6 Ways to Get Your Teen to Read the Book of Mormon This Summer

The prophets have asked every Church member to read and study the Book of Mormon. But for some teens, reading every day becomes at best a chore and at worst a trigger for a fight with Mom and Dad. Here are six simple ideas to help increase your teen’s interest in reading the Book of Mormon.

1. Make it matter.

One of the most common reasons why teens aren’t interested in the Book of Mormon is because they have a hard time seeing how it has anything to do with their lives. We should always ask how a principle applies to them today.

For instance, King Noah chose friends who were bad influences on him (see Mosiah 11:1–15). Does it really matter who our friends are today? Are there any parallels between the Nephites wearing armor to battle and us dressing modestly today (see Alma 43:19–21)? How do things like pornography and drugs poison us “by degrees” (Alma 47:18)? Seeing how the teachings of the Book of Mormon apply to their lives can be quite powerful for teens.

2. Make it fun.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with injecting a little appropriate humor into your study of the Book of Mormon. For instance, I can’t read about King Noah without comparing him to Jabba the Hutt. I always picture Sherem as a sleazy con artist—one part televangelist and one part used car salesman. Chemish’s lone verse in the book of Omni, where he basically rats on his brother for waiting 38 years before writing anything, cracks me up every time (see Omni 1:9). When Ammoron writes a letter to Captain Moroni in Alma 54:16, in which he swears to avenge his brother’s death, I can’t help but hear Mandy Patinkin’s voice from The Princess Bride:

“Hello, my name is Ammoron. You killed my brother. Prepare to die.”

A little humor can go a long way to breathing some life into the people of the Book of Mormon.

Check out 3-6 on LDSLiving.com.