Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sharing the Book of Mormon

I've been experimenting with different ways of more effectively sharing the Book of Mormon with friends and acquaintances as well as complete strangers I sometimes meet in various settings. Here are a couple of ways that I've found to be effective, if not at least personally satisfying, in carrying out my goal to help flood the earth with the Book of Mormon.

Paste a typewritten welcome message into the book's front cover. This helps me when I'm in a mad dash to go on a trip somewhere and I want to share a Book of Mormon with someone, but a) I don't know who it will be and b) I don't have much time to thoughtfully write something by hand in the cover. You can download a copy of what I've done and use it as well. To add the personal touch, I sign my name on the bottom and write a note or two.

The other cool thing about doing it this way is that the recipient can fold the insert over to act as a "persistent page". It's a great study aid because you don't have to juggle a piece of paper and the book to look things up. It's all one unit. The study page stays put while you flip through the scripture references.

Leave behind "business cards". These are printed on my home inkjet printer on both sides of regular or cardstock paper. I then cut them out using an inexpensive paper cutter. They're meant to get people interested in the concept of the Book of Mormon when I only have a few moments, say, in an elevator or on the train, after having had a conversation that references a gospel theme. The back of the card has the Web addresses for
in case a person becomes interested enough to explore further. I also put the card in 3 Nephi 11 so that a book recipient can naturally turn to the focal point of the Book of Mormon...when Jesus Christ visited the American continent.

Here are pictures of the final result once you paste the insert into the front cover (minus my signature) and use the card as a bookmark.

Insert in front cover

Full layout of insert and card

Let us know how these ideas work for you (or don't) and what can be improved.

And, if you're visiting this site as a result of receiving a book and/or card, please let us know if you found them helpful in discovering the Book of Mormon. We'd love to hear from you!

YouTube - 3 Nephi 11

In the "related videos" section of the video Steve just posted, I found this beautifully done piece. This one is a reading of 3 Nephi 11 with a similar artistic treatment. I find it very inspirational to see artists' renderings of what Christ's visit to the America's might have been like.