Book of Mormon: The Power of the Word (Including Free Printable Reading Charts)

I put together some free printable Book of Mormon Reading Charts to help make scripture study more fun.  (Links are at the bottom of the page.)  Reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover at least once a year is a good goal for any Latter-Day Saint.  Ezra Taft Benson taught that "studying and searching the scriptures is not a burden"; he taught that it is "a marvelous blessing and opportunity" (Ezra Taft Benson, "The Power of the Word", May 1986).

To prove this point, here are 10 Important Reasons to Read the Book of Mormon:

1.  To have a happier, more fulfilling, less complicated life.  In his talk, "Keep the Commandments", from the October 2015 General Conference, President Thomas S.  Monson says that "when we keep the commandments, our lives will be happier, more fulfilling, and less complicated.  Our challenges and problems will be easier to bear, and we will receive His promised blessings."  And as Nephi noted in 1 Nephi chapter 4, we must read the scriptures in order to know the commandments that we might obey them.

2.  To nurture strong testimonies.  In the same talk, President Monson tells us that we nurture strong testimonies by "studying the scriptures and by praying and by pondering the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

3.  To nourish heart and mind.  In the hymn "Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth", we learn that "searching scriptures faithfully" helps us to "nourish heart and mind"  (Hymns 298).

4.  For protection.  President Russell M. Nelson taught, "Scriptural knowledge ... provides precious protection"  (Russell M. Nelson, "Let Your Faith Show", October 2015).

5.  To find our course and stay on it.  Russell M. Nelson taught, "The scriptures provide one of the best ways to find our course and stay on it" (Russell M. Nelson, "Let Your Faith Show", October 2015).

6.  For added revelation.  Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught that scriptures "will bring added revelation" (D. Todd Christofferson, "The Blessing of Scripture", May 2010). 

7.  To get nearer to God.  The prophet Joseph Smith taught "the Book of Mormon [is] 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” (Introduction to The Book of Mormon, p. vii).

8.  To have a blessing hitherto unknown.  Ezra Taft Benson promised about the Book of Mormon that "if we will daily sup from its pages and abide by its precepts, God will pour out upon each child of Zion and the Church a blessing hitherto unknown" (Ezra Taft Benson, "A Sacred Responsibility", May 1986).  What an amazing promise!

9.  To strengthen commitment and fortify families.  Ezra Taft Benson promised that focusing on the scriptures will "automatically" increase other areas of activity.  He said, "Testimonies will increase.  Commitment will be strengthened.  Families will be fortified.  Personal revelation will flow" (Ezra Taft Benson, "The Power of the Word", May 1986).

10.  For greater power and more abundant life!  Ezra Taft Benson gave this prophetic promise about the Book of Mormon: " It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance" (Ezra Taft Benson, "The Book of Mormon---Keystone of Our Religion, Nov. 1986).

Here are some Fun Facts about reading the Book of Mormon:

Ø  There are 245 chapters or other sections in the Book of Mormon if you include the Title Page, Introduction, Testimony of Three Witnesses, Testimony of Eight Witnesses, Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith,  and A Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon.

Ø  That means that if you begin reading on January 1st and read just one chapter a day, you will finish reading the Book of Mormon by September 2nd. 

Ø  And if you want to take 2 or 3 days to read long chapters like Jacob 5, you can probably easily make up for it by reading two chapters a day at the beginning of the book of Moroni where the chapters are only a few verses long.

Ø  If you read two chapters a day instead, you will finish the entire book by May 3rd.  You will finish a second time by September 2nd.  You could finish reading it a third time by January 3rd of the following year.

Ø  If you only read a half a chapter each day, you can still finish the entire Book of Mormon in just a year, 4 months, and 5 days.

Having trouble making it through the Isaiah Chapters or the War Chapters?  

The two longest books in the Book of Mormon are the Book of Alma (63 chapters) and 2nd Nephi (33 chapters).  Incidentally, those are the two parts of the Book of Mormon that people most often talk about having a hard time making it through while reading (the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi and the war chapters in Alma).  Maybe the reason it is hard to make it through is because it seems like you aren't making any progress because you are still in the same book.  Next time you read,  you could try mentally breaking these books in half by naming them "2 Nephi A" and "2 Nephi B", and "Alma A" and "Alma B".  That way it might be easier to get through these long books without getting discouraged.

On my reading chart, there is a smiley face half-way through 2 Nephi to show how much progress you're making.  Alma also has a smiley face after each of the first two thirds of the book.

The Book of Mormon Reading chart has a color version as well as a black and white version to give you options.

Click Below for FREE PRINTABLE BOOK OF MORMON READING CHARTS --- BLACK & WHITE OR COLOR.

Book of Mormon Reading Chart B&W

Book of Mormon Reading Chart Color