A Busy Year for Latter-day Saints

By: Robyn Heirtzler
There，s nothing like a little friendly competition to get people going.
Gordon B. Hinckley, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, probably didn’t intend for it to be a competition when he challenged church members to finish reading the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. Still, even those who missed his challenge in the August issue of the Ensign magazine soon heard about it. “What chapter are you on?” became a catchphrase in Latter-day Saint circles.
Hinckley assured church members that if they read a little more than one and a half chapters a day, they would be able to finish all 239 chapters by December.
“Without reservation I promise you that if each of you will observe this simple program, regardless of how many times you previously may have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God,” Hinckley wrote.
Millions of members all over the world heeded the challenge. Hinckley gave a similar challenge as a counselor in the First Presidency (in 1979 and again in 1988), but for many people this was their first time reading the Book of Mormon. Some finished with plenty of time to spare; others spent their New Year’s Eve scrambling to finish before the stroke of 12. Regardless of when they finished—or whether they finished at all—local members agreed that the experience was worthwhile.
“It was definitely worth it,” said one Cedar City woman, who asked to remain anonymous. “I have a stronger testimony of the gospel and a realization of how true it really is. I’ve read the Book of Mormon before, but this time it made a lot more sense and things tied together. I was able to follow the story better.
“I don’t know if it’s because I’m older, but I was able to see the connections between the world today and what the Book of Mormon is talking about,” she continued.
According to a story in the Dec. 27 Deseret Morning News, Covenant Communications saw a significant increase in Book of Mormon product sales—including the Book of Mormon on tape, CD, DVD, VHS, Book of Mormon Heritage Edition, and the Book of Mormon in triple combination on CD and MP3—between August and December, from approximately 11,000 last year to 28,000 this year. A DVD narrated by Rex Campbell was an especially hot item, but “sales of the book on CD (were) 10 times higher than the same quarter last year at the church’s main Distribution Center.”
Kris Bahr, manager of Mountain West Books in Cedar City, said she also saw an increase in sales for Book of Mormon-related items. CDs and cassettes were the most popular, especially in October through December as people started their Christmas shopping. The big illustrated editions of the book were also best sellers. Bahr said the DVD, which came out last year, was only available through special order, but a few people requested it.
Reading the Book of Mormon was only part of what kept church members busy during 2005. Latter-day Saints all over the world spent the entire year celebrating the 200th birthday of Joseph Smith Jr., founder and first president of the Church. Smith was born Dec. 23, 1805, in Sharon, Vt.
Thousands of youth in Cedar City and the surrounding area participated in “A Great and a Marvelous Work” this past July at the Centrum. Celebrations also took place in St. George, Provo, Ogden, Logan and Salt Lake City. The year-long birthday party culminated in a worldwide broadcast on Dec. 23.
Wards and stakes throughout the church found other ways to celebrate the life of a man members revere as a prophet. Youth from the Enoch 4th Ward, for example, planned and took part in an “evening of elegance” and Joseph Smith birthday party on Dec. 20. Bishop Monte Criddle and his wife, Marnie, came dressed as Joseph and Emma Smith. Others in attendance acted out the parts of people from church history: Brigham Young, Lorenzo Snow, Parley P. Pratt, Eliza R. Snow, etc.
The menu, décor and dress were much as they would have been in the 19th century. Marnie Criddle gave the young men and young women a quick course in etiquette, including how to use the beautiful china that women in the ward had loaned for the occasion. At the end of the evening, SUU dance student Heather Smith taught a square dancing lesson.
Seventeen-year-old Chanel Schulthies said it was stressful preparing for the evening of elegance, but worth it to sit back and enjoy it in the end.
“I had fun doing the whole thing,” she said.
For Schulthies, the Youth Spectacular in July was the most memorable part of celebrating Joseph Smith’s 200th birthday.“Youth Spectacular was the best part,” she said. “It was the one that had the biggest impact on everyone, including me. “The spirit was so strong when we were up there sharing our talents, bearing our testimony of Joseph Smith. That was amazing. There were a lot of kids there who didn’t have a testimony of Joseph Smith, but came away with one.”