“Have you been reading the Book of Mormon?”

[FiveFingerMnemonic]

I would say yes, I especially enjoy the 19th century doctrinal sermons. Have you ever read Hopkinsian magazine from 1824?

[Just This Guy]

I've read "The Book of Mormon" 5 times on this tread alone.

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[Hagoth]

Last time I was asked that question by a bishop my answer was, "Yes. That's how I got into this mess in the first place."

Mormons are pressured to read the Book of Mormon as a "cover-to-cover" challenge (i.e. a form of sacrifice) and as a sign of ongoing devotion but they are never asked to think about what it really says within the historical context in which it was created.

If you replaced the BoM with Dyanetics and gave members the same requirements and you'd get the same results as long as you told them it was THE church-sanctioned must-read book and that it was created by the gift and power of God.

[Reuben]

If you replaced the BoM with Dyanetics and gave members the same requirements and you'd get the same results as long as you told them it was THE church-sanctioned must-read book and that it was created by the gift and power of God.

You might get a slight shift in doctrine...

I discovered recently that my major shift in beliefs began in earnest when I read the Book of Mormon without assuming I knew what it said. Until then, I had read it often but through the lens of the doctrine I grew up with. I wonder if Dyanetics would have been the same for me.

Anyway, I can also claim that reading the Book of Mormon was what got me into this mess.

[Not Buying It]

The Book of Mormon serves a couple of purposes in the Church - reading it daily is a sign of devotion to the Church, so when they ask if you are reading it daily, they are really trying to gauge your level of devotion to the Church. Which is kind of weird, because hardly any of the unique stuff abut the LDS Church is in the Book of Mormon.

But another thing it is used for is control - it isn’t so much what you are reading, but the fact that they tell you to read something every day and you do it - it steadily increases the level of control they have over you, makes you compliant, is another thing that gets you used to just doing what you are told.

What the Book of Mormon actually says is irrelevant to their purposes. In fact, there are some things about the Book of Mormon the Brethren hope that no one notices (such as anachronisms, or the aforementioned lack of LDS doctrine in it, or the blatant racism).

[slavereeno]

I've read "The Book of Mormon" 5 times on this tread alone.

Pure Gold this one.

If you apply this apologetics style deception, you can then use such lines as...

"I must have probably read it no fewer than a hundred times"
"I have read it in its entirety just this last week, have you?"
"The last time I read it while standing up, just to see if it would make a difference, have you ever tried that?"
"Sometimes when I read it, I feel like I finish too quickly."
"Once I start I have a hard time not finishing to the end."
"Every damn day."
"Yes, I just finished reading it this morning."
"I may try reading it this next time wearing nothing but my garments, to see if It gives me a different spirit"
"I once read it taking a full minute to feast on each and every word, have you ever done that?"
"F*%@ Off!"

[Reuben]

I've read "The Book of Mormon" 5 times on this tread alone.

Pure Gold this one.

If you apply this apologetics style deception, you can then use such lines as...

"I must have probably read it no fewer than a hundred times"
"I have read it in its entirety just this last week, have you?"
"The last time I read it while standing up, just to see if it would make a difference, have you ever tried that?"
"Sometimes when I read it, I feel like I finish too quickly."
"Once I start I have a hard time not finishing to the end."
"Every damn day."
"Yes, I just finished reading it this morning."
"I may try reading it this next time wearing nothing but my garments, to see if It gives me a different spirit"
"I once read it taking a full minute to feast on each and every word, have you ever done that?"
"F*%@ Off!"

That is Olympic-level paltering, friend.

[Hagoth]

If you replaced the BoM with Dyanetics and gave members the same requirements and you'd get the same results as long as you told them it was THE church-sanctioned must-read book and that it was created by the gift and power of God.

You might get a slight shift in doctrine...

I discovered recently that my major shift in beliefs began in earnest when I read the Book of Mormon without assuming I knew what it said. Until then, I had read it often but through the lens of the doctrine I grew up with. I wonder if Dyanetics would have been the same for me.

Anyway, I can also claim that reading the Book of Mormon was what got me into this mess.

You're right. What I was trying to say is that the BoM is sort of a black box that represents testimony and devotion regardless of it's actual contents. Many Christians use the Bible on a similar way. They think it supports everything they believe and refutes everything they don't, and many of them never read it. In fact, on my mission I was told by several people that the Bible contains so much imformation that the few people who have read the entire thing went insane.

I had the same experience as you. I finally read it with careful attention regarding what it does and doesn't say and that was the final blow.

[Hagoth]

The guy in my ward who reads it constantly recently reported that he has now read it 839 times. Imagine what he would have learned if he had read the BoM once and 838 other books.

[deacon blues]

The guy in my ward who reads it constantly recently reported that he has now read it 839 times. Imagine what he would have learned if he had read the BoM once and 838 other books.

I suppose he's about 830 times happier and more spiritual than I am. He should get his name in the Church News, and maybe in a Conference Talk, but they better do it before he gets translated.

[Corsair]

The guy in my ward who reads it constantly recently reported that he has now read it 839 times. Imagine what he would have learned if he had read the BoM once and 838 other books.

I suppose he's about 830 times happier and more spiritual than I am. He should get his name in the Church News, and maybe in a Conference Talk, but they better do it before he gets translated.

Seriously, that sounds exactly like a story that would be happily relayed in a youth fireside. It's probably a little over the top for general conference, but a local meeting without broadcast would enjoy giving this ridiculous goal to a group of youth. It's yet another hamster wheel of guilt for Mormons who need yet another item on their LDS To-Do list between "more temple sessions" and "place another copy of the Book of Mormon with a non-member".

My ward has asked all of the youth to read the Book of Mormon over the summer as part of a larger mission prep. There is a steak dinner for making it through. I may actually run through it again myself and see if anything has improved since I last seriously picked it up more than 10 years ago. I suppose that's like watching "Old Yeller" again and hoping that the dog doesn't die at the end (spoiler alert).

[nibbler]

“Have you been reading the Book of Mormon?”

Of late reading the BoM has been our ward/stake/church's absolute fixation. It's like no other book of scripture exists.

One of these times I'll be having a bad day, pretty much a day ending in 'y', someone will ask me that question and I'll let my guard down.

"No. The Book of Mormon is super lame."

[nibbler]

My ward has asked all of the youth to read the Book of Mormon over the summer as part of a larger mission prep. There is a steak dinner for making it through.

Steak dinner or stake dinner?

lol, you're going to read the BoM and end up having to bring funeral potatoes to a stake potluck. They reeled you in with a homophone.

[Corsair]

My ward has asked all of the youth to read the Book of Mormon over the summer as part of a larger mission prep. There is a steak dinner for making it through.

Steak dinner or stake dinner?

lol, you're going to read the BoM and end up having to bring funeral potatoes to a stake potluck. They reeled you in with a homophone.

Admittedly, the orthodox "spirit of discernment" might be off due to my unbelief. But this was organized by the Young Men's President who has stated that he is determined to "bankrupt the ward budget to pay for youth activities" until they release him. The YM and YW groups have done well with him in charge. He's a total believer and a salt of the earth kind of guy. It's going to break his heart if or when he discovers that I don't believe.