Book of Mormon Journaling: Introductory Pages (December 30-January 5)

Week 1 (December 30-January 5, 2020) of Come, Follow Me consists of the introductory pages, including the title page and testimonies.

Fun fact: I have a facsimile (a copy, not an original) of the original 1830 printing of The Book of Mormon. In that edition, the testimonies were printed in the back.

Title Page 1

My journal edition has two title pages.

On the first title page I included a quote from President Nelson's October 2017 conference talk, "The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?" In it, he tells of a time he gave a copy to an African tribal king he met in Ghana, who responded, "You could have given me diamonds or rubies but nothing is more precious to me than this additional knowledge about the Lord Jesus Christ."
After practicing on scratch paper, I penciled in a couple of diamonds, then traced the diamonds with a light marker (periwinkle Mildliner).

Title Page 2

On the next page (what people usually mean when they refer to the Book of Mormon title page) I highlighted "JESUS is the CHRIST" in red. In the margins, I wrote a quote from President Benson from a November 1987 Ensign article, "Come unto Christ." 
"The honest seeker after truth can gain a testimony that Jesus is the Christ as he prayerfully ponders the inspired words of The Book of Mormon."
I used Micron pens in red, blue, and black.

The Testimony of the Three Witnesses

In the margin I wrote, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established," D&C 6:28. In small print by the signatures I wrote, "Like the signers of the Declaration of Independence, these men risked their safety, property, and reputation. They signed with honor." Then I added a reflective question: "What would I sign my honor to?"

The Testimony of the Eight Witnesses

In the margin I wrote a quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Nothing in our history and nothing in our message cuts to the chase faster than our uncompromising declaration that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. On this issue we draw a line in the sand," ("True or False," New Era, June 1995, 66).
I drew a simple beach on the bottom of the page. The waves are alternating wiggly lines of wide-tipped blue and aqua Mildliner highlighters. The sand is a light brown colored pencil. I used a brown Micron pen to draw a wiggly line in the sand, and used more Micron pens to make lists of what is on which side of the sand.

The Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith

The quote I chose came from Elder David A. Bednar's April 2019 conference talk, "Prepared to Obtain Every Needful Thing." I love that it includes, "search, ponder, and pray." I chose to write those words in green to help them stand out:

"As a child, Joseph Smith learned of God from his family. His efforts to discover God's will for him caused Joseph to search for the truth among many different Christian denominations, ponder diligently the scriptures, and pray sincerely to God. . . . Joseph's experience provides a powerful pattern of learning that each of us should emulate. We too need to learn for ourselves."

I penciled an outline of angel Moroni. I colored his skin with a brown colored pencil, then outlined his robe and hair with a gray Mildliner highlighter. Using a yellow Mildliner highlighter and a straight-edge gave the appearance of rays of light from heaven. Moroni was rather inconspicuous at this point, so I outlined him with yellow highlighter as well.

Then there's the quilt. 

While the idea was simple, it certainly took longer than I expected it to. And when I finished, my mom looked at me quizzically and asked why it was there. "You know, Joseph is in bed . . . or maybe beside it. It's his quilt."

Sigh. I thought it was a good idea before I spent all the effort making it. I guess it would have made more sense if I had included Joseph somewhere in the picture, but I think that would have interfered more with the quote. 

I used a pencil, straight-edge, and a circle stencil to plan my quilt. I colored in each block with colored pencil, then used fine-tip highlighters for the stitches.

Peek Inside My Book of Mormon Journal

I really wasn't planning to join the Book of Mormon journaling crowd. Honestly, I didn't even know it was a crowd. I just thought it would be a good way for my daughter to spend ten hours on a project for faith as she finishes up her Personal Progress this year. I bought her the hardcover pink floral book.

A few days later, I went back and bought myself a blue "leather" one. At about the same time, my mom bought a journaling edition of the New Testament. She went to town on it, spending hours a day to catch up to where we are reading in Sunday school.
By comparison, my four pages a day seems sluggish. But, since I started in July, it will be enough to finish me up by the New Year (this is part of my Personal Progress--as a parent I'm allowed to work my way through the program, too).

Unlike my mom, I haven't written and illustrated every single page, but I've done a good share of them all the way through Second Nephi and beyond. On many pages, I have highlighted a verse and then written a corresponding quote from General Conference in the margins.

Sometimes I love a verse so much that I just write it in the margins (you'd be surprised how much that happens in the Isaiah chapters). Quotes from Psalms and Proverbs have also found their way in.

And the occasional illustration. Illustrations slow me down, so I have to really want to illustrate something if I'm going to take the time to do it.

And the pages I haven't filled-in yet? I'm looking forward to sprinkling some great quotes from the upcoming conference as well as having a second chance to work on my scriptures when the new year (and new Come, Follow Me curriculum) come around.

A useful tip (from my mom, of course) is to keep a stack of little Post-it notes with you as you read. If a verse, topic, or other idea stands out to you, jot it on the Post-it and place it at the bottom of the page (if you place it in the margins, then you will have layers of Post-it notes to disturb your writing on other pages). This helps me focus on reading when I'm supposed to be reading. There have been times when I stop to work on an idea right away, then decide to look up an inspiration on Pinterest and an hour later not only have I not journaled anything, but I haven't finished my daily reading, either. Also, if I don't have time to journal that day, I may be able to come back later in the week to catch up. Those little notes make that much easier to do.
Speaking of Pinterest--you all know you can create separate groups within a board to better organize your pins. Yes? This is super-useful if you are going to use Pinterest much to gather ideas for your Book of Mormon journaling. Click here to see my Book of Mormon journaling board.
Coming Soon 
I'm looking forward to doing more in-depth blog posts with pictures with most pages I've done (or maybe all--perhaps it's therapeutic to see someone else mess-up in ink?). I've been waiting for the 2020 manuals to go live--and I just now see that they have. I am planning to break-up my future journaling posts to correspond to the reading for each week.

You might also like: Book of Mormon Journaling: Introductory Pages

September 2019 Latter-day Saint Bullet Journal Spreads

I started bullet journaling in January 2019, in a slim paperback notebook. September 2019 I'm starting a new bullet journal (Dingbats dotted blue). The pages are drastically different from the notebook I was using before, so I had to reinvent how I do all my spreads.
I wanted to include reminders to visit the temple, a place to record what I had fasted for, an outline of the week's Come, Follow Me goals, as well as space to track money and goals.

5-4-3-2-1 Goals

Before diving into my September pages, I took some time to think about 5 year goals (this is a new journal). I started by listing each of my children, along with the age that child will be in five years. Then I jotted down a 2-4 things that came to my heart when I imagined that child at that age. These aren't strictly goals, since they are contingent on another person's agency, but as a mother it gives me a vision of what direction I am attempting to nurture my children.
Then I wrote a list of things I hope to have achieved within five years.
Under my 5 year goals, I wrote a series of 4 month goals. For example, if I want to see a child in college in five years, I want to see certain grades this first trimester.

What's in My Monthly/Goal Spread?

The first part of my September monthly spread had smaller goals: 3 weeks, 2 days, and 1 hour. These are my baby steps toward those bigger 4 month (and ultimately 5 year) goals. 3 weeks was a perfect length for a big project (read 300 pages in Don Quixote) and tracking new habits (remind S. to say his personal prayers each morning. If something could be done in one sitting and under an hour (schedule a dentist appointment or temple interview or work on Personal Progress) it went under 1 hour. Slightly more involved goals (like family temple trip or writing a short story) went under 2 days.
On the facing page: I left space to record what I was fasting for, when I visited the temple that month, things I am grateful for or praying for, as well as a place to jot down things to discuss with my husband. He works 4-10s, so sometimes I think of things we need to discuss that I don't get around to discussing with him until the weekend. This helps me remember what those important things are.
This page is more like a journal or list.

A Meeting Page 

I am currently a Beehive advisor. During a typical month, I meet once with all of the adult YW leaders, and once with the (young) Beehive class presidency (and another adult). These meetings typically have printed agendas, but I usually find that the number of notes I really need boils down to a lot less paper. Keeping my class notes here in my planner helps me stay organized in my calling.
In case you're wondering, the facing page is for me to plan my 4-year old's home preschool.

What's in My Weekly Spreads?

Right now I have an everything-at-a-glance weekly spread. The good news is I don't have to flip back-and-forth to find my budget, to-do-list, or Come, Follow me plans. The bad news is that I have to write small and don't have much visual "breathing room." By the end of the week the pages are written all over.
On the first page of the spread I have space for my weekly budget (yes, we get paid weekly. Weird. I know) and Sunday through Thursday.

The second page only has Friday and Saturday (weekend!) so I have space for a lot more. At the top of the page is a scripture quote from that weeks CFM reading. On the right I have space to record what I'm praying for and thankful for. As the family reads parts of CFM, I can color-in the spine of the corresponding book. It's cute and encourages me to encourage the family to make it happen. I also jot down a few favorite verses. On nights we don't have time for lengthy reading, we read and explain a single verse or two or three.

At the bottom of the page I have my "trackers." Some of my 3-week goals are habits. A daily tracker helps me track whether I am being successful in those goals. Some of my 3-week goals are more quantity based: read or write a certain number of pages, or help my student driver get in a certain number of hours. So I have a "Daily Tracker" and a "Quantity Tracker" side-by-side.
In the corner of the page you can see I have jotted down my smallest goals (2 day and 1 hour). I picked a few from the monthly spread so I don't have to keep looking back at the big list.

My Daughter's Personal Progress Projects

It's summer break! That means less than six months left for young women to do their Personal Progress before the new program is ushered in. Thanks to some proactive leaders in our last ward, my daughter (a 13-year old Mia Maid) had much more done than I had assumed. With no summer job or summer school to take up her time, she has the possibility of finishing almost everything except the virtue project (reading the entire Book of Mormon) by Labor Day.
To simplify things, we made three lists of what remains to be done: multi-week experiences, experiences that can be done in one sitting, and projects. The simplified checklist, which only contains what needs to be done, makes it easier to choose what to work on next.
Being a visual-creative person, most of her projects are somewhat artistic.

Personal Progress Value "Projects"
Faith: she chose (and I paid for) a journaling edition of The Book of Mormon. She will spend at least ten hours illustrating her copy.
Divine Nature: a lot of the suggested activities seemed to be about preparing for motherhood. She plans to earn her Red Cross certification for babysitting (this class can be done online). If that doesn't take ten hours by itself, she will certify in first aid (a class that must be done in person).
Individual Worth: Create a family history photo book. I'll let her on my Shutterfly account for this.
Knowledge: She wants to be an interior designer when she grows up. We are having a house built, and for her project she is going to create a "mood board" showing her plans for her new room. If the board doesn't take ten hours by itself, she might paint a dresser, sew a pillow cover, or upholster a tuffet.
Choice and Accountability: An ongoing hobby for my daughter has been fashion design. She even went to a fashion design summer camp last year. She is going to create a portfolio of her own designs of modest formal wear.
Good Works: Already done! Last fall she took part in a "Helping Hands" project to muck-out homes damaged by Hurricane Florence. She went down two separate weekends and worked hard.
Integrity: This is the only one we are undecided on at this point. She might do a series of social media graphics with integrity quotes, or paint a canvas. We agreed to get underway with the other projects before she had to make up her mind on this one.
Virtue: This one is decided for us. Everyone is required to read the entirety of The Book of Mormon for their virtue project.

Wish us luck! We have a lot of work ahead of us (she doing the work, and me reminding her to do the work).

Planning April: Gospel Study with My Four Year Old

I try to do a preschool devotional (see below) about three days a week. He may get something out of only doing it once or twice, but after having done the same story three times in a row, I sometimes have the joy of hearing him "output" some of what I've been teaching him.
The quotes below are from my ABC scripture list: S is for Son, T is for temple, etc.
Easter is in late April this year, so I've chosen one of my favorite Easter hymns and one song from the  (April) 2019 Primary Singing Time.

Week 1 General Conference/Peter's Testimony

Scripture Quote: "This is my Beloved Son," Matthew 3:17, JS History 1:17
Song: "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," by Charles Wesley, Hymns 200
Bible Story: New Testament Stories, Chapters 32 and 33 (paraphrased)

Optional Videos: New Testament, Chapter 32 and 33

Week 2 Easter

Scripture Quote: "The temple of God is holy," 1 Corinthians 3:17
Song: "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," by Charles Wesley, Hymns 200
Bible Story: "Jesus Gave Us the Sacrament," by Kim Webb Reid (this is an Easter story)

Week 3 Easter

Scripture Quote: "Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth," "The Living Christ"
Song: "Faith," Children's Songbook 96-97
Bible Story: "The Story of Easter," by Kim Webb Reid (this is from the April 2019 Friend)

Week 4 Good Samaritan

Scripture Quote: "Visit the fatherless and widows," James 1:27
Song: "Faith," Children's Songbook 96-97
Bible Story: "Jesus Teaches How to Treat Others," by Diane L. Mangum

Planning February: Gospel Study with My Four-Year Old

I want my four year old to know more of the songs sung at church, and be familiar with a dozen or so scripture stories. Sure, I know he's heard of Noah's ark and that Daniel went in the lion's den before, but scattered references that occurred a year ago aren't that useful right now.

This month we are starting at the beginning of "his Bible," which is a binder into which I organize the scripture studies that appear in The Friend magazine each month. I have a full twelve stories from the Old Testament. The plan is to focus on one story each week, and read it once a day for about three weekdays. I'm hoping by the third reading to prompt him to tell me parts of the story. 

One day a week we will read selections from that month's Friend magazine (including New Testament stories to go with the Come, Follow Me curriculum). 

Each day we do this gospel study (every weekday except the day we do a preschool co-op), we will also practice a song and his letter-of-the-week scripture. We've been doing the scripture verses since September, so we're starting February with letter "O." I like to open up my physical scriptures when we practice the verse, so he can make the connection more easily. "The Bible says, 'Obey your parents.' Can you say that now?"

I chose two songs from the list for Primary Singing Time February 2019: "Baptism," and "He Sent His Son."

I hope you find the links useful. They go directly to lds.org and have everything you need. 

Week 1
Scripture Quote: "Obey your parents," Ephesians 6:1
Song: "Baptism," by Mabel Jones Gabbott (First line: "Jesus came to John the Baptist")
Bible Story: "The Creation," retold by Kim Webb Reid and illustrated by Apryl Stott
Read The Friend, including the story "Jesus Was Baptized"

Week 2
Scripture Quote: "Pray to thy Father," Matthew 6:6
Song: "Baptism," by Mabel Jones Gabbott
Bible Story: "Adam and Eve," retold by Kim Webb Reid and illustrated by Apryl Stott
Read The Friend

Week 3
Scripture Quote: "The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet," Isaiah 14:7
Song: "He Sent His Son,"by Mabel Jones Gabbott, Music by Michael Finlinson Moody
Bible Story: "Noah," retold by Kim Webb Reid and illustrated by Apryl Stott
Read The Friend

Week 4
Scripture Quote: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy," Exodus 20:8 (explain that when something is "holy" it is special to Heavenly Father)
Song: "He Sent His Son," Lyrics by Mabel Jones Gabbott, Music by Michael Finlinson Moody
Bible Story: "Joseph Trusted God," retold by Kim Webb Reid and Apryl Stott
Read The Friend

Simple Success with a Come, Follow Me Family Home Evening

Sunday afternoon, my husband and I each read John 1 for our personal study.*
I also spent a long time online studying suggestions from other families and considering pre-made printables.
When I finished the day, the "Family Home Evening" box in my planner was still blank.
On Monday there was a sewing project to finish, lots of laundry, plus some MLK Day sales to take advantage of. When dinner time rolled around, I still hadn't printed anything cute. It was my daughter's turn to help with treat, and she was busy making cake mix cookies (to be filled with lemon pie filling). That was pretty much it. We were going to have to "wing it."
So we called the whole family in, and reminded them of expectations (stay sitting in this room until we're done; no electronics use unless you're looking up scriptures) and began. Without a "plan."
Well, glancing at the manual, we decided to start by explaining who John was, and what happened in this week's chapter. Having already (recently) read it ourselves, my husband and I felt comfortable with the material. This time, instead of reading that section straight out of the manual (which I had also familiarized myself with), my husband and I started to explain who John was in our own words. He would say something, and then I would say something. We encouraged questions or relevant comments from the children.
It felt very natural, like a dialogue.
Then everyone in the family helped us read John 1 out loud.**
We knelt for prayers.
Then my daughter served the treat she had made.
That was it. A simple, unadorned attempt to teach our family the gospel. The funny thing was: it felt like one of our most successful family nights.

It reminded my of something I had hear Elder Bednar say some time ago. After describing an unstructured family home evening based on gospel discussion and spontaneous sharing of testimonies, he said, "The best family home evenings are not necessarily the product of preprepared, purchased, or downloaded packets of outlines and visual aids."
"Watching with All Perseverance," Elder David A. Bednar, April 2010

There are many wonderful ideas and printables out there. I'm not saying there aren't. I even admire people who take the time and thought to create them. I just needed a reminder that the best thing our family needed this week had nothing to do with paper and ink. My children needed parents who had studied the gospel in advance, and an enthusiastic, informal discussion.

*For family study on Sunday, we shared what happened in our church classes, then read a story from The Ensign. (Before this year, I never would have thought to count a story from a church magazine as scripture. It turns out the kids love it.)
**This week, we will reread a few verses each following day, and have discussions or activities specific to those verses on those days.