Reading the Book of Mormon

Adapted from The Presidents of the Church, ed. Leonard J. Arrington (1986), 223–24.

Illustrated by Mike Eagle

One day, Heber J. Grant’s uncle asked Heber and his cousin a question.

Uncle: Have you boys ever read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover?

Cousin: Not yet.

Heber: Me neither.

Uncle: How about a little contest then? I’ll give the first boy to finish the book a nice pair of buckskin gloves.

Heber really wanted the gloves. He started reading that same night.

Cousin: How many pages did you read last night, Heber?

Heber: I read 25.

Cousin: I’m going to beat you! I stayed up most of the night and read 150!

Heber was disappointed that he would probably lose the contest, but he kept reading the Book of Mormon anyway. He read slowly so he could understand it better.

Heber: I finished reading the Book of Mormon today, Uncle Anthony.

Uncle: You did? Congratulations! You’ve won the contest.

Even though Heber’s cousin had gotten a fast start, he hadn’t read a page since. Heber was grateful he had won the gloves. But even more important, he was grateful he had gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon.