Reading the Book of Mormon

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The Importance of Reading the Book of Mormon

Friend January 2020 “The Precious Book of Mormon” President Nelson compares the Book of Mormon to treasure and encourages us to read it. He promises that changes and miracles will occur in our lives if we do.

Friend May 2017 “Book of Mormon Power” President Monson implores us to read the Book of Mormon and lists the benefits of doing so. Also includes a bookmark.

Friend January 2020 “A Special Book” Pablo knows the Book of Mormon is special. It teaches him about Jesus. It helps him feel Heavenly Father’s love. It is more important than any treasure. He reads from it every day. Pablo loves the Book of Mormon!

Friend April 2015 “The Book of Mormon Challenge” Blake had just finished reading the Book of Mormon when the stake president challenged everyone to read it again because of the many benefits it brings into the people’s lives.

Come Follow Me Kid Show the “Worth More Than its Weight in Gold” poster. Talk about why the Book of Mormon is more valuable than gold to us. Eat a treat wrapped in gold (Hershey’s
nuggets, gold coins, etc.).

It Helps Us Stay on Path to Eternal Life

Explain that because of Heavenly Father’s great love for us, he has given us a gift to help us achieve eternal life (the kind of life Heavenly Father has).

Friend February 2012 “The Book of Mormon: Our True Guide”  President Henry B. Eyring teaches how the Book of Mormon is our guide to return home. The article includes a simple maze activity.

It Helps Us with Life’s Difficulties

Friend March 2020 “Eddy and the Book of Mormon” Some kids laugh at Eddy when he reads at school because he has a hard time with some words. It makes him nervous and not want to read out loud. But as his family read the Book of Mormon each day (first they figured out a way to remember to read each day), Eddy learns about Nephi and how his brothers made fun of him for building a boat. That didn’t stop Nephi. He trusted God, and God helped him do hard things. Next time some kids laughed at him while Eddy read in class, he thought of Nephi, and that helped him not to worry about what the kids would say.

Friend January 2024 “Forgiving Like Nephi” Josh called Aisea a mean name after Aisea’s team won the game. The rest of the day, Aisea felt like a heavy weight was pulling him down. He did not like Josh anymore. During family scripture study that night he read about a time when Nephi’s brothers were unkind to him. “And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them,” the scripture said.” Aisea thought about Josh. He didn’t want to hold onto his bad feelings for Josh forever. Aisea wanted to be like Nephi. He could forgive Josh, just like Nephi forgave his brothers. And if Josh said something mean again, he would just ask him not to. He felt warm and peaceful inside, and the heavy weight from before was gone.

It Helps Us Avoid Satan’s Temptations

The Book of Mormon is a Blessing: 2 Nephi 26-30

It Helps Us Gain a Testimony

Friend June 2020 “Testimony and the Book of Mormon” President Eyring tells how reading the Book of Mormon helps strengthen his testimony.

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Friend September 2015 “A New Feeling” – Child feels Holy Ghost while reading about Jesus in the scriptures

Friend February 2019 “Ingrid’s Birthday Surprise” Ingrid gets a special present for her seventh birthday from her mom—a Book of Mormon. It was a special gift to help her prepare for her baptism. Ingrid read the entire Book of Mormon that year and prayed for and received a testimony of its truthfulness.

Friend January 2017 “The Book on the Shelf” When Walter reads the Book of Mormon he knows it’s words are true, and he learns that it contains answers to problems in life.

Friend June 2016 “Jason’s Study Buddy” Jason reads the entire Book of Mormon before his baptism. His testimony grows.

Moroni’s Promise

Friend December 2016 “Moroni’s Special Promise” Video can be found here.

Book of Mormon Stories “Chapter 54: The Promise of the Book of Mormon” Images and Video

Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Book of Mormon 2020 “Moroni 10: “Come unto Christ, and Be Perfected in Him”

Show the Book of Mormon, and read Moroni 10:4. Emphasize that we can ask God if the Book of Mormon is true, and He will send the Holy Ghost to testify to us. Help the children understand what a witness from the Spirit feels like. Tell about a time when the Holy Ghost bore witness to you about something. Describe how you felt and how you knew it was the Holy Ghost.

Friend April 2016 A family reads the Book of Mormon and then prays to get a testimony of its truth

Friend December 2020 “How I Know” Before bed, Damon’s father reads to the boys about Moroni’s promise and then he tells the boys how he prayed and gained his testimony of the Book of Mormon. Damon prays to know if the Book of Mormon is true and he feels warm and good inside.

Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Book of Mormon 2020 “Moroni 10: “Come unto Christ, and Be Perfected in Him”

Write on the board the words Read, Remember, Ponder, and Ask. Invite the children to find these words in Moroni 10:3–4. Sing a song about finding truth, such as “Search, Ponder, and Pray” (Children’s Songbook, 109). Ask the children to look for similarities between these verses and the song “Search, Ponder, and Pray” (Children’s Songbook, 109).

Friend December 2020 “Family Night Fun”

Latter Day Kids “Personal Revelation- Come Follow Me” This link has lesson ideas, videos, and discussion ideas about Moroni’s promise

Primary Manual 4: Book of Mormon “Lesson 44: Moroni and the Book of Mormon Promise” This lesson includes questions and lesson ideas about Moroni and his promise.

See more stories of gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon here.

Reading the Book of Mormon

Primary 4 Book of Mormon Lesson 16   Show the children an umbrella (or pretend to have an umbrella) and a Book of Mormon. Ask how the two items might be similar. Help the children understand that an umbrella will not protect us from rain unless we open it and stand under it. Similarly, the Book of Mormon cannot increase our faith in Jesus Christ and help shield us from Satan’s temptations until we open it, prayerfully study it, and live its teachings.

Read the Book of Mormon Daily

The Cozy Red Cottage

Goals to Read the Book of Mormon

Friend February 2022 “Goals for Baptism” After hearing about the Children and Youth program, Zoe set a goal to read the Book of Mormon before her baptism. As she read, she wanted to do more good things, so she joined the world wide fast about Covid, and she prayed and fasted for a testimony.

Friend January 2021 “Our Book of Mormon Goal” At Christmas, Mattea’s family all wrote down things that we were going to give Christ for the next year. Mattea’s grandma said she was going to read the Book of Mormon in four months. She had not gone to church since she was nine. All of Mattea’s aunts, uncles, and most of her cousins decided to read the Book of Mormon with her.

Friend January 2020 “Show and Tell: The Book of Mormon Edition” Real life experiences of children and families that set goals to read the Book of Mormon.

Friend January 2024 “Sami’s Scriptures” Sami’s family set the goal to read the Book of Mormon every day. Sami wondered how he would help because he didn’t know how to read. At first he followed along in a picture book, and during his turn he told the others what he saw in the pictures. Soon he was learning how to sound out words and he read the last word of every verse his family read. By the time they finished the Book of Mormon, two years from when they started, Sami had learned to read pretty well.

Liahona February 2024 “My Bishop’s Book of Mormon Challenge” When Travis was 11 years old, his bishop invited his class to read the entire Book of Mormon five times before serving their missions. That invitation started a habit of daily scripture reading and a love, knowledge, and testimony of the Book of Mormon. Each time he read it he understood it more and he came to know his Savior. He also learned that no matter the child’s ages, they can feel the Holy Spirit as they read or hear the Book of Mormon, even if they don’t understand its words.

Friend January 2024 “I Can Read the Scriptures”

Reading Charts

Come Follow Me: Book of Mormon

Friend January 2020 “What’s on Your Mind? Someone asks a question about how to do Come Follow Me at home when their family doesn’t do it? The Friend explains that they can do it themselves. They include a Book Mark to inspire them.

Friend January 2020 “I Can Read the Book of Mormon” You can use this coloring chart to follow along with the Come, Follow Me lessons. Read the verses on the reading chart each week. Then color in the matching spaces.

Ideas for Reading and Understanding the Book of Mormon

Friend March 2023 “My Book of Mormon Goal” Vebika set a goal to read the Book of Mormon before her baptism, but she struggled with reading and understanding the words in it. She decided to use the Gospel Library app on her mom’s phone to listen to the Book of Mormon. They slowed the voices down so she could read and follow along more easily. She also stopped along the way and watched the videos linked in the app. Every time she read, she marked it down on a chart. She also talked to her mom about what she was reading.

Friend January 2020 “8 Ideas for Reading the Book of Mormon”

Friend January 2024 “I Can Read the Scriptures”

Read with Friends and Family

Friend January 2020 “Gracie’s Goal” Gracie got a set of scriptures from her grandparents at her baptism. She set a goal to read the Book of Mormon by her next birthday, but she is struggling with the goal because some of the words and chapters are hard to understand. She told her grandma that she was having a problem keeping up with her goal. Her grandma suggested that they read the Book of Mormon together every night on the phone. Gracie was able to accomplish her goal and understand the Book of Mormon better with her grandma’s help.

Friend June 2017 “Book of Mormon Club” Sydney starts a Book of Mormon club where she and her friends discuss what they have learned.

Friend January 2018 “Book of Mormon Reading Club” Includes children’s thoughts about reading the Book of Moron. February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December,

Read the Scripture Readers

Friend January 2020 “Batbayar and the Book with Pictures” Reading was hard for Batbayar, so he struggled with reading the Book of Mormon. The missionaries brought him Book of Mormon Stories instead. Every night he prayed after reading. His heart felt good when he read, and when he prayed he felt like the stories were true, so he asked to be baptized.

The Book of Mormon and the Bible both testify of Jesus Christ.

Mormon 7:8–10

Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Book of Mormon 2020 “Mormon 7–9: “I Speak unto You as If Ye Were Present”

Mormon taught that the Book of Mormon was written to help us believe the Bible and that those who believe the Bible will believe the Book of Mormon.

  • Show the children the title page of the Book of Mormon, and point to the words of the title as you read it, emphasizing the word another. Help the children think of other books of scripture that teach us about Jesus. Show them that the Bible has the Old Testament and the New Testament. Help the children say “Old Testament, New Testament” when you point to the Bible and “Another Testament” when you point to the Book of Mormon.
  • Display a world map or the activity page for this outline, along with a Bible and Book of Mormon. Use these items to teach the children that the Bible is a record of Jesus’s teachings in and around Jerusalem and the Book of Mormon is a record of His teachings in the Americas.
  • Choose several events and truths that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon testify of, such as Jesus’s birth, death, and Resurrection. Show pictures from the Gospel Art Bookthat depict these events and truths. Ask the children to describe what they see in the pictures, and tell them that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon teach about these things.
  • Write Mormon 7:9 on the board, but leave blanks in place of the words this and that. Also write on the board this = the Book of Mormon and that = the Bible. Invite the children to read Mormon 7:9 out loud and use the phrases on the board to fill in the blanks. What do we learn about the Bible and the Book of Mormon from this verse?
  • Display a Book of Mormon and a Bible. Share a few stories from each book, showing pictures if available (see the Gospel Art Book). Invite the children to point to the book the story comes from. Why do we need both books?
  • Write each word of the eighth article of faith on separate pieces of paper. Give one or two words to each child, and invite the children to work together to put the words in the correct order. Then ask them to repeat the article of faith several times. What does it teach us?

Friend November 2020 “Family Night Fun: Book of Mormon Treasure Hunt”

I can be a witness that the Book of Mormon is true.

Doctrine and Covenants 5:1–7, 11, 16, 23–24

Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 3–5: “My Work Shall Go Forth”

Martin Harris was promised that he could be one of the witnesses of the gold plates if he was faithful [and humbled himself]. We won’t see the plates like Martin did, but we can receive a spiritual witness of the Book of Mormon.

  • Write questions like the following on the board, and help the children find answers in Doctrine and Covenants 5:1–3, 7, 11What did Martin Harris desire to know? Who could Joseph Smith show the gold plates to? Why would seeing the plates likely not be enough to convince someone that the Book of Mormon is true?
  • Ask the children what a witness is and why a witness is important.
  • What did Martin Harris need to do to be a witness of the gold plates? (see Doctrine and Covenants 5:23–24).
  • Even though we haven’t seen the plates, what can we do to be witnesses of the Book of Mormon? (see Doctrine and Covenants 5:16Moroni 10:3–5).

God will reveal truth to me by the power of the Holy Ghost.

1 Nephi 10:17–1911:1

Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Book of Mormon 2024 “1 Nephi 6-10” How could you help your children understand what Nephi taught in 1 Nephi 10:19? Perhaps you could fold a picture of the Savior or another special object inside a blanket and invite your children to unfold it. As you read 1 Nephi 10:19, they could raise their hands when they hear the words “unfolded” and “Holy Ghost.” Then you could share an experience when the Holy Ghost helped you discover truth.

“Fiction or Nonfiction?” (January 2012 Friend) When Jennifer learned the difference between fiction and nonfiction she wondered about the Book of Mormon. She spent a lot of time reading it but didn’t know how she would ever know it was true. During Sacrament she said a prayer. Then she remembered the warm, happy feelings she had when she was baptized. She realized she felt the same way when she thought of the Prophet Joseph Smithy and when she read the Book of Mormon. She knew that Heavenly Father was telling her through the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon was true.

Friend January 1988 “Juliano’s Testimony” Juliano seeks to gain a testimony for himself. He reads the Book of Mormon and then prays to know if it is true. He didn’t know how the Holy Ghost would visit him because he was just a boy. Then he remembered a story the missionaries told him about a boy his age learning that he was to be the future keeper of the gold plates. He looked up the story in the scriptures and found out that it was Mormon. He felt a peaceful feeling spread through him and he knew that the Book of Mormon was true.

Friend January 2024 “My Own Testimony” Chloe gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon when she felt the Holy Ghost witness it was true while reading the Book of Mormon.

Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Book of Mormon 2020 Invite the children to talk about ways they can find answers to a question. Encourage the children to read 1 Nephi 10:17–19 and 11:1. What would Nephi say if someone asked him how to find answers to a question about the gospel? How does God teach us through the Holy Ghost? (see Doctrine and Covenants 8:2).

Friend May 2018 “How You Can Know What’s True” What do you do when you feel an urgent need to know or understand something?

Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Book of Mormon 2024 “1 Nephi 6-10” Have your children ever felt that the Holy Ghost helped them know that something was true? Let them share their experience. What would we say to a friend who thinks that they can’t receive answers through the Holy Ghost? What do we find in 1 Nephi 10:17–19 and 11:1 that could help that friend? What could they share from 1 Nephi 10:17–19 and 11:1 to help that friend?

Sing a song with the children about seeking truth, such as “Search, Ponder, and Pray” (Children’s Songbook, 109). Show pictures that illustrate words in the song to help the children remember how the Holy Ghost teaches us.

The Red Crystal