Day 45

Day 45

Read: Alma 14-16

 Mark: Alma 14:10-11

“The right question to ask is not why good people have trials, but how shall good people respond when they are tried?”

~ Elder Marion D. Hanks

 

“Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long suffering and self-mastery.  The sufferings of our Savior were part of his education.”

~ President Spencer W. Kimball

 

How do you respond to adversity?

Day 44

9/16

Day 44

Read: Alma 12-13

 Mark: Alma 13:2-4

 “God has saved for the final inning some of His strongest and most valiant children…Make no mistake about it – you are a marked generation.  There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time than there is of us…The final outcome is certain – the forces of righteousness will finally win.  But what remains to be seen is where each of us personally, now and in the future, will stand in this battle – and how tall we will stand.  Will we be true to…our foreordained mission?

~ President Ezra Taft Benson

 

To what callings do you think you’ve been foreordained?

Day 43

Day 43

GET BACK ON SCHEDULE

Use your reading chart to find the chapters you still need to read to be caught up through:

Alma 11

or

 

If you’re up to date with your reading,

take time to study:

 Alma 5

 

What are some of the questions Alma asks in order to ponder the process of becoming converted or reborn?

Day 42

9/14

Day 42

Read: Alma 10-11

 Mark: Alma 11:42-44

 “What a comfort to know that all who have been disadvantaged in life from birth defects, from mortal injuries, from disease, or from the natural deterioration of old age will be resurrected in ‘proper and perfect frame.’”

~ Elder Dallin H. Oaks

 

How does it bring you hope knowing that because of Christ we will all live again?

Day 41

9/13

Day 41

Read: Alma 7-9

Mark: Alma 7:11-12

“To succor means to ‘run to.’  I testify that in my fears and in my infirmities the Savior has surely run to me. I will never be able to thank Him enough for such personal kindness

 and such loving care.”

~ Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

 

Why is it helpful to remember that the Savior knows what it’s like to have your problems?

Day 40

9/12

Day 40

Read: Alma 5-6

 Mark: Alma 5:14, 26

“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”

~ President Ezra Taft Benson

 

What would someone see in your countenance?

Day 39

9/11

Day 39

Read: Alma 2-4

 Mark: Alma 2:18, 28

 “Safety can’t be won by tanks and guns and airplanes and atomic bombs.  There is only one place of safety and that is in the realm of the Almighty God that he gives to those who keep his commandments and listen to his voice.”

~ President Harold B. Lee

 

Why were the Nephites strengthened by the Lord?  How can we receive the Lord’s help in the challenges we face?

Day 38

9/10

Day 38

Read: Mosiah 29 – Alma 1

Mark: Alma 1:6, 16

 “The Nephite prophets repeatedly identified the wearing of costly clothing with apostasy and failure

to live by gospel standards.”

~ Elder Bruce R. McConkie

 

What might your way of dressing say about you?

Day 37

9/9

Day 37

Read: Mosiah 26-28

 Mark: 26:29-30

 

“You always need to confess your sins to the Lord. If they are serious transgressions, such as immorality, they need to be confessed to a bishop or stake president. Please understand that confession is not repentance. It is an essential step, but is not of itself adequate. Partial confession by mentioning lesser mistakes will not help you resolve a more serious, undisclosed transgression. Essential to forgiveness is a willingness to fully disclose to the Lord and, where necessary, His priesthood judge all that you have done.”

~ Elder Richard G. Scott

 

Why is confession an essential part of repentance?

Day 36

9/8

Day 36

GET BACK ON SCHEDULE

Use your reading chart to find the chapters you still need to read to be caught up through:

Mosiah 25

or

 

If you’re up to date with your reading,

take time to study:

 Mosiah 14-15

 

Abinadi quoted Isaiah to testify of the Savior.  What did Isaiah teach about Christ?  What can you learn about the Savior from Abinadi’s testimony?

Day 35

9/7

Day 35

Read: Mosiah 24-25

Mark: Mosiah 24:14-15

 “We should seek to be happy and cheerful and not allow Satan to overcome us with discouragement, despair, or depression.”

~ Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

 

“The Lord…loves us…, comforts and strengthens us, and enables us to bear our afflictions with patience and fortitude.”

~ Elder George Q. Cannon

 

How can we submit more cheerfully to the will of the Lord?

Day 34

9/6

Day 34

Read: Mosiah 21-23

 Mark: Mosiah 23:21-22

 

“Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.”

~ President Thomas S. Monson

 

When is it most difficult for you to be patient? 

Why is patience important?

Day 33

9/5

Day 33

Read: Mosiah 18-20

Mark: 18:8-10

 “We show by our behavior what we believe. Surely we are standing as witnesses of God when we sustain his living prophets, especially when we know what it means to sustain. We will abide by the direction and counsel of the prophets. We indeed become witnesses when we make this solemn covenant.”

~ Sister Janette Hales Beckham

 

What commitments are part of our baptismal covenant?

In what ways do you try to keep those commitments?

Day 32

9/4

Day 32

Read: Mosiah 15-17

Mark: Mosiah 17:11-12

 

“You don’t need to compromise your standards to be accepted by good friends. The more obedient you are…the more the Lord can help you overcome temptation.  You can also help others because they will feel your strength. Let them know about your standards by consistently living them…No one intends to make serious mistakes. They come when you compromise your standards to be more accepted by others. You be the strong one. You be the leader. Choose good friends and resist peer pressure together.”

~ Elder Richard G. Scott

 

Why did King Noah not resist the pressure from the evil priests?  What helps you to resist peer pressure?

Day 31

9/3

Day 31

Read: Mosiah 12-14

 Mark: Mosiah 13:15

 “When I was a little boy… I came home from school one day, threw my books on the table, and took the name of the Lord in vain in expressing my relief that school was out for the day.  My mother heard me. She was shocked. She took me by the hand and led me to the bathroom…then proceeded to wash my mouth out with that terrible soap…and then said, ‘Don’t let me ever hear such words from your lips again.’  The taste was terrible. The reprimand was worse. I have never forgotten it, and I hope that I have never used the Lord’s name in vain since that time.”

~ President Gordon B. Hinckley

 

How can we keep the Lord’s name sacred?

Day 30

9/2

Day 30

Read: Mosiah 9-11

Mark: Mosiah 9:17, 10:10-11

“The enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement helps us to see and to do and to become good in ways that we could never recognize or accomplish with our limited mortal capacity. I testify and witness that the enabling power of

the Savior’s Atonement is real.”

~ Elder David A. Bednar

 

In what ways do we depend on our own strength?  How can we more fully receive the strength of the Lord?

Day 29

9/1

Day 29

GET BACK ON SCHEDULE

Use your reading chart to find the chapters you still need to read to be caught up through:

Mosiah 8

or

 

If you’re up to date with your reading,

take time to study:

 Mosiah 3-4

 

Once we’ve felt the Lord’s forgiveness, how do we retain the remission of our sins?

Day 28

8/31

Day 28

Read: Mosiah 5-8

Mark: Mosiah 5:2, 7

 

“No one can be born again without baptism, but the immersion of water and the laying on of hands to confer the Holy Ghost do not of themselves guarantee that a person has been or will be born again.  The new birth takes place only for those who actually enjoy the Gift or companionship of the Holy Ghost, only for those who are fully converted, who have given themselves without restraint to the Lord.”

~ Elder Bruce R. McConkie

 

How can you more fully give yourself to the Lord to experience the mighty change of heart?

Day 27

8/31

Day 27

Read: Mosiah 3-4

 Mark: Mosiah 4:30

 “Work at keeping your thoughts clean by thinking of something good.  The mind can think of only one thing at a time. Use that fact to crowd out ugly thoughts.  Above all, don’t feed thoughts by reading or watching things that are wrong. If you don’t control your thoughts, Satan will keep tempting you until you eventually act them out.”

~ Elder Richard G. Scott

 

What helps you most to control your thoughts?

Day 26

8/30

Day 26

Read: Mosiah 1-2

Mark: Mosiah 2:17

 “Our focus should be on righteousness, not recognition; on service, not status.  The faithful visiting teacher, who quietly goes about her work month after month, is just as important to the work of the Lord as those who occupy what some see as more prominent positions in the Church.  Visibility does not equate to value…When we understand why we serve we will not worry about where we serve.”

~ President Howard W. Hunter

 

How often do you serve?

Day 25

8/29

Day 25

Read: Jarom – Words of Mormon

Mark: Jarom 1:5

“We have become a nation of pleasure seeking sabbath breakers… What fits the purpose of the Sabbath?  Activities that contribute to greater spirituality…I don’t believe that it is possible to keep our spirituality on a high plane by spending our

Sabbaths on the beach, on the golf course…or in our own homes…looking at television.”

~ President Ezra Taft Benson

 

How can you more fully keep the Sabbath day holy?

Day 24

8/28

Day 24

Read: Jacob 6 - Enos

Mark: Enos 1:4

 

"How many of you, with or without serious transgressions, have ever prayed all day and into the night?  Have you ever wept and prayed for many hours?  How many of you have prayed

for five hours? for one? for thirty minutes? for ten?”

~ President Spencer W. Kimball

 

How often do you cry unto the Lord in mighty prayer? 

How can you make prayer more meaningful?

Day 23

Day 23

Read: Jacob 5

 Mark: Jacob 5:61-62

 

“Give me a young man who has kept himself morally clean and has faithfully attended his Church meetings. Give me a young man who has magnified his priesthood and has earned the Duty to God Award and is an Eagle Scout. Give me a young man who is a seminary graduate and has a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. Give me such a young man, and I will give you a young man who can perform miracles for the Lord in the mission field and throughout his life.”

~ President Ezra Taft Benson

 

How can you prepare now to labor diligently in the Lord’s vineyard?

Day 22

8/26

Day 22

GET BACK ON SCHEDULE

Use your reading chart to find the chapters you still need to read to be caught up through:

Jacob 4

or

 

If you’re up to date with your reading,

take time to study:

 2 Nephi 31-33

 

What is the doctrine of Christ?  What are some things the Holy Ghost can do for us?  As Nephi finishes his record what are the things it seems like he most wants us to know?

Day 21

8/25

Day 21

Read: Jacob 2-4

Mark: Jacob 2:18-19

“If you have not chosen the kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.”

~ William Law

 

Are your decisions based on how your choices will help to build the Lord’s kingdom?  If needed, how can you change?

Day 20

8/24

Day 20

Read: 2 Nephi 31 – Jacob 1  

Mark: 2 Nephi 31:10-13, 20

“When we understand our baptismal covenant and the gift of the Holy Ghost, it will change our lives and will establish our total allegiance to the kingdom of God. When temptations come our way, if we will listen, the Holy Ghost will remind us that we have promised to remember our Savior and obey the commandments of God.”

~ Elder Robert D. Hales

 

Sometimes we take our baptism for granted.  What do you do to remember and increase your appreciation for your baptism?

Day 19

8/23

Day 19

Read: 2 Nephi 28-30

Mark: 2 Nephi 28:15

“ There are at least three dangers that threaten the Church within, and the authorities need to awaken to the fact that the people should be warned unceasingly against them.  As I see these, they are flattery of prominent men in the world, false educational ideas, and sexual impurity.”

~ President Joseph F. Smith

 

What are you doing to avoid being deceived?

Day 18

day 18 (8/22)

Day 18

Read: 2 Nephi 26-27

Mark: 2 Nephi 26:8

 

Looking for the path to safety in the counsel of prophets makes sense to those with strong faith…the choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. It becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the ark was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that, each failure to respond would have lessened sensitivity to the Spirit. And so each time his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late.

~ Elder Henry B. Eyring

 

How does following the prophet keep you safe?

Day 17

Day 17 (8/21)

Day 17

Read: 2 Nephi 24-25

Mark: 2 Nephi 25:23, 26

 

“Literally, the Atonement means to be ‘at one’ with Him. The nature of the Atonement and its effects is so infinite, so unfathomable, and so profound that it lies beyond the knowledge and comprehension of mortal man. I am profoundly grateful for the principle of saving grace… The overwhelming message of the Atonement is the perfect love the Savior has for each and all of us. It is a love which is full of mercy, patience, grace, equity, long-suffering, and, above all, forgiving.”

~President James E. Faust

 

How do you experience the Savior’s love?

Day 16

Sorry ladies, my computer was on the fritz, so I haven't been able to put up the reading schedule for the last couple of days, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to post on my phone... (man I just aged myself 10 years!) Good news... it seems to be working properly now....fingers crossed!

Day 16 (8/20)

Day 16

Read: 2 Nephi 19-23

Mark: 2 Nephi 21:12

 

“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

~ Joseph Smith

 

What part do you play in these prophecies?

Day 15

Day 15

Read: 2 Nephi 14-18

Mark: 2 Nephi 15:20-21

“Today’s popular entertainment often makes what is evil and wrong look enjoyable and right. Let us remember the Lord’s counsel: ‘Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.’ Pornography, though billed by Satan as entertainment, is a deeply poisonous, deceptive snake that lies coiled up in magazines, the Internet, and the television.”

~ Elder David E. Sorensen

What helps you to see things for what they really are?

Day 14

Day 14

Read: 2 Nephi 10-13

                                                               Mark: 2 Nephi 12:2-3

“I can visualize an army of righteous youth prepared and worthy to attend the temple. I can see families sealed together for eternity. I can see youth who understand what it means to be ‘saviours … on mount Zion.’  I can see youth whose hearts are turned to their fathers.  And I can envision youth growing up in such a way that they will come forth from the temples filled with strength to resist worldly pressures. I can see a generation of youth who will ‘stand … in holy places, and be not moved.’

~ Sister Elaine S. Dalton

Why do you think Isaiah compares the temple to a mountain?

Day 13

Day 13

Read: 2 Nephi 8-9

Mark: 2 Nephi 9:50-51

“Keeping everything in balance can be a real problem …Often the lack of clear direction and goals can waste away our time and energy and contribute to imbalance in our lives. …Our main goal should be to seek “immortality and eternal life.”  With this as our goal, why not eliminate from our lives the things that clamor for and consume our thoughts, feelings, and energies without contributing to our reaching that goal?”

~ Elder M. Russell Ballard

How do you spend your time, money and energy?

Day 12

Day 12

Read: 2 Nephi 4-7

Mark: 2 Nephi 4:15-16

 “No father, no son, no mother, no daughter should get so busy that he or she does not have time to study the scriptures and the words of modern prophets. None of us should get so busy that we crowd out contemplation and praying.”

~President Spencer W. Kimball

What is it that brings a person to love the scriptures?

Day 11

Day 11

Read: 2 Nephi 2-3

Mark: 2 Nephi 2:25, 27-28

“Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.”

~ Joseph Smith

What brings you true happiness?

Day 10

Day 10

Read: 1 Nephi 22 – 2 Nephi 1

Mark: 1 Nephi 22:26

 “If Satan could but capture our minds, he would have won the battle and the war. He can only do this if we let him. If we refuse to walk with him, he will have no power over us, for God gave us our free agency and Satan cannot take it away. So what I am suggesting is that we refuse to even walk on the same street with Satan. In other words, not only should we avoid evil, we should avoid the very appearance of evil.”

~ Bishop Victor L. Brown

How can Satan be bound in his efforts to influence you?

Day 9

Sorry ladies, Apparently I didn't have this one on an automatic schedule... Oppps!!

Day 9

Read: 1 Nephi 19-21

Mark: 1 Nephi 19:23

“May I commend you faithful Saints who are striving to flood the earth and your lives with the Book of Mormon. Not only must we move forward in a monumental manner more copies of the Book of Mormon, but we must move boldly forward into our own lives and throughout the earth more of its marvelous messages.  This sacred volume was written for us—for our day. Its scriptures are to be likened unto ourselves.”

~ President Ezra Taft Benson

How do the things you read in the scriptures relate to your life?

Day 8

Day 8

Read: 1 Nephi 17-18

Mark: 1 Nephi 17:45

 “Inspiration comes more as a feeling than as a sound…We do not have the words (even the scriptures do not have the words) which perfectly describe the Spirit.  The scriptures generally use the word ‘voice,’ which does not exactly fit.  These delicate, refined spiritual communications are not seen with our eyes, nor heard with our ears.  And even though it is described as a voice, it is a voice that one feels, more than one hears.”

~ President Boyd K. Packer

What things have you felt while reading or praying?

Day 7

Day 7

Read: 1 Nephi 15-16

Mark: 1 Nephi 15:23-24

“If there is any one thing most needed in this time of tumult and frustration, when men and women and youth and young adults are desperately seeking for answers to the problems which afflict mankind, it is an ‘iron rod’ as a safe guide along the straight path on the way to eternal life.”

~ President Harold B. Lee

How can you ‘hold fast’ to the iron rod?

Day 6

Day 6

Read: 1 Nephi 13-14

Mark: 1 Nephi 14:14

“This great American nation the Almighty raised up by the power of his omnipotent hand, that it might be possible in the latter days for the kingdom of God to be established in the earth.”

~ President Joseph F. Smith

Nephi saw that “other books” would come forth through the gentiles.  What important things would the “other books” do?  What are those “other books”?

Day 5

Day 5

Read: 1 Nephi 11-12

Mark: 1 Nephi 11:20-23

“You need time to meditate and ponder, to think, to wonder at the great plan of happiness that the Lord has outlined for His children. You need to read the scriptures….I heard President David O. McKay say to the members of the Twelve on one occasion, ‘Brethren, we do not spend enough time meditating.’”

~ President Gordon B. Hinckley

How often do you take time to ponder, to meditate on  things that are  important?

Day 4

Day 4

Read: 1 Nephi 6-10

Mark: 1 Nephi 10:17-19

 “The intensity of our desire to share the gospel is a great indicator of the extent of our personal conversion.”

~ Elder Dallin H. Oaks

What was Nephi’s response when the people in the strange building mocked him and the others who were partaking of the fruit?  Why?

Day 3

Day 3

Read: 1 Nephi 3-5

Mark: 1 Nephi 3:7

“I have learned not to put question marks but to use exclamation points when calls are issued through inspired channels of priesthood government.”

~ Elder Russell M. Nelson

Why did Laman and Lemuel murmur?  Why did Nephi support his father?  What determines whether you are a murmurer or a supporter of the Lord’s work and His prophets?

Day 2

Day 2

Read: Brief Explanation, 1 Nephi 1-2

Mark: 1 Nephi 1:20

 “The Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ…The Lord’s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence.  Faithfulness, obedience, and humility invite tender mercies into our lives, and it is often the Lord’s timing that enables us to recognize and treasure these important blessings.”

~ Elder David A. Bednar

How have you experienced the tender mercies of the Lord?

Day 1

Alright Ladies! Here is the Challenge.... Let's Read the Book of Mormon in 100 days! We can do it, I know it. The challenge begins today August 5, 2012. Don't put it off, read a little every day. The best part is that we will do it together.  I believe that there is no challenge or personal question that cannot be aided or answered by the sacred words of the scriptures.

I will put up a post for the reading schedule each day, with the chapters to be read, a question, and quote of the day. Or if you want to have the entire schedule at your finger tips here is the link to the schedule I will be using.
 http://mormonshare.com/lds-clipart/100-day-book-of-mormon-reading-chart

I invite you to add your thoughts and impressions that come to you as you participate in the 100 day challenge. I believe that this will bless our lives tremendously, that the spirit will dwell in our homes, our testimonies will increase, and that we will be guided to become who God truly wants us to be.

Thanks Ladies!!!


DAY 1

Read: Preface (Title Page), Introduction, Testimony of Three Witnesses, Testimony of Eight Witnesses, Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith

Mark: The quote from Joseph Smith in the Introduction, “I told the brethren…any other book.”

“I would like to urge [everyone] to again read the Book of Mormon…There is nothing we could do of greater importance than to have fortified in our individual lives an unshakable conviction that Jesus is the Christ, the Living Son of the Living God.  And, my brothers and sisters, that is the purpose of the coming forth of this remarkable and wonderful book.”

~ President Gordon B. Hinckley