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Cover image via LDS.org. 

I read once in a marketing class that a person’s average attention span is 3 seconds or less. If that’s true, I’ve already lost most of you by now. For those left still reading this, know that your attention span is above average.

So, why start off with this random fact? No idea. I forgot what I was going to say…

Oh, I remember! I remember reading somewhere that the average person’s attention span was something like 3 seconds. Based on what I see with online ads, I can totally believe that.

It reminds me of something I read once about the average attention span being 3 seconds or less. Three seconds! That’s less time than it takes to…do something that takes four seconds!

So, why are you sharing this, Bryun? Because I read this fact once (that the average attention span is 3 seconds) and have figured out how to deal with that in our family scripture study.

Yikes, right?

If you’re like most families, your scripture study goes something like this: Person A reads a verse, then Person B reads a verse, and so on. For our family, we always read ten verses (If someone is away, asleep or serving a mission in another country, someone else reads their verse for them). It’s one verse for each person, regardless of whether they’re physically there or not. Make sense? Good.

There are times (I know this will be hard to believe) when it seems like everyone’s attention span is done for and they won’t start reading when it’s their turn. When those times come, here’s the perfect remedy for dads:

Read your verse over and over. It’s even more fun if you make it a game to see how many times you can read it before someone notices. It’s even better if it’s a long verse that you can mix up and start in the middle, near the end or at the beginning. The important thing is to read the same thing over and over.

How, exactly does this help, Brother Lemon? Great question! Here’s the secret (and a perfectly hypothetical situation):

Eventually one of the kids will catch on to what dad is doing. They’ll listen for a bit to make sure, and then the conversation will go something like this:

“Hey! Dad’s read that like three times!”

“He’s read it five times,” the maternal figure will correct this child.

“What?” another kid will come out of la-la land to join the conversation, “What’s he doing?”

“He’s reading the same verse over and over. This is like his fifth time.”

The dad will of course be reading out loud during their entire conversation and will correct their count in the middle of his verse, “…until he bindeth them…NINE…with his strong cords…”

Everyone will now be looking at the paternal figure. Their short attention spans (three seconds, if I remember correctly) will be increased enough to listen to what he is reading. If done correctly, at this point everyone will be leaning forward, silently waiting for the verse to be finished. The dad will, of course, speak the last word as slowly and deliberately as he can.

“…forever.”

As soon as he finishes, another family member will quickly start reading the next verse. In an effort to keep the dad from reading his verse for a tenth time, everyone else will also pay attention so they know when to start reading.

It’s a perfect way to keep everyone on task and paying attention during family scripture study. As an added perk, dads can keep track of their own personal best records for the number of repeats before anyone notices.

Now, since scripture study is supposed to be a time to learn and be edified, I would never do something like this, but if I did…my personal record would be 14 times reading the same verse. Beat that, random dad out there.

Speaking of random things, did you know a person’s average attention span is only three seconds?

I read that somewhere…