Complete the Small Plates: Book of Mormon Journaling Enos, Jarom, Omni, (March 23-29, 2020)

This week we complete the "Small Plates of Nephi!"

Can you imagine the ancient prophets slowly engraving scriptures onto plates of metal? Nephi must have really loved Isaiah, to copy chapters word-for-word in that manner. Jacob really must have loved that allegory, to engrave a copy, page after page.
And while my efforts at journaling are nothing compared to that, still it makes me feel good that I persevered this far into the journey.

For the "Book of Enos" I imagined filling the page with a forest. It. Did. Not. Turn. Out. Not like my imagination, anyway. If you're curious, the trees are mostly Mildliner highlighters, and the sky is purple and fuchsia colored pencil. In the margin I wrote:
"In that prayer he came to know the Savior and learned that we have great worth, are loved and can be forgiven of our mistakes, and are truly children of God," (Elder Takashi Wada of the Seventy, "Feasting Upon the Words of Christ," Ensign, May 2019).

The facing page has much more restraint and sophistication. And took much less time. I used gray Mildliner highlighter (try gray Crayola fine-tip marker) for the branches, and a muted teal for the pine needles. The quote comes from the same talk:
"Just as Enos had his own time and place where the words of Christ touched his heart, the Lord will do His part to touch the hearts of those with whom we wish to share the gospel," (Elder Takashi Wada of the Seventy, "Feasting Upon the Words of Christ," Ensign, May 2019).

The "Book of Jarom" is often read and not remembered. Jarom was the son of Enos, and the entire book/chapter was written by him. It is primarily a condensed history of the Nephites. On this reading, one quote really stood out to me that I didn't remember from previous readings:
"Our kings and our leaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord," (Jarom 1:7). Wouldn't you love to be a mighty man or woman in the Lord? Wouldn't you love to know the needy young children you have would grow into a mighty man or woman?

"The Book of Omni" passes from one writer to the next with minimal engraving, as the plates were nearly full. If you are teaching Gospel Doctrine, you might ask who can tell you who Chemish was. Most people, even scriptorians who have read and reread The Book of Mormon, can't remember. It's because he only appears in one verse. The verse he wrote (Omni 1:9). Encourage your class to go home and write more personal history than Chemish did. In the English translation, that's 69 words. Most adults can write a couple hundred in one sitting if they are typing.
Later in the chapter I found a favorite verse. I wrote part of the verse in the margin:
"Come unto Him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto Him," (Omni 1:26).

I don't know yet if I will continue posting my scripture journaling attempts beyond the small plates. It has been a large time commitment, and can only continue if I simplify my journaling, postpone my creative writing until my youngest starts kindergarten (this fall) or both. If I do choose to continue, expect to find posts on my Directory of Book of Mormon Journaling Posts or my Pinterest board Book of Mormon Journaling.