The Book of Enos, found in the Book of Mormon, is very brief—only 27 verses contained in one chapter. I was once challenged to read it every day for a full month. It seemed an odd challenge to me. How much could I learn from a mere 27 verses, so short it’s often covered in lessons with several other books? I went to work though, and after a few days, my mind and heart were suddenly opened. While the first few days, I saw nothing new, after a few days, I found myself noticing things that had escaped me before. Enos became real to me and I began to think about him as an actual person. He was real, but after a full month, I knew his reality in a new way. Questions arose in my mind about the things I read. I began to ponder the small mentions that had previously not seemed worth my thought. I began to apply his life to my own.

From this experience, I learned to read scriptures in a new way. I was accustomed to setting a daily reading schedule—so many chapters a day. On busy days, I raced through the reading in order to meet my deadline. Who had time, with an ambitious reading schedule and a checklist of chapters and verses to cross off, to stop and ponder, wonder, or read the same 27 verses thirty-one times in a row?

I now discovered the value of slowing down, of making my goal to be one of reading daily, but not of specifying how much I would read. Some days I read one verse and thought about it all day. Sometimes I flew through chapters, but other times I slowed down and read thoughtfully.

Lately, I’ve slowed down even further. As I’ve begun doing the Book of Mormon blog, I’ve had to go slowly and evaluate each verse for potential lessons. I’ve had to research. What have church leaders said about this story or topic? What message can I extract from it that might help another? How do I explain it to someone who has never read it before, who isn’t even a member of the church?

At the same time, I began reading the Book of Mormon in Brazilian Portuguese. I am barely beginning to learn Portuguese, so this is a very slow process for me. I have the Portuguese version open next to the English version. I also have a translation program or two open on my computer. Verse by verse, I work my way through the book. Because translation isn’t an exact art, I sometimes have to stop to think about the meaning as I try to guess what the verse is before checking it.

Between these two methods, I am reading the scriptures more slowly than I ever imagined, and thinking more. You can get the same effect by keeping a scripture journal. As you read the Book of Mormon, record your thoughts and questions. Follow the links in the articles to learn more about the topic. When you reach the end of the book, where you’re challenged to ask God if it’s true, your journal will help you to notice when you felt the spirit, and what impact the book might have had on you.

Slow down…the book will be here forever. Savor it slowly. Try reading Enos for a month and see what happens to you.