“Sleepy Scripture Time,” Friend, Jan. 2024, 30–31.
Sleepy Scripture Time
Even though it was early, Elvira knew reading the scriptures was worth it.
This story happened in Norway.
Elvira woke up to Dad’s voice. “Time for scriptures,” he said.
She sat up in bed and rubbed her sleepy eyes. It was still dark outside. And it was cold! Elvira didn’t want to leave her cozy bed.
Mum said reading the scriptures was how they could get to know Jesus better. But reading scriptures every morning was hard!
Elvira slowly walked up the stairs and sat next to her older sister, Sigrid, on the couch. She hugged a pillow and snuggled into the warmth of her fuzzy blanket. Her brothers were in the other room starting their online seminary class.
Dad’s phone rang. He answered it, and family members showed up on the screen. Aunt Liv was dressed and ready for work. Their cousin, Dorthea, was still in her pajamas, just like Elvira.
Elvira waved to them through the video call and yawned. They always did scripture time with Aunt Liv and Dorthea. They lived in another part of Norway four hours away. It was easier for all of them to read scriptures when they had a goal to call each other every day. And Elvira loved to see her cousin!
A few minutes later, Mum joined the call too. “Hi, girls!” she said. She was traveling for work this week, but she still called for family scripture time.
They said a prayer. Then Elvira opened her scriptures. They were reading the Book of Mormon together. Everyone took turns reading verses.
Elvira listened as the others read, but it was hard to stay awake. Sigrid had fallen back asleep on the couch. Elvira poked her. But then something in the verse caught her attention.
“And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood,” Dorthea read.*
“I know this story!” Elvira said. “It’s Lehi’s dream.” She had seen a scripture video about it. There was a beautiful tree with white fruit, and the people held the rod to help them get to it.
“Do you remember what the rod is like?” asked Mum.
“The scriptures?”
“That’s right!” Dad said. “Nephi teaches later that the rod is like the word of God. How do you think we can hold to the rod like the people in Lehi’s dream?”
“We’re holding the rod right now!” Elvira held up her Book of Mormon. “By having scripture time.”
Mum nodded. “When we read the scriptures, we come closer to Jesus Christ. Just like the people got closer to the tree of life when they held to the rod.”
As they kept reading, Elvira imagined herself grabbing onto the rod and walking toward the beautiful tree. She didn’t feel so sleepy anymore.
Soon it was time to go. Aunt Liv and Mum needed to go to work. And Elvira, Sigrid, and Dorthea needed to get ready for school.
“Bye, everyone!” Elvira waved to her family on the screen. “Love you!”
As she ran downstairs to get ready for school, Elvira felt warm inside. And not because of her fuzzy blanket. She knew the warm feeling was the Holy Ghost telling her the Book of Mormon was true. It was a great way to start the day!
Illustration by Hector Borlasca