How to Read the Book of Mormon in a Year
Reading the entire Book of Mormon in a year sounds like a big commitment, and then you do the math and it gets a lot smaller. The book runs about 531 pages. Spread across a year, that is roughly a page and a half a day, which most people can read in five minutes. The hard part was never the length. It is building the habit and not quitting the first time you miss a day. Here is a plan that survives real life.
The Math That Makes It Feel Possible
The whole thing intimidates people until they see the numbers. The Book of Mormon is about 531 pages in the standard edition, divided into 239 chapters. Spread 531 pages across 365 days and you land at roughly a page and a half a day. Think about it as chapters instead and it is about four or five a week, or a short chapter most days, and you actually finish with a couple of months to spare.
That is the number that kills the excuse. A page and a half is a few minutes, less time than you spend scrolling before you get out of bed. The Book of Mormon in a year is not a feat of endurance. It is a small daily habit that happens to add up to something big by the end.
Build the Habit So It Survives a Busy Week
Motivation will not carry you for a year. A habit will. Anchor your reading to something you already do every day: your morning coffee, your lunch break, the last few minutes before you turn out the light. Same time, same place, and keep the book or the app somewhere you cannot help but see it. The routine does the remembering so you do not have to.
And here is the part that decides whether you finish: when you miss a day, and you will, do not restart and do not pile on guilt. Just read today's portion and keep going. The people who finish the Book of Mormon in a year are not the ones who never missed a day. They are the ones who never let a missed day become a quit.
Read It So It Sticks, Not Just to Check a Box
A page a day can quietly turn into moving your eyes over words while your mind is somewhere else. Two small habits keep it real reading. First, mark one verse each day that stands out to you, even if you are not sure why. Second, when you hit a name or a phrase you do not understand, stop and look it up instead of gliding past it. That pause is usually where the good part is hiding.
Reading to finish and reading to understand are two different things, and a good plan serves the second. Finishing the book matters, but a year of daily reading where you actually noticed something is worth far more than a checked box. If a chapter stops you and you want it made plain, that is exactly what LDS Sunday School is built to help with.
Key Principles
- ✓The Book of Mormon is about 531 pages and 239 chapters
- ✓A year means roughly a page and a half, or a short chapter, each day
- ✓Pick a fixed time and anchor it to something you already do
- ✓A missed day is not failure; just pick up where you left off
- ✓Mark one verse that stands out each day so it is reading, not skimming
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Start FreeFrequently Asked Questions
How many pages is the Book of Mormon?
About 531 pages in the standard edition, across 239 chapters. Divided over a year, that comes to roughly a page and a half a day, which is only a few minutes of reading.
How long does it take to read the Book of Mormon in a year?
Only a few minutes a day. At about a page and a half daily you finish in a year, and at a chapter a day you finish in roughly eight months, which builds in margin for the days you inevitably miss.
What if I miss a few days?
Just start again with the current day's reading. Do not try to make up every missed page or restart from the beginning, because that is exactly how people quit. Consistency over the long run matters far more than a perfect streak.
Where should I start?
Start at the beginning, with First Nephi. The Book of Mormon is written to be read front to back, and the early chapters set up the family, the journey, and the themes that carry through the rest of the book.