Read The Book of Mormon in the home and as a family

[Heather]

In Dyer and Kunz’s study of effective Mormon families (Effective Mormon Families), they found that only 28 percent of effective Mormon families read their scriptures regularly. Eder Gene R. Cook has estimated from traveling as a General Authority that only 10 to 15 percent of Church members read the scriptures together as families.
See Raising Up a Family to the Lord, p. 110

A recent study conducted by the Church has forcefully confirmed statistically what we have been told again and again. That is, if loving, inspired instruction and example are not provided at home, then our related efforts for success in and around Church programs are severely limited. It is increasingly clear that we must teach the gospel to our families personally, live those teachings in our homes, or run the risk of discovering too late that a Primary teacher or priesthood adviser or seminary instructor could not do for our children what we would not do for them.
Jeffrey R. Holland, “Within the Clasp of Your Arms,” Ensign, May 1983, p. 36

Presently the Book of Mormon is studied in our Sunday School and seminary classes every fourth year. This four-year pattern, however, must not be followed by Church members in their personal study of the standard works. All scripture is not of equal value.
Ezra Taft Benson, A Witness and a Warning, p. vii

True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than the study of behavior will improve behavior.
Boyd K. Packer, Conference Report, October, 1986, p. 20

I have a vision of homes alerted, of classes alive, and of pulpits aflame with the spirit of Book of Mormon messages. I have a vision of home teachers and visiting teachers, ward and branch officers, and stake and mission leaders counseling our people out of the most correct of any book on earth—the Book of Mormon. I have a vision of artists putting into film, drama, literature, music, and paintings great themes and great characters from the Book of Mormon. I have a vision of thousands of missionaries going into the mission field with hundreds of passages memorized from the Book of Mormon so that they might feed the needs of a spiritually famished world. I have a vision of the whole Church getting nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon. Indeed, I have a vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon.
Ezra Taft Benson, Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon, 1988, 4-5

[Traveler]

I have a friend that works for the church and they told me a while back that the church had just completed a study of what things the most effective families all have in common. This was a most important study because it was discovered that there seems to be a critical mass for wards to also be successful. In essence there is a minimum number of effective families that act a leaven to raise the rest of the ward. Anyway these effective families are valiant and supportive with callings, examples and strong.

It surprised many to find out that these most effective families failed on many things the church pushes – like regular family home evenings, regular family prayer and family scripture study and even attending church together. There were two things at the very top of the list and it would seem that families with these two things did well despite doing or not doing other things. Guess what the two things were?

I will not make you guess or wait but they were. Number 1. Regular individual personal prayer. At least twice daily. Number 2. Regular individual personal commitment to read, study and ponder the scriptures – at least twice a week minimum.

I found it interesting it was not what parents push and/or demand but what individuals within the family seek on their own. I have a theory of how parents can best encourage their children concerning personal prayer but it is only my theory.

Just one other thing. My next door neighbor is a highly respected doctor of physiology that says the number one thing most common with children and families with problems in getting along is certain vocabulary words and the one vocabulary word used the most often by failing families is the ever famous “F” word.

The Traveler

[Heather]

The study you mentioned really makes sense to me. Children follow by example far more than they follow what you instruction them do.

[Palerider]

When our kids were younger at all at home we read from the Book of Mormon as a family. We could always tell and we still talk about what a difference it made in our home and family. I know when I use to sit on the stand I was always concerned about those who had family prayer. I always felt there were not very many that had that time together to pray as a family.

[Heather]

Help me out here, but I heard it was said that if you read the scriptures daily as a family, your children would never go astray? I'm probably way off on that one.

[Hemidakota]

I did the same but one of my children did go astray and only later to return after we stopped due to our clashes of schedules.

I for one talked about this late last night with my companion and she agreed that we are going back to this principle.

[Palerider]

Originally Posted by Heather

Help me out here, but I heard it was said that if you read the scriptures daily as a family, your children would never go astray? I'm probably way off on that one.

I will add this......I have 4 kids....and only one strayed away and was ex'd ....and she did come back and was rebaptised and has been active in church since being rebaptised.

[utcowboy]

Something about if you raise them up right when they are young they will always return to what they know.... I know thats not the right quote but its as close as I can come at the moment.

[lostnfound]

Originally Posted by Heather

Help me out here, but I heard it was said that if you read the scriptures daily as a family, your children would never go astray? I'm probably way off on that one.

Hey yes, the bible tells us something like that. does the bom say that too?

[Canuck Mormon]

Originally Posted by utcowboy

Something about if you raise them up right when they are young they will always return to what they know.... I know thats not the right quote but its as close as I can come at the moment.

Originally Posted by Heather

Help me out here, but I heard it was said that if you read the scriptures daily as a family, your children would never go astray? I'm probably way off on that one.

I think the quote by UT is more accurate, at least it was in my case. My parents made us all have family prayer and scripture reading as a family every day. When I was 17, I stopped going to church. I did, however, come back after many years of inactivity.