How do you read and study the Book of Mormon?  Above, you can see how my son Jack studies/colors the Book of Mormon.  🙂

I love asking people this question to learn better ways to study the scriptures from others.  I’m excited to get your answers to this question if you’re willing to share in the comments below.

Personally, I love reading Book of Mormon commentaries. I’ve really enjoyed Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon by McConkie and Millet and Understanding the Book of Mormon by Grant Hardy among others.  I will share some of the specific ways I study in my next post.  Today, however, I want to discuss how much time we spend studying the scriptures.

The one study practice that has single-handedly changed my life comes from President Ezra Taft Benson.  He said, “There is a book we need to study daily, both as individuals and as families, namely the Book of Mormon.  I love that book.  It is the book that will get a person nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than any other book.  President Romney recommended studying it half an hour each day.  I commend that practice to you.”

Before adopting this practice as a teenager, I called myself a Book of Mormon “chapter chewer.”  I tried to read a chapter a day and the only thing I worried about was finishing the chapter for that day.  You can imagine how excited I was when I was reading 3 Nephi 30 or one of the first few chapters from Moroni.  🙂

Everything changed for me when I started reading for 30 minutes each day.  All of a sudden, I didn’t worry about how much I read.  Instead, I began focusing on what I was really learning and understanding from my reading.  I had time to ponder what I was reading, too, and that’s when revelation is more apt to come.

If we really want to draw nearer to our Savior, if we really want to gain or strengthen our testimony of the Book of Mormon, is 30 minutes of study a day too much to ask?

I admit that in the past studying has sometimes felt like a burden, but I’ve been blessed the last few years with incredible excitement and joy for the scriptures.  It’s the best part of my day.  I’ve found no better way to invite the Spirit more strongly into my life than by reading the Book of Mormon.

If you don’t currently feel this excitement and joy, pray for this spiritual gift and then consistently study and I promise it will come to you!  And then you’ll notice how quickly time flies when studying the scriptures and you’ll wish you had more time.  It’ll become a clock-chewing, not a chapter-chewing experience.