Whenever I feel a deep need to connect with God, I try to give Him what I like to call a “bold gift.” I do this to demonstrate my real intent while also providing myself with clear goals I can easily act upon. When I use my agency in this way, I grow in both power and confidence. In the past, my bold gifts have been deleting all of the games off of my phone and creating care packages to hand out before I know who I want to serve.
Before the most recent General Conference, I wanted to give a bold gift for many reasons. I believed this would be a unique chance to follow the Prophet and wanted to prepare. I faced panic from the COVID-19 pandemic. My heart felt broken and I wanted to reach out in a spiritual way.
So, I determined I would read the entire Book of Mormon before General Conference. Which, at the time of said determining, was 11 days away. Every day, I read 50 pages of the Book of Mormon. It wasn’t easy. On some days, I hungered after each word. On others, the words blurred and I couldn’t wait to be done. But I accomplished my crazy goal and I wanted to share a few things that become abundantly clear to me.
There is more time in our days than we think for giving God our hearts. It’s uncomfortable and requires great sacrifice, but it is worth it.
The way we behave as the Lord’s people and the things we are experiencing directly mirror the most destructive period of the Book of Mormon. It is an unmistakable warning and guidepost for us specifically.
War, terrible war. The war chapters in Alma are miserable, slow going when read entirely in two days. It also makes me crave the scriptural voices of women. It is important for us to record our spiritual experiences for future generations.
The arrival of Jesus Christ in America has never been more poignant to me. The people of Nephi in the land Bountiful were in the midst of chaos and destruction when the Savior came. We have been promised He will do the same for us in our individual lives.
Other than “keep the commandments and prosper in the land,” the next most repeated scripture seemed to be “blessed are those who publish peace.” I can be bolder for the cause of Christ.
Jesus is the Christ and his “hand is stretched out still.”
I’m not here to recommend everyone read the Book of Mormon in such a short period of time. It was something I felt prompted to do and it blessed my life, but I know there is a bold gift of your own you can discover through pondering and prayer. Nothing is impossible if we are sincere about loving God with our hearts and our actions.
Aleah is a graduate of Southern Virginia University, where she studied English, Creative Writing, and Dance. She now works full time as a marketing and product manager, writer, and editor. She currently hosts the podcast “Single to the Glory” about singlehood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Aleah served a mission in California and loves baking, Lang Leav poetry, Gaynor Minden pointe shoes, and Bollywood movies.
