Sunrise Tantalize

FYI for anyone who wants to read LDS materials on their Amazon Kindle. First I tried adding PDF files to the kindle by emailing them to [mykindle'semailaddress]@kindle.com. This converts them and emails them to your kindle so you can receive them wirelessly. The problem with that is that the converter has difficulty reformatting the PDF file to the .azn files. Then I found that the Church offers files for PocketPCs and that the Kindle can read the MobiPocket (.prc) file without conversion. So I emailed the files to myself and they read perfectly (mostly because they don’t have any pictures). And yes, it costs you $0.10 to email the files to yourself but you get the book for free. If you want to convert the files for free, you need to email them to @free.kindle.com and that will convert the file to the Kindle format. Then you can transfer the converted file to the Kindle using the cable.

The convenience of putting LDS literature is that you don’t need to carry around a stack of books. You can put about 200 books on a kindle. It’s nice to have my Joseph Smith manual, the Gospel Principles manual and the Ensign on one small item. For what it’s worth, I prefer this version of the scriptures over this other version of the scriptures. The first version is easier to navigate. When I’m reading the scriptures at home, I tend to use the Kindle, but I use hard copies of the scriptures in church because I can flip to passages more quickly.

Update on the “Coming Out” Process (see the last 3 posts)

I’ve polled my siblings on telling my parents about joining the LDS church. My (younger) brother thinks that neither mom nor dad will care. And they don’t have any right to care. Dad might just be happy that I’m going to church, says my brother. Little sis thinks that Mom and Dad will both flip out with Mom rated as ‘kinda flipping out’ and Dad rated as ‘really flipping out.’ The Boy thinks that I should have bought the Strawberry Blonde beer I was lusting over in the grocery store to show my parents that I won’t be “a crazy conservative Mormon.” I think my parents know me better than that. I think the Boy may be worried that I’ll become a crazy conservative Mormon. But I am trying very hard to be patient with him.

Book of Mormon Resources/ Hints

If you’re struggling through the Book of Mormon for the first time (like me), here are some hints. My main problems are that I fall asleep while reading or I’m really confused about what’s going on.

• Try listening to the BoM instead of reading. The LDS Church has an audio page with a link to the audio version of the Book of Mormon. You can listen to each chapter in your browser or you can download the entire BoM or the individual books to your computer. If you download them you can upload them to your iPod/mp3 player or burn them to a CD and listen while you’re doing something else.
• I like to listen to the chapters with the physical copy propped up against my knees while knitting. Apparently I need to be multi-tasking at all times to stay awake. I got through 2 Nephi 1-10 in an hour tonight.
• There’s a pretty good summary at the Book of Mormon Online. Click on “Lehites in Jerusalem and Arabia” to start at 1 Nephi.
• If you want a version of the Book of Mormon in simple, modern English visit PlainBookofMormon.com. It’s basically the paraphrased version.
• You can find another summary here at Light Planet.
• The official Book of Mormon can be found at LDS.org.
• There’s a pronouncing guide in the back of the Book of Mormon. It’s after Moroni and before the index.

I was going to write about something else as well, but I forget what it is and I’m tired and going to bed.

Tonight I was asked, “Do you believe the Book of Mormon is true?” Ummm, no? I don’t like the word ‘true’ in that sentence. A lot of Mormons say, “I know this Church is true” or “I know the Book of Mormon is true.” But what does that mean exactly?

To me, ‘true’ involves facts or something that can be empirically proven. Can I actually prove that the Book of Mormon is true? Can anyone prove that? No. Can anyone prove that God is real? No. Knowing kind of defeats the purpose of faith. Belief is more appropriate. I believe that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Another way to put it is that I have a testimony. I think that believing is different than knowing but believing in something doesn’t make it less valid. It is a different way of knowing.

After explaining all of this to the missionaries and brother C, one of the missionaries says, “So I understand how you feel about the Book of Mormon. However, if someone else asks you, ‘Do you believe that the Book of Mormon is true…’” I said, “I should just say, ‘yes’ and avoid this 15-minute conversation!” And they said, yeah, that might be a good idea. Another thing I could say is that I have testimony that the Book of Mormon is valid.

Do statements like “This Church is true” bother other people? Is it a grammar issue? Can a noun be true? You don’t usually say, “This pillow is true.” You can say, “This story is true.” I think I’m just being an obsessive English major. I’ll stop now.