Scripture Time

At the beginning of the year, we decided to spend time each night reading out of the scriptures with our kids. Now, we had been doing this, but we were reading out of the Book of Mormon reader, and illustrated stories from the Old/New Testament and Book of Mormon, which is fine when you have small kids, but when they start getting to be teenagers, that bores them and they don't want to participate.
So we decided to read out of the actual scriptures. We are starting with the Book of Mormon. When we first started our night went something like this. We would read a verse, then each child would proceed to ask what certian words meant. Often each child would ask what the same word went. So to read a chapter was a very time consuming event, fraught with headaches, kids getting tired and losing interest and parents becoming frustrated, but trying not to show it so that it wouldn't drive the Spirit, if it was there, away.
Now we are almost done with 2 Nephi, we finish the last chapter tonight. And I noticed something last night. While we still are explaining what words means, the questions from the kids have turned more to "what does this verse mean?" and "isn't this like the verse in this chapter that we read a few weeks ago?" WOW. They are actually paying attention and learning something. We have had some very good conversations with the kids about the scriptures. And they are sharing their feelings about it. There has been such a strong spirit present, often times it is very hard to stop the discussion for bed.
It's times like this that I realize why patience and persistance are important. And like maybe, just maybe we are doing something right.