The Community Scripture Journal

My Dear Reader,

One of my new year's resolutions was to spend more time reading The Book of Mormon, and since I recently acquired a Zune HD, I now have a device that lets me read scripture and write about it without leaving the comfort of my own covers. Sweet, right? I can be pretty lazy, so it works. I just pull up the webpage, pick a chapter at random, and if I can still keep my eyes open after, I write a personal mini-blog of my impressions. Here are two of those entries (also picked at random), to give you a taste of what goes on in my head as I read:

Jarom 1

• I'm glad not all of Jarom's people are stiffnecked. I wonder if this was a big problem, or if Jaron was a glass-half-empty kind of guy.
• You need humility in order to recieve revelation. The kinds of messages that God sends to prideful people usually involve going blind or something.
• If we've already received all of the gospel knowledge we need by the time we reach Jarom, then maybe the scriptures really are all about explaining the same, simple truths over and over again.

Alma 38

• All of our misery stems from our distance from God. God doesn't cause our sorrows--He is the antidote. The closer we are to God, the easier it is to be happy. Whatever we have to sacrifice to be closer to God is well-worth it, as the blessings in return are infinite.
• God knows when we do the right thing, and He remembers. He remembers our sufferings better than we can.
• God designs His commandments as a grand conspiracy meant to steer us directly into happiness and away from self-destruction.
• The work of righteousness is never done. You are never safe until you are dead.
• Good people don't have easier lives. They just hurt other people less. The good are well-acquainted with anguish.
• Jesus' healing power is as potent as it ever was. He touched the Jews physically to heal their bodies. Now, He touches us spiritually to heal our souls.

Okay, I know what you're thinking, and you're welcome. I know this is exactly the information that you've been craving, right? But it gets better! Oh, yes.

As an experiment, I would like to formally challenge you, Gentle Reader, to read one or both of these two chapters and add your own impressions in the form of a comment. Yup, you read that right. It can be short or long, just type whatever insights pop into your head as you read. The idea is that this will result in a community scripture journal of sorts, where we can be inspired by each other as we read the words of God. And even if you don't share the belief that The Book of Mormon is divinely inspired, I still want to hear what you think. All respectful comments are more than welcome. In fact, I dare you.

No, I quadruple dog dare you. Just click the links above, read (both chapters are less than 800 words), and write what you thought about it. Right now. All of the cool kids are doing it.

If you're stuck for something to comment about, try answering a question I recently posted on Twitter to get the creative juices flowing: both of these chapters mention long-suffering. What does long-suffering mean to you?

I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Regards, best wishes, and thoughts,

-Cecily Jane