In the October 1988 General Conference, President Ezra Taft. Benson gave a talk entitled ‘Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon.’ In that talk he said, “We need to read daily from the pages of the book that will get a man ‘nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.’”
Ann Mccallum was a new member of the Church in the Dumbarton Ward of the Scotland Glasgow Stake. The prophet’s plea to read the Book of Mormon every day was not taken lightly by Ann, and she decided, from that day onwards, to literally read from the Book of Mormon every single day.
She has kept this commitment, without exception, for 30 years and is still going strong.
“In my mind, it wasn’t a goal as much as it was an imperative” she said. “I want to live with God in the celestial kingdom and no other book will get me nearer to God than the Book of Mormon.”
Though Ann has literally read the Book of Mormon every day, she said, “Sometimes it was no more than a line from a verse. The power of the Book of Mormon is not just in what we read and the wonderful doctrines and principles that will bless our lives, but it is also in the obedience required to read every day, even when it’s hard.
“Those days where I could only manage one line were just as uplifting as the days where I could take the time to study more fully.”
The benefits of this commitment were frequently manifest, but at one time of trial in Ann’s life, the spiritual oil accumulated in her lamp of faith over the years of obedience became soul-saving.
“My husband stopped coming to church for seven years. The first day I went to church without him was hard. There were few Sundays where I did not cry.
“We can’t always see what is coming, which is why obedience to the counsel of the prophets is so important. Following President Benson’s counsel, I kept my lamp full of spiritual oil. When my time alone at church began, I was ready.”
During this trying time, a good friend of Ann’s expressed some surprise that the strain of her husband’s inactivity hadn’t pulled her away from the gospel too.
“For me the opposite was true,” Ann said. “My daily scripture study had been a priority for so long that even in my heartbreak I couldn’t let it go but rather, clung to it more.
“I knew that my husband and I were both better off if I kept going and stayed strong. I am not a spiritual giant, I’m just a poor wee soul clinging to the iron rod but I have seen the immense power a person can receive when you read the Book of Mormon every day.”
Ann will continue to read the Book of Mormon, every day, for the rest of her life.
“The Book of Mormon is my guiding light; I made a commitment to my Heavenly Father and I’m sticking to it.”