Teens Read the Book

Bringing the sound of scripture

to a world-wide audience

Success

August 2023

In 2021, 250 teens from around the world submitted recordings of themselves reading chapters from the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, which we assembled and published as the Teens Read the Book podcast. The recordings, available on all major podcast platforms, iTunes, and Spotify, have been heard by many thousands of listeners from 72 countries. You can hear the recordings on this website under the Book of Mormon tab.

The project enjoyed good publicity, including a December 2021 article in the Church News, a July 2022 Instagram post by Church’s General Young Men’s Presidency member Brad Wilcox, a December 2022 post on the Church’s youth focused Gospel Living app, and a December 2022 article in the Church’s For the Strength of Youth magazine.

Thank you to everyone who sent in records or encouraged kids/siblings/friends to do so. We will keep making the podcast available for a very long time, hopefully permanently.

Next Phase

What's Next?

Many have asked if we are going to produce recordings of additional books of scripture? That time has come! We will produce recordings of the King James Version of the Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. We include with these recordings chapter headings published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We hope these recordings will be usable in many different media formats beyond just this podcast. We intend to produce them to a high enough quality standard that they can be published on the church's Gospel Library app.

Want to help?

We Need Your Voice!

Would you like to be involved?

If you are a teen (ages 12-19), we invite you to submit a recording of yourself reading a chapter of scripture. See below for instructions. People around the world will love hearing your voice read timeless words of scripture.

Would you like to do more? We are looking for visionary teens and helpful adults who see the importance of this effort and can help us review and quality check the recordings for accuracy. Email us at teensreadthebook@gmail.com if you would like to get involved. We look forward to working together.

I believe our efforts to produce these recordings will fill a unique need in the world. Compared with instant media of our day that can fade in appeal in a matter of days, these scriptures have been and will remain relevant and important for hundreds and even thousands of years. Hopefully, our recordings of them will make a big difference for those who hear them.

This is God's word. Thanks for helping us share it in new a way that will bless lives and increase faith for years to come.

-McKay

Tips for Making a Good Recording

Pray

Ask God to help you as you do for people around the world what Nephi did for his brothers:

22 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven upon the plates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old.

23 And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning. (1 Nephi 19:22 - 23)

Prepare

Review the chapter you will record. Practice pronouncing any difficult words until you can say them right. If you are unsure how to say a word, listen to the church's existing voice recording to get the pronounciation right.

Hydrate

It's hard to speak clearly with a dry mouth. Drink a full bottle or glass of water about 10 minutes before you record.

What to read

Record yourself reading the whole chapter in the current version of the scriptures published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Read the chapter number, introductory chapter notes, and all verses. If you are reading the first chapter of a book, read the full book name and any extra text that precedes chapter one.

What to record with

Use the highest quality recording device you can find. If that's an app on your phone, see if you can adjust the settings to capture your voice in the highest quality possible. Many phones and apps will compess audio files to save storage space, but for this you want an "uncompressed" file type to capture the highest quality possible. The best format is a WAV file, but FLAC, AIFF (for apple files) and ALAC formats should also work. You may need to download a good recording app if your phone's built-in recorder can't export your recording as a WAV file.

Cadence

Don't read too fast or too slow. Read at a pace that is natural and comfortable for you and can be easily understood.

Shhh..

Eliminate background noise. Record in a silent, carpeted room without an echo. Cloasets and cars that are off make excellent recording studios.

Put your phone down

Holding your phone or recording device in your hands as you record will make small clicking / tapping noises. Put your phone on a pillow or stand about six inches below your mouth. And obviously, put your phone on airplane mode and silence all alarms.

What if I mess up?

In order to be published widely, your recording need to include every word spoken correctly. If you mistake a word, just say it again correctly and continue reading.

If you notice a mistake in your recording afterward, send us a second recording of the corrected verses and we will edit them together to make it right.

Just be you

You don't need to sound like a professional when you record. Be authentic. Your voice is unique and is what we need. Do your best and it will be good enough.

And smile every once in a while as you read. Remember that you are doing something great. :)