Book of Mormon Stories

Ever since the baby was born I haven't felt like I've had an abundance of time to do much else besides feed, change, burp, bath, comfort and entertain Jonas. But I did notice I had quite a bit of time to read while I was feeding him- probably about 4 hours out of every 24 (he eats every 2-2.5 hours). So last week I felt inspired to take a Book of Mormon challenge I read about a year ago, which is to read the entire Book of Mormon three times within 90 days. The focus of the first read is to gain a better sense of the story and to make general observations and questions; the second, to pay special attention to references to Christ and his atonement; and the third, to liken the scriptures unto me. Each day I read 18 pages, so even though I only started less than a week ago I am already reading Jacob which really allows the story to flow in a way I haven't experienced while reading a chapter a day. The people become much more vivid and lifelike and I feel myself growing to love the words of the prophets more everyday. Unfortunately it is extremely difficult to mark important passages and write notes in the margin while feeding (Karen, maybe we should invent a Zaky for feeding babies?) but it really allows me feel the spirit throughout my day. I was excited to hear the conference talk about the importance of reading it to infants because I feel that Jonas has been benefitting from listening to the stories too even though he is too young to understand them. It's sweet to look down at him from time to time and see him looking at me very solemnly with his dark eyes while he watches my face as I read. I love the sense of peace and hope I feel each time I read and I'm looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding and testimony of this great book.