Previously Owned Book of Mormon

Thank you, thank you. It only took me one hour yesterday after posting to get a full picture of the path this book is going to take. I love inspiration. I owe you.

One of the questions I found interesting came to me via email: How did you learn to make bold decisions?

I thought about that one question all day until we had our (feeble) Family Home Evening in our front room last night. Chup and I were talking to the children about the Book of Mormon. As I was explaining why I love the book, it occurred to me that the stories and actions of the characters had been the source of my inspiration to follow truth, personal revelation and make bold decisions.

Almost every account in this book leads up to a climax where someone has to make a brave choice and follow through with that choice, feeling the consequences good or bad. I've read these stories so much it's become ingrained in me: we can do hard things.

Every year or so Chup buys me a new paperback Book of Mormon and I start reading the book all over again with a new pen. I like to make messes of my pages with ideas and references. This has made for a library of Books of Mormon on our bookshelves. Most of them are falling apart and spilling with notes I've crammed inside the pages.

I remembered when my friend and blogger Kelly McCaleb gave away a copy of her beloved, marked-up, water-stained Book of Mormon (post here). I asked my little family if they'd help me find one that I could give away too. We pulled them all out and went through each one until we found one in semi-good condition.

Are you like me? Do you like to read books marked up by previous readers? Do you like double insight when you read from the writer and a reader? Then maybe you'd like this book. I'll send it to you. It will go out to the first inquiry in my inbox (I'd love to send it out to someone who doesn't currently own a BOM) my email is cjanemail @ gmail.com. I also have a large collection of unread Books of Mormon, I can send some of those out too. (Of course, if you'd like a new/new one you can email my sister Stephanie, she gives them away here.) If you'd like to read about my love affair with the Book of Mormon you can read that here.

I'd like to thank Kelly for this idea. And thanks to you for your ideas. We're all so clever.

*Update! BOM has been taken! Thank you all for your responses. I wish I had a million more.

this month I've decided to write a book while simultaneously breastfeeding my baby and battling the postpartum blues. should be a blast. stay tuned.