer and scripture reading as a family every day. When I was 17, I stopped going to church. I did, however, come back after many years of inactivity.

[Hemidakota]

As parents, we are constant learning mode but I did learn something from this talk from an earlier Ensign;

Think about the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father and the Savior. I have heard Dr. Lynn Scoresby observe, “When we make mistakes, the Savior doesn’t say, ‘Go to your room.’ He says, ‘Come unto me.’ ”

That can be our example for our relationships with the children we know. We want to return to our Heavenly Father. We want to go home. The mission of the Savior is to take us home.

I know at times, we do this to our children when they whine or complaint by not allowing bad spirits or negativism to exist in our presence. Perhaps, it is better to sit them down and instruct them vice sending them to the room. Something I need to learn in our own family.

Teaching Our Children

By Michaelene P. Grassli

Primary General President

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Teaching Our Children

[Heather]

Thanks! Yes, that sounds more like it. Does anyone have a reference?

[Hemidakota]

Which reference are you looking for?

[rayhale]

I feel that we all need to study all the standards works, not just the Book of Mormon.

The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, made a challenge for everyone in the church, to read the Book of Mormon, in a year, I would like to give a similar challenge:

Read ALL the standard works.

At least once in your life, more if you can. On the churches web site, you can download all the standard works, and put them onto your mp3 player, I’m a delivery driver, and I was able to listen to all the standard works in three to four months, in my car. Here is the web address:

Audio

I think all of our lives would be enriched, if we read from the Book of Mormon, and the rest of the standard Works (including the Old Testament) every day of our lives.

[Hemidakota]

Ray, I wholeheartedly agree! I cannot express the sorrow when I ask, have you read the Old Testament and the New Testament and find many have not.

[Misshalfway]

Heather,

I just wanted to say a special thank you for this and the other threads you have posted about the BofM. I have always loved the BofM and am so very grateful for the testimony I have of it and its power. I have struggled the last year and humbly ....and fumbly making my way back to where I so desire to be with regards to my testimony. I have felt the Spirit as I have read your posts. And I wanted to thank you for your gently bold statements. They have made a difference, at least to me.

[lilered]

One thing that I have found not only in studying scriptures but also in teaching kids to read them is one has to spend less time reading them, and more time understanding and/or explaining them.

I have found that not only with my children, but with student classes. Once they achieve a desire to understand what they are reading, the more they seem to want to read them. Some children/adults are poor readers and others have poor comprehension skills.

[Palerider]

we got our kids the Childrens Book of Mormon Stories....that was awesome reading it to them when they were younger.....it also helped me to understand the Book of Mormon better....and it has pictures....:)

[Misshalfway]

Now that school is out and the kids aren't getting on the bus before my eyes open, we are going to recommit to an AM scripture study. My kids love it. I got them some age appropriate study helps and I am so excited to dive into it again. We did pretty good until Christmas break....and then....well....we fell off the wagon.:)

[MorningStar]

We're reading the Old Testament as a family and we're almost to Psalms now. Once we got into Leviticus, we added a chapter of The Book of Mormon every night because we needed something more uplifting. When we're done with the OT, we will probably go back to one chapter a night and it will seem much easier after that, I'm sure. :) I hope we keep it up after our baby is born. We are determined to read the whole OT. I'm really looking forward to reading the New Testament together. We have read the BOM 3 times as a family, I think the D&C once, and we read the POGP too.

[Mykdiver]

Help me out here, but I heard it was said that if you read the scriptures daily as a family, your children would never go astray? I'm probably way off on that one.

Man if that is true my family needs to get hot. We are dealing with 2 out of control children, and I am sure the only answer to their issues is the Lord.

I deffinatly need to make daily family scripture study, and prayer a part of our routine!

My wife and I are at whits end with our 2 kids, we are almost convinced they are bad seeds (their birth Father was an alcoholic, chain smoker, very abusive and probably had mental disorders).

I do not think that there are "Just bad seeds", but man some time it really seems like that there is.

I know the answer to my families issues is in the scriptures, prayer, involvement in Church, and faith in the Lord.

I am just not sure how to get the kids involved in such a way to help them improve themselves and to head down the right path.

Sorry if this is a little off topic, but I had to share it.

I am going to start family BOM study every day weather the kids like it or not, preferably they will like it.

Anyone have any ideas on how to make the study interesting to kids. My kids are 11 year old boy and a 13 year old girl?

[Mykdiver]

I feel that we all need to study all the standards works, not just the Book of Mormon.

The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, made a challenge for everyone in the church, to read the Book of Mormon, in a year, I would like to give a similar challenge:

Read ALL the standard works.

At least once in your life, more if you can. On the churches web site, you can download all the standard works, and put them onto your mp3 player, I’m a delivery driver, and I was able to listen to all the standard works in three to four months, in my car. Here is the web address:

Audio

I think all of our lives would be enriched, if we read from the Book of Mormon, and the rest of the standard Works (including the Old Testament) every day of our lives.

On a side note... To read all the LDS standard Scriptures in a year you have to average 7 chapters a day. I am attempting this right now, but with a new born baby it is challenging. I am only averaging about 3 chapters a day.

[rayhale]

In Sunday School we study the scriptures in a 4 year cycle. During the year that a given scripture is being studied, you can read the chapters for the following Sunday. This way you can, not only read the scriptures, but to study them.

[richlittell]

On a side note... To read all the LDS standard Scriptures in a year you have to average 7 chapters a day. I am attempting this right now, but with a new born baby it is challenging. I am only averaging about 3 chapters a day.

I read the B.O.M this summer somewhere between 30 and 45 days. It was not that difficult--equated to only about 10-25 minutes a day depending on how I felt (that was not study and ponder, that was just reading because that was my goal).

[richlittell]

Help me out here, but I heard it was said that if you read the scriptures daily as a family, your children would never go astray? I'm probably way off on that one.

Proverbs 22:6

6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I take that to mean primarily scripture study and prayer (but of course, that would be all things righteous like attending church, tithing etc..) Notice it doesn't say they will never depart (stray) in their youth, but they will not depart when they are old. Basically, either they never depart, or they temporarily stray but have a foundation upon which to return (after learning a lot of life's hard lessons for themselves).

Edited September 13, 2008 by richlittell