The Book of Mormon and Science (The B.O.M. Series 1 of 7)

Are you excited to jump into Book of Mormon, Come Follow Me? We are, so to celebrate the upcoming study year, we’ve decided to do something a little different that we know you’re just going to love! 

For the next 7 weeks, you’ll get one email from us a week where we’ll talk about the Book of Mormon and why it’s so amazing! We’re calling it the B.O.M. series, and not just because it’s the bomb. (Happy accident.)

So, to start us off, we have some cold. Hard. Facts. 

1.) Daily Scripture study can improve your mental health. How? 

According to Dr. David T. Morgan, it does the following things:

1. By learning from the example of others

2. By helping us understand greater truths

3. By helping us qualify for promised blessings

You can read Dr. Morgan’s full paper here. 

2.) High amounts of dopamine are released in your brain when you study the scriptures.

Dr. Michael Ferguson, an Instructor of Neurology at Harvard, conducted a study at the University Utah while in grad school, and discovered that reading the scriptures, with an emphasis on The Book of Mormon, can affect neural pathways in the brain in charge of thinking and behavior. As you read, dopamine is released making you feel more focused, motivated, and happy. 

AND a study done at the University of Michigan has shown a link between dopamine and the pain response in humans. It showed that an increase in dopamine acts as an interface between stress, pain, and physical and emotional events. 

Who doesn’t need more of that?!

Watch Dr. Michael Ferguson’s Tedx Talk, Your Brain on God, here and learn more about his work here. (It’s fascinating stuff!)

3.) Studying the scriptures regularly has a profound impact on a person’s life. 

In a study done by Arnold Cole, Ed.D. and Pamela Caudill Ovwigho, Ph.D., they polled 40,000 people between the ages of 8 and 80 who read the scriptures a minimum of 4 x a week and found this:

1. Feeling lonely drops by 30%

2. Anger issues drop by 32%

3. Bitterness in relationships drops by 42%

4. Alcoholism drops by 57%

5. Sex outside of marriage drops by 68%

6. Feeling spiritually stagnant drops by 60%

7. Viewing pornography drops by 61%

8. Sharing your faith jumps by 200%

9. Discipling others jumps by 230%

That’s a pretty big impact! And these numbers increase with people who read more than 4x a week. 

Of course, we loving looking at facts, but the church is always encouraging people to learn by the Spirit. So, in that vein, we also have a few quotes for you about the blessings of reading the Book of Mormon:

When I think of the Book of Mormon, I think of the word “power”. The truths of the Book of Mormon have the power to heal, comfort, restore, succor, strengthen, console, and cheer our souls. - President Russel M. Nelson 

Let us continually reread the Book of Mormon so that we might more fully Come to Christ, be committed to Him, centered in Him. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the straight and narrow path. [...] This is my prayer, that the Book of Mormon may become the Keystone of our lives. - Ezra Taft Benson

When you feel weak, discouraged, depressed, or afraid, open the Book of Mormon and read. - Boyd K. Packer

We hope this email fills you with motivation and hope to prepare for the upcoming Come, Follow Me study year! In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you! What experiences have you had reading the scriptures that have made an impact on you mentally, emotionally, or physically for the better? Hit that reply button and let us know. 

And stayed tuned for next week's email. We’re jumping into The Book of Mormon and personal revelation, and you do not want to miss it! 

Love, 

The Cedar Fort Family

P.S. Catch the whole B.O.M. Series here:

The Book of Mormon and Science  (The B.O.M. Series 1 of 7)

The Book of Mormon and Personal Revelation (The B.O.M. Series 2 of 7)

The Book of Mormon and Kids/Teens (The B.O.M. Series 3 of 7)

Proofs of the Book of Mormon (The B.O.M. Series 4 of 7)

Book of Mormon Villains and What We Can Learn from Them. (The B.O.M. Series 5 of 7)

The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon (The B.O.M. Series 6 of 7)

Miracles of the Book of Mormon (The B.O.M. Series 7 of 7)

P.P.S. Don’t forget to check out our Book of Mormon collection here. We have everything you need to prepare for The Book of Mormon Come, Follow Me study year, from the 2 Hour Book of Mormon Primer, to Teaching the Book of Mormon to the ever popular David J. Ridges Book of Mormon Made Easier, Book of Mormon Made Easier for Teens, and the Book of Mormon Made Easier Journal Edition, and more!