FORTY DAYS CLOSER TO JESUS CHRIST

While planing my visiting teaching message this month I remembered I had this Book of Mormon reading schedule...so I made this book for the sisters I visit teach...

FORTY DAYS CLOSER TO JESUS CHRIST

A Book of Mormon Reading Schedule
“The scriptures are a fountain of Holy Water. Water is purest at the source . The word of God is purist at the source: the prophet, the scriptures.” Harold B. Lee

“Forty Days Closer to Jesus Christ” is a schedule for reading the Book of Mormon in forty days. The time period for forty days was chosen to remind us of the forty days Christ spent in the wilderness preparing himself spiritually for his ministry. This schedule can be used by individuals, families or groups. Commitment is often increased when one knows others are sharing the same experience. Depending on how fast you read and whether or not you do the optional study, each day’s assignment will take from ten to thirty minutes. The optional study helps include scriptures to mark, related scriptures to study, and thoughts for the day to ponder. You can use the back of the pages to record the discoveries you make as you read. If you fall behind in your reading don’t get discouraged and quit. There are many ways to “repent.” You can double up on assignments or you can take extra days to finish. The important part is that you study the scriptures. There are many benefits to reading the Book of Mormon in a relatively short period of time. The most important of these is reading of the prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ to the American Continent and then seeing its fulfillment. As you study, your testimony of Jesus Christ will increase, you will receive strength to meet today’s challenges, and you will want to think and act more righteously.

SEVEN DISCOVERIES FROM THE BOOK OF MORMON

A first reading of the Book of Mormon with a sincere heart leads the reader to a testimony from the Holy Ghost of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

A periodic re-reading of the Book of Mormon renews the sweet testimony of its truthfulness and leads a growing awareness of the will of Jesus Christ.

Starting a daily reading of the Book of Mormon brings an increased defense against temptation. President Ezra Taft Benson observed that Book of Mormon readers have a special defense against the wiles of the devil.

A ten minute daily reading of the Book of Mormon reveals the healing spirit of Christ. The reader receives power to return healing responses to negative events.

The person who reads the Book of Mormon daily discovers increased strength to overcome weakness. The added strength, referred to in the Book of Mormon as grace, is a gift granted by Jesus Christ to help his children make changes in their lives.

The person who reads the Book of Mormon daily discovers a passion to follow Jesus Christ and keep His every commandment.The person who feasts upon the Book of Mormon daily discovers the same living power of convincing by the spirit that the Book of Mormon prophets themselves enjoyed. This loving power is a tool to reach through hardness and bitterness and bring souls to Jesus Christ and to the fruit of the tree of life.

BLESSINGS OF READING THE BOOK OF MORMON:

“Reading the Book of Mormon together as a family will especially bring increases spirituality into your home and will give both parents and children the power to resist temptation and to have the Holy Ghost as their constant companion.”

President Ezra Taft Benson

“And so, I counsel you, my beloved brothers and sisters and friends everywhere, to make reading the Book of Mormon a few minutes each day a lifelong practice. I feel certain that if in our homes parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to penetrate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsible and submissive to that counsel. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity-the pure love of Christ will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy and happiness.”

Marion G. Romney

DAY 1

Scripture study: 1 Nephi 1-10
Scripture to mark: 1 Nephi 3:7
Scripture to ponder: D&C 8:2
Today’s thought: “It is a privilege of every man, every woman, and every child who has reached the years of accountability, to enjoy the spirit of revelation and to be possessed of the spirit of inspiration in the discharge of their duties as members of the church.”Joseph F. Smith

DAY 2

Scripture study: 1 Nephi 11-15
Scripture to mark: 1 Nephi 15:34
Scripture to ponder: D&C 11:12-14
Today’s thought: CHARACTER is the ability to carry out a decision after the emotion of making the decision is past.

DAY 3

Scripture study: 1 Nephi 16-19
Scripture to mark: 1 Nephi 19:23
Scripture to ponder: John14:23
Today’s thought: “Families who prayerfully prepare and consistently hold their weekly Home Evening, and work together during the week to apply the lessons in their lives, will be blessed. There will be better feelings between husband and wife, between parents and children and among children. In such homes, the spirit of the lord will be made manifest.”David O. McKay

DAY 4

Scripture study: 1 Nephi 20-22 2 Nephi 1-2
Scripture to mark: 2 Nephi 2:11
Scripture to ponder: Matthew 21:21
Today’s thought: “Let us…not be too long long-suffering with our own shortcomings.”Neal A. Maxwell

DAY 5

Scripture study: 2 Nephi 3-7
Scripture to mark: 2 Nephi 3:7
Scripture to ponder: Ether 12:30
Today’s thought: “We come to an end and find a beginning. Often we worry about arriving at an end with too little faith in what follows.”Don Quixote
Optional: From the Tropical Guide study the subject of FAITH.

DAY 6

Scripture study: 2 Nephi 8-12
Scripture to mark: 2 Nephi 9:1
Scripture to ponder: D&C 82:10
Today’s thought: The best way to get rested is to speed up. When we get ahead of our work we love it and it becomes easy. When it gets ahead of us, we hate it and it becomes difficult. A winner at the end of the race is never tired; he is ready to go again.

DAY 7

Scripture study: 2 Nephi 13-21
Scripture to mark: 2 Nephi 19:6
Today’s thought: FAITH is a divine gift to all men to receive, if only their attitude and life will permit its reception.
***Are you still on target? If necessary, go back to the definition of character found on day 2.***

DAY 8

Scripture study: 2 Nephi 22-23
Scripture to mark: 2 Nephi 28:8
Scripture to ponder: 3 Nephi 12:20
Today’s thought: “I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; the came by work.”Thomas Edison

DAY 9

Scripture study: Jacob 1-5
Scripture to mark: Jacob 2:10
Scripture to ponder: John 8:31-32
Today’s thought: “Latter-day Saints are not obedient because they are compelled to be obedient. They are obedient because they know certain spiritual truths and have decided, as an expression of their own individual agency, to obey the commandments of God.”Boyd K. Packer

DAY 10

Scripture study: Jacob 6-7, Enos, Jarom, Omni
Scripture to mark: Jarom 1:11
Scripture to ponder: Esther 4:14
Today’s thought: “In our pre-existence state in the days of the great counsel, we made a certain agreement with the Almighty. The Lord proposed a plan, conceived by Him. We accepted it. Since the plan is intended for all men, we became parties to the salvation of every person under that plan. We agreed, right then and there, to be not only saviors for ourselves but measurably, saviors for the whole human family. We went into a partnership with the Lord. The working out of the plan became then not generally the Father’s work and the Savior’s work, but also our work. The last of us, the humblest, achieving the purpose of the eternal plan of salvation.”John A. Widstoe

DAY 11

Scripture study: Words of Mormon, Mosiah 1-3
Scripture to mark: Mosiah 2:17
Scripture to ponder: Romans 1:16
Today’s thought: “Who can resist the power possessed by the Latter-day Saints in their faith? And the stronger our Faith, the more mighty are the bonds of our strength.”Brigham Young

DAY 12

Scripture study: Mosiah 4-9
Scripture to mark: Mosiah 4:11
Scripture to ponder: Mormon 9:19
Today’s thought: The happiness of a man in his life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.
Optional: Study from the Tropical Guide the subject CHARITY.

DAY 13

Scripture study: Mosiah 10-15
Scripture to mark: Mosiah 15:31
Scripture to ponder: D&C 112:10
Today’s thought: “I believe it is far more important to live for our faith than to die for our faith.”Mark E. Peterson

DAY 14

Scripture study: Mosiah 16-22
Scripture to mark: Mosiah 21:4
Scripture to ponder: Moroni 7:37
Today’s thought: “The time will .come when no man or woman will be able to stand on borrowed light. We must have a firm understanding and testimony of our own.” Harold B. Lee
***If you have a temple recommend, attend the Temple. If not, ponder on how you can prepare to receive a temple recommend.***

DAY 15

Scripture study: Mosiah 23-29
Scripture to mark: Mosiah 23:7-8
Scripture to ponder: Moroni 10:7
Today’s thought: A world without a Sabbath would be like a man without a smile, like a summer without flowers and like a homestead without a garden. It is the most joyous day of the whole week.
***Plan in advance for study interferences. If necessary, play catch-up. Refer to the quotation from Thomas Edison on Day 8***

DAY 16

Scripture study: Alma 1-5
Scripture to mark: Alma 1:4
Scripture to ponder: D&C 12:8
Today’s thought: “All great ages have been ages of belief. I mean, when there was any extraordinary power of performance, when arts appeared, when heroes existed, when poems were made, the human soul was in earnest.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

DAY 17

Scripture study: Alma 6-10
Scripture to mark: Alma 6:6
Scripture to ponder: D&C 88:118
Today’s thought: “FAITH comes by hearing the words of God, through the testimony of the servants of God; that testimony is always attended by the spirit of prophecy and revelation.”Joseph Smith

DAY 18

Scripture study: Alma 11-14
Scripture to mark: Alma 11:40
Scripture to ponder: D&C 121:45-46
Today’s thought: “Faith is the force of life.”Tolstoy

DAY 19

Scripture study: Alma 15-19
Scripture to mark: Alma 16:16
Scripture to ponder: 1 John 5:3
Today’s thought: We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives who thinks most-feels the noblest-acts the best!

DAY 20

Scripture study: Alma 20-24
Scripture to mark: Alma 22:14
Scripture to ponder: Jacob 4:10
Today’s thought: “FAITH is more potent in human behavior even than judgment or experience.” David O. McKay

DAY 21

Scripture study: Alma 25-29
Scripture to mark: Alma 25:16
Scripture to ponder: Matthew 7:7-8
Today’s thought: :In our ante mortal state we walked by sight. Then we knew God. We lived with him. He was our Father, and our teacher. This earth life was intended as a place where we might learn to walk just a little way by faith.”Sterling W. Sill
Optional: Study from the Topical Guide the subject of PRAYER.

DAY 22

Scripture study: Alma 30-36
Scripture to mark: Alma 32:21
Scripture to ponder: D&C 38:40-41
Today’s thought: “When you have done the best you can, be satisfied and don’t look back. Rather than berate yourself for what you didn’t do, congratulate yourself for what you did.”Elder M. Russell Ballard

DAY 23

Scripture study: Alma 37-41
Scripture to mark: Alma 37:6-7
Scripture to ponder: Ephesians 6:16
Today’s thought: “Implied Faith and confidence in God is for you and me to do everything we can to sustain and preserve ourselves; and the community that works together, heart and hand, to accomplish this, their efforts will be like the efforts of one man.”Brigham Young

DAY 24

Scripture study: Alma 42-44
Scripture to mark: Alma 42: 27-29
Scripture to ponder: D&C 15:6
Today’s thought: “The proper example is all-important. Let us be what we profess to be.”Ezra Taft Benson

DAY 25

Scripture study: Alma 45-50
Scripture to mark: Alma 46:12
Scripture to ponder: Galatians 5:22-23
Today’s thought: “I wish the people to understand that they have no interest apart from the Lord our God. The moment you have a divided interest, that moment you sever yourselves from eternal principles.”Brigham Young

DAY 26

Scripture study: Alma 51-54
Scripture to mark: Alma 53:17
Scripture to ponder: D&C 112:34
Today’s thought: “The degree of faith possessed by any man depends not upon the extent of his knowledge but upon the certainty of his knowledge, which leads its possessor to works corresponding to his knowledge. Thus a man of great knowledge may have weak faith, while one of limited information may have strong faith.”Joseph Smith

DAY 27

Scripture study: Alma 55-58
Scripture to mark: Alma 58:11
Scripture to ponder: Galatians 56:47
Today’s thought: “Faith is to the soul as sunshine is to the earth.”David O. McKay

DAY 28

Scripture study: Alma 59-63
Scripture to mark: Alma 62:51
Scripture to ponder: 1 Nephi 8:10, 12
Today’s thought: Success in life depends upon staying power. The reason for failure in most cases is lack of perseverance. Men get tired and give up.

DAY 29

Scripture study: Helaman 1-9
Scripture to mark: Helaman 5:12
Scripture to ponder: D&C 59:9
Today’s thought: “Seek not for greatness, but for truth, and you will find both.

DAY 30

Scripture study: Helaman 10-14
Scripture to mark: Helaman 10:4-5
Scripture to ponder: Ether 12:6
Today’s thought: “Faith in God cannot of course be other than personal. It must be yours, it must be mine; and to be effective, must spring from the mind and heart.”David O. McKay
***Do an act of service today***

DAY 31

Scripture study: Helaman 15-16, 3 Nephi 1-4
Scripture to mark: 3 Nephi 1:14
Scripture to ponder: 1 Corinthians 2:14
Today’s thought: “Deep and enduring testimonies grow and strengthen as they are daily nurtured. They increase as they are shared.”Marvin J. Ashton

DAY 32

Scripture study: 3 Nephi 5-10
Scripture to mark: 3 Nephi 10:14
Scripture to ponder: D&C 32:3
Today’s thought: “How prudently most men sink into nameless graves, while now and then a few forget themselves into immortality.”William Jennings Bryan

DAY 33

Scripture study: 3 Nephi 11-16
Scripture to mark: 3 Nephi 11:29
Scripture to ponder: D&C 18:18-19
Today’s thought: “Faith is a kind of winged intellect. The great workmen of history have believed like giants.”Charles H. Parkhurst
Optional: Study from the Tropical Guide the subject CHANGE.

DAY 34

Scripture study: 3 Nephi 17-21
Scripture to mark: 3 Nephi 18:15
Scripture to ponder: D&C 75:3, 5
Today’s thought: Successful people always do more than is expected.

DAY 35

Scripture study: 3 Nephi 22-30
Scripture to mark: 3 Nephi 27:8
Scripture to ponder: Hebrews 11:6
Today’s thought: “The test of the church is the kind of men it produces.”David O. McKay
***Have you experienced a “mighty change” in your heart as you have been reading the Book of Mormon?***

DAY 36

Scripture study: 4 Nephi Mormon 1-8
Scripture to mark: Mormon 6:17-19
Scripture to ponder: D&C 50:26-28
Today’s thought: “The faithful will exercise faith and pray always for all who are within the reach of the Lord. The good desire good to all.”Brigham Young

DAY 37

Scripture study: Mormon 9 Ether 1-3
Scripture to mark: Mormon 9:24
Scripture to ponder: Mosiah 4:27
Today’s thought: “Are you full of FAITH? You can tell whether I am or not by looking at me. You can tell whether the brethren who have been speaking to you are full of FAITH in the gospel by the look of their countenance. You can see this if there is not a word spoken.”Brigham Young

DAY 38

Scripture study: Ether 4-10
Scripture to mark: Ether 4:11
Scripture to ponder: James 1:5-6
Today’s thought: Success is not never falling down, but rising every time you fall.

DAY 39

Scripture study: Ether 11-15
Scripture to mark: Ether 12:41
Scripture to ponder: James 4:16
Today’s thought: “The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think.”Aristotle

DAY 40

Scripture study: Moroni 1-10
Scripture to mark: Moroni 10:4-5
Scripture to ponder: Matthew 17:20
Today’s thought: “Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guide, and following them you reach your destiny.”Carl Shurz
***Bear testimony and share experiences that have occurred during your 40-day Book of Mormon study.***

Mormon observed, remembered and recorded:

Mormon 1:1-4“And now I, Mormon, make a RECORD of the things which I have both seen and heard, and call it the Book of Mormon. …and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to OBSERVE… Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should REMEMBER the things that ye have OBSERVED concerning this people…and ye shall engrave on the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people.”

“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”Joseph SmithHC, 4:461

SUGGESTIONS FOR A MORE SPIRITUAL LIFE

Generate the Spirit daily: By humble, fervent, vocal prayer

Plan to include in your daily schedule: Scripture study, Physical exercise, Positive uplifting thoughts and Service.

Attend the temple regularly or prepare to obtain a temple recommend.

Attend Family Home Evening.

Magnify your Church calling.

Attend ALL church meetings each week.

Improve the quality of your home and visiting teaching.

Plan time for fun with your family each week.