I declared last year the "year of the essay". The following deluge of Amazon spending filled up my bookshelves and queued me up with enough reading for the next several years at my new, grown up reading rate (full time employment and small children leave little time for intellectual discovery, I'm afraid).
In other words, it's going to take a great deal of time for me to become well-versed in the art and method of the essay form. And I hate writing on subject matter in which I'm poorly versed. That's one stream of thought.
The second centers around a challenge I recently received from my father-in-law to read the Book of Mormon along with all our family on that side. For those of you not aware, I am a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons. My faith is a preeminent influence on both my life decisions and my worldview (though that influence seems to have borne different fruit in my life than it has in the lives of other more prominent members of the Church like, say, Mitt). That said, the Book of Mormon, which is such a key component of my church's identity and theology, has gotten short shrift in its attention from me for the past few years.
While serving as a full time missionary for the church, I spent hours studying the Book of Mormon. I wrote long, detailed entries of my experiences during that study in several notebooks. One entry for each chapter in the book. The entries were filled with exegesis, stories, and personal witnesses of the truths I read.
Unfortunately, as of right now, my thorough search of my apartment and garage has placed those notebook firmly in the MIA column. Rather than mourn too much, I've decided to try again.
The years since my missionary service have been filled with a number of different trials, triumphs, and experiences. I have little doubt that the Book of Mormon will be a fertile field for a new collection of marginalia, ephemera, and commentary.
For those of you unfamiliar with the contents and provenance of the Book of Mormon, here's a link to a high level introduction.
If you'd like a free copy of your own to peruse, click here. The catch, of course, is that missionaries from the Church will deliver it personally and give you a personalized introduction. But their warm presence and special message might be just what you need to take your happiness to a whole new level. If you'd prefer to skip missionary earnestness, you can always purchase an unofficial (but still accurate) copy of the book from sites like Amazon.
I can't promise that my entries will be incisive or insightful. But they will be mine.
In other words, it's going to take a great deal of time for me to become well-versed in the art and method of the essay form. And I hate writing on subject matter in which I'm poorly versed. That's one stream of thought.
The second centers around a challenge I recently received from my father-in-law to read the Book of Mormon along with all our family on that side. For those of you not aware, I am a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons. My faith is a preeminent influence on both my life decisions and my worldview (though that influence seems to have borne different fruit in my life than it has in the lives of other more prominent members of the Church like, say, Mitt). That said, the Book of Mormon, which is such a key component of my church's identity and theology, has gotten short shrift in its attention from me for the past few years.
While serving as a full time missionary for the church, I spent hours studying the Book of Mormon. I wrote long, detailed entries of my experiences during that study in several notebooks. One entry for each chapter in the book. The entries were filled with exegesis, stories, and personal witnesses of the truths I read.
Unfortunately, as of right now, my thorough search of my apartment and garage has placed those notebook firmly in the MIA column. Rather than mourn too much, I've decided to try again.
The years since my missionary service have been filled with a number of different trials, triumphs, and experiences. I have little doubt that the Book of Mormon will be a fertile field for a new collection of marginalia, ephemera, and commentary.
For those of you unfamiliar with the contents and provenance of the Book of Mormon, here's a link to a high level introduction.
If you'd like a free copy of your own to peruse, click here. The catch, of course, is that missionaries from the Church will deliver it personally and give you a personalized introduction. But their warm presence and special message might be just what you need to take your happiness to a whole new level. If you'd prefer to skip missionary earnestness, you can always purchase an unofficial (but still accurate) copy of the book from sites like Amazon.
I can't promise that my entries will be incisive or insightful. But they will be mine.
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