60 Days or Less

To jump start my daily scripture reading again, I've decided to quit where I am in the Book of Mormon (which is somewhere in Alma) and start over reading the book in 60 days. How many times do people do that? How may time have I done that, start over with "I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents . . .".

Well, today I was reading in 2 Nephi 5. Laman and Lemuel are still trying to kill their little brother Nephi and the Lord finally tells Nephi he should probably move somewhere else. So Nephi says in verse 6,

"Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also Zoram and his family, and Sam, mine elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all those who would go with me. And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the warnings and the revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my words."

So this little verse got me thinking a little. First, how many were in the group that left Jerusalem? Lehi, Sariah, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, Nephi, Jacob, Joseph, some sisters (possibly 2 or 3 or more), Zoram, Ishmael, Ishmael's wife, 5 daughters, and 2 sons. That makes a total of about 21. Lehi's family and Ishmael's family intermarry during their travel through the wilderness (8 years). They probably start families, but the oldest grandchildren of Lehi wouldn't be older than about 7 when they traveled across the sea.

Verse 6 says that Nephi left with his family, Zoram left with his family, Sam left with his family, Jacob and Joseph don't seem to be married yet. And I'm not quite sure about the sisters. So who are ALL THOSE WHO WOULD GO WITH ME? Nephi has just mentioned everyone who initially came across the sea and who have taken sides with him. I don't think he was referring to Ishmael's sons because they tended to side with Laman and Lemuel in earlier chapters.

It just seems to me that the ALL THOSE must have been other people who were living here at the time Lehi and his group showed up. I really don't believe Lehi's group was the first to people this land and for whatever reason, Nephi doesn't seem to feel the need to mention them, although it is quite possible they are mentioned in his large plates that contained the more secular history of his people. Oh, the have all the scriptures would be fascinating sometimes.

Anyway, here's my reading schedule I'm following for the next 60 days. They say it doesn't matter how many times you read the Book of Mormon, there is always something new to be learned.

1 1 Nephi 1-4

2 1 Nephi 5-10
3 1 Nephi 11-13
4 1 Nephi 14-16
5 1 Nephi 17-18
6 1 Nephi 19-22
7 2 Nephi 1-3
8 2 Nephi 4-7
9 2 Nephi 8-9
10 2 Nephi 10-15
11 2 Nephi 16-23
12 2 Nephi 24-26
13 2 Nephi 27-30
14 2 Nephi 31-33
15 Jacob 1-4
16 Jacob 5-7
17 Enos, Jarom, Omni & Words of Mormon
18 Mosiah 1-3
19 Mosiah 4-8
20 Mosiah 9-12
21 Mosiah 13-17
22 Mosiah 18-21
23 Mosiah 22-26
24 Mosiah 27-29
25 Alma 1-4
26 Alma 5-7
27 Alma 8-10
28 Alma 11-13
29 Alma 14-17
30 Alma 18-21
31 Alma 22-25
32 Alma 26-29
33 Alma 30-32
34 Alma 33-36
35 Alma 37-40
36 Alma 41-44
37 Alma 45-48
38 Alma 49-51
39 Alma 52-56
40 Alma 57-59
41 Alma 60-63
42 Helaman 1-4
43 Helaman 5-7
44 Helaman 8-12
45 Helaman 13-16
46 3 Nephi 1-4
47 3 Nephi 5-8
48 3 Nephi 9-12
49 3 Nephi 13-17
50 3 Nephi 18-20
51 3 Nephi 21-26
52 3 Nephi 27-30
53 4 Nephi, Mormon 1-2
54 Mormon 3-7
55 Mormon 8-9
56 Ether 1-5
57 Ether 6-10
58 Ether 11-15
59 Moroni 1-7
60 Moroni 8-10