I've been studying Japanese for years, and 2 or 3 years ago, I started reading the Book of Mormon in Japanese. It was hard, much harder than reading the Spanish I did ages ago: there are no cognates. And while everyday Japanese is full of English loan words, the Book of Mormon just is not. So progress was slow: in the beginning I often read less than a single verse in a sitting. I'd worked up to where, on a good day, I could read around 10 verses. I think that my personal best, prior to Conference, was somewhere around 12 verses in a day.
English:
...but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands...
Japanese:
They do not stop their eyes on the works of the Lord's hand.
-2 Nephi 15:12 (Compare Isaiah 5:12)
So President Nelson asks us to read, and I figure I'm going to have to take a break and go back to English for a while. This is disappointing: I've worked so hard, and I'm afraid that if I break my streak I'll lose ground.
"There is no way that I'm going to be able to do that in Japanese. Not that fast."
Then, the Little Voice:
"Well, actually...."
That's all he said.
I took the plunge.
That day, I read 1 Nephi 1, the whole chapter.
I was so happy with myself. Personal best!
English:
[Him] who should come to redeem His people from their sins.
Japanese:
that Honorable One who will certainly come to redeem His own people from
(away from) their sins.
-Alma 5:21
The next day I looked at a schedule and realized how inadequate a pace 1 chapter a day is. Most days, my list calls for about three chapters. Some days I did it, but I started to fall behind. That's a lot of reading, and the fact is, I'm not that good at Japanese. So many words! A new language just has an unbelievable number of words and phrases that you need to recognize in order to be able to read. I know more than I used to, but...
I kept trying. Slogging along. Losing a little bit of ground every day.
I figured I could catch up with whatever I miss in English in the last week or two of the year.
English:
For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance...
Japanese:
The devil's kingdom will certainly shake. To certainly repent, they must be pressed/urged.
-2 Nephi 28:19
Eventually, I was about 15 days behind, which means somewhere in the neighborhood of 35-45 chapters behind. Last week, I decided to take a day off of school, to try to catch up. I asked the kids for help, and they were amazing. They did all kinds of things independently and for each other, so that I could read. It was so hard. I was tired. My brain was full. And I would take a break, and then come back to it. I read 5 days' worth. It was amazing! I'd never read so much Japanese in a month, prior to the challenge, as what I read that day! And I was also a little bit disappointed: 5 days wasn't enough to really catch up. The date moved too, so I only gained 4 of those 5 days.
The next morning, I woke up with a sore throat and no voice.
English:
Thou shalt go before this people, and I will go with thee and deliver this people out of bondage.
Japanese:
You shall stand at the front/vanguard of this people. I will be with you [this word is often how they describe friends being with each other] when you go, and rescue out this people from slavery.
-Mosiah 24:17
No voice meant no school. This was frustrating, because it's so important to keep school going, but there it was: I can't do much with no voice and no energy. Turns out, it was a blessing.
So I sat on the couch and read. We didn't even pretend to do school that day: the kids had a free day, and I read on the couch. I fell asleep, and they did quiet things so I could rest. I made up another 2 days: I was now less than 10 days behind. It was invigorating!
English:
...and having peace of conscience...
Japanese:
"conscience" is a compound of "good" and "heart":
...having gained tranquility in their good heart...
-Mosiah 4:3
The next several days, I made up more.
Not much, just one or two extras each day. But it added up.
I began to hope I would make it all the way, in Japanese.
It's a miracle; there's no way that I could do it on my own.
It's too big. Too hard. Too much.
But I really can do all things, even crazy things like read the whole Book of Mormon in another language, in three months, through Christ: the strength to do it is His.
Every day I find little gems. As many times as I have read the Book of Mormon, this is almost like having a whole new book of scripture. (What a blessing that would be, if He gave us more of His words again!) I'm building up quite a collection of things to put in my scripture journal when the reading is done; I'm not even trying to do that right now, just putting in a little tag, since I'm reading on my phone: this lets me listen and read at the same time, and it turns out that I know some words by sight, and others by sound, but when I follow along as the phone reads, then the Holy Ghost helps me remember things, and I am spending less and less time in the dictionary.
It was crazy to try.
I think it's going to actually happen.
I'm so glad I took the leap.
What a blessing this has turned out to be.
And it's not even done, yet.
