There are many Book of Mormon commentaries and study guides available that give the author’s perspective on the Book of Mormon. This book is not one of them. The great truths of the Book of Mormon, particularly those that will be of greatest benefit to you, are found by going directly to the source then listening to the promptings of the Spirit. The study guide allows you to fully customize your daily devotional based on the amount of time you have available. It is divided into seven activities: Read, Look For, Ask Yourself, Ponder This Quote, Expand Your Understanding, Personal Application, and Prayer. This format allows you to select those activities that match both your needs and your time. For example, if you find you have limited time on a particular day you may only want to read the assignment and pray. On other days you can use the additional activities to expand your study and deepen your understanding. Following this pattern of scripture study and using these tools will lead you to ponder the Book of Mormon and will help you strengthen your testimony of its truthfulness as you listen to the Spirit. Additionally, it will aid you in obtaining the blessings promised by Elder Marion G. Romney in the April 1980 LDS General Conference:"And so, I counsel you, my beloved brothers and sisters and friends everywhere, to make reading in the Book of Mormon a few minutes each day a lifelong practice. All of us need continuing close contact with the Spirit of the Lord. We need to take the Holy Spirit for our guide that we be not deceived. I am persuaded by my own experience and that of my loved ones, as well as by the statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that one can get and keep closer to the Lord by reading the Book of Mormon than by reading any other Book. Don't be content with what someone else says about what is in it. Drink deeply from the divine fountain itself. "I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to that counsel. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity--the pure love of Christ--will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness." (Conference Report, April 1980; 112-113) Update Notes: Edition 2 (March 2014) Contains links to the LDS.org scriptures site for each of the reading assignments. Additionally a number of minor error corrections have been made to the original edition.Edition 2.1 (17 Apr 14) Contains a significant number of punctuation and formatting changes to bring it more in line with the LDS Church style guide. It also contains a corrections to a few minor errors in the cross reference sections.Edition 2.2 (18 May 14) Contains additional minor corrections and updates to the cross references.Edition 3.0 (15 July 14) Over 2500 hyperlinks added to the document to make cross referencing easier. Also contains corrections to a few minor errors that were found during the update and re-editing process.Edition 3.1 (24 Sept 14) Minor corrections to the textEdition 3.2 (2 Jan 15) Fixed minor errors and hyperlinks.Edition 3.3 (16 May 15) Fixed minor errors and hyperlinksEdition 3.

    She restores historic carousels -- her dream career -- working from her own studio in a former roller skating rink. Though black herself, she spent her first years in a Basque immigrant community in Nevada, the adopted child of a single mother. And after the mother's death, she was raised by her Aunt Joy in a Catholic Worker house.  Mirai has a lot going for her -- but then, why is everything suddenly falling apart? Her current, year-long carousel project is veering crazily out of control, in both schedule and budget. The guy who dumped her only months before has shown up married and -- as far as Mirai is concerned -- to the worst possible person. Her mother's death long ago is looking less and less like an accident. And Joy, the one person who has had her complete trust, may know more about that death than she has let Mirai believe.  Mirai knows how to restore a carousel, but can she restore relationships with those she loves? Can she strip the old paint of past wrongs to prepare her life for new, more vibrant colors? And will her eyes be clear enough to spot the brass ring when it finally comes within reach? ///////////////////////////////////////////////// Anne L. Watson, a retired historic preservation architecture consultant, is the author of several novels, plus books on such diverse subjects as soapmaking and baking with cookie molds. She currently lives in Friday Harbor, Washington, in the San Juan Islands, with her husband and fellow author, Aaron Shepard. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// SAMPLE Next morning, I picked out Will's car parked on the street in front of the coffee shop. No room for doubt -- Will had a real screamer of a car, an old red Mustang convertible. Not that he described it that way. His version started off with "1964-1/2" for the model year and "poppy red" for the color, then veered into details about the color of certain key engine parts -- at which point I had always zoned out so far, I didn't hear the rest of the speech. There it sat, parked at the curb in Peregrine Falls, Idaho, already collecting a few admirers. Not even counting the vanity plate -- ORGAN4U -- the car had so much of Will's personality attached to it, I felt mildly nauseated. As an alternative to kicking a fender, I slammed into the coffee shop. "Whoa, Mirai! Remember us?" The crew had gathered at the only big table in the Clearwater Cafe. I'd been so wrapped up in my own problems, I hadn't even seen them. They were all there -- Evangeline, Harvey, Mr. Papadakis. And Will. Neither fight nor flight was practical. I sat down at the table. The waitress hurried to me with a coffeepot and mug. I ordered the special and sipped my coffee. "Clearwater" was certainly the word for that coffee -- they must have named the restaurant after it. I glanced around the table, skipping over Will. Mr. Papadakis caught my eye. "What's the agenda?" he asked. "We'll go to the park as soon as we're done here. Check out the carousel, then have lunch with the committee. We have to give the owners a preliminary report tomorrow morning." Evangeline smiled. "How long are you staying?" she asked me. "All week. You?" "I'll stay awhile. I may want to work on things in place." In Evangeline's case, "awhile" could mean several months. She had an answering service, but no permanent address. At the moment, I envied her. Harvey shook his head. "I'm leaving tomorrow night. I'll come back later, when the work on the building starts. For now, a couple of days will do it." It was Will's turn, so I had to look toward him then. He sat quietly, holding a coffee cup. Will had never worn jewelry, but now a ring glinted on his finger. A plain gold ring on the fourth finger of his left hand. A wedding ring.