An Invitation
My Dear Sisters,
I have shared a huge amount of information. Please don't let it overwhelm you! Just choose one idea to work on! Invite the spirit to tell you what that should be and then incorporate it into your daily scripture study routine. These ideas can be helpful and I hope you will use them. I hope they will be a blessing to you. But they are only means to an end, which is to hear the voice of the Lord and find delight in the experience!
Love,
Sister Suzanne Toolson
"Searching
the Scriptures - Bringing Power to Your Personal and Family Study"
by Gene
R. Cook
"Is
it hard to learn to hear the voice of the Lord as we read his word? It believe
it is not. It is simple, but it does take discipline for us to do it." The
following is a pattern suggested by Elder Cook.
1. Pray
in faith - not just once in awhile, but EVERY time you read.
2. Humble
yourself - A humble spirit can be more readily in time with God's Spirit.
We humble ourselves by:
·
Remembering how truly merciful the Lord is to us
in our sins and weaknesses.
·
Letting our hearts by filled with gratitude
for all the Lord does for us.
·
Realizing how dependent we are on the Lord for
his gifts and his blessings.
3. Search
diligently - even a child can learn to search diligently if he/she is
taught the skills.
·
Ponder (think
deeply) while you're reading. Pondering is a form of prayer. As we ponder, we
may offer a silent prayer something like: "Help me understand this,
Heavenly Father. Help me to know what this means. I'm anxious to change. I want
to repent. I want to change. Help me understand what I should do next."
·
While you're reading, continually ask the Lord questions about the verses
and give him a chance to answer.
·
Seek to discover
the patterns the Lord has given us in the scriptures.
·
Mark and cross-reference the things that
are important to you.
·
Apply what you are reading to yourself.
4. Obey
the truths you are learning - If you learn gospel principles but do nothing
with them and don't change, the Lord
will be less likely to give you more. On the other hand, if you incorporate
into your life the things you are
learning, and repent and change, the Lord will immediately give you additional
light and truth.
The Lord's response, in either case, is based on his great love for us. If he gave us too much new revelation and we couldn't live up to it, the revelation would be a burden and not a blessing. So, to protect us and at the same time to help us to grow, he gives us line upon line, precept upon precept, a little bit here and a little bit there. As quickly as we have applied a new truth in our lives, he will give us more - but not sooner, so that it won't be to our condemnation. If you want to receive more revelation from God and hear his voice much more frequently, the key is to obey what you have already received.
5. Esteem His truths to be of great worth by:
· Pondering what we've read more fully, and
applying it to all facets of our lives.
· Recording the truths that we've learned so we
won't forget them. That will show the Lord that we respect his word and take it
seriously.
· Memorizing passages that are particularly
important to us. As we repeat it over and over again, the Lord will help us to
apply it in our lives.
· Sharing the truth with others. As you share and
try to help someone else understand, you will find you're able to learn much
more.
When
you have done these things on a daily basis, you can know that, in the process,
you will have heard the voice of the Lord speaking to you. The scriptures will
have an increasing influence on you day after day.
You will begin to experience the mighty change of heart we read about in Mosiah 5:2, 12-13 along with an unshakeable testimony in the Lord that can help withstand the "fiery darts of the adversary" (1 Nephi 15:24).
Family and/or Group Scripture Study Ideas
by
Margie Cross (Firetrail Ward)
Scripture Chase: One person begins randomly reading from the scriptures. The goal for the others is to be the first person to find where they are reading from and to continue reading in their place. At this point, you can either continue reading until everyone has found the right chapter/verse or allow the “winner” to select a new spot to begin reading from and begin the chase again.
Benefits: Reading the same
chapter until everyone finds it allows a better discussion on what was
read/learned. Creating several chases allows the children to learn to listen
for key words being used and how to use the index.
Character Counts: Pick a Prophet or great leader from the scriptures. Then have everyone look up a scripture that either describes the character of that person or allows us to see their character through their actions. Have everyone share their scripture and then discuss what they have learned.
Benefits: Can spark a
discussion about the importance of developing good character qualities.
Mind Mapping: Mind mapping is a form of taking notes that can include pictures or diagrams. One person begins reading a chapter out loud, while the rest of the group draws a picture about what they are hearing. Once the chapter is over, have everyone share their picture along with an explanation what is happening. It is fun to see everyone’s pictures and to hear them retell what we have just read. Almost always each person includes details that the others have not.
Benefits: Helps develop
listening skills. Also allows us to see how important it is to read and reread
the scriptures to catch those “missed” details. Repetition: We hear the same
chapter presented in several ways.
And It Came To Pass: Choose a word such as; "the", "and" or "pass". Then take turns reading in a circle. When someone reads the chosen word, they stop reading and the person next to them begins to read where they left off.
Benefits: This is a great
way to encourage all members of the group to follow along.
Tonight’s Topic: Pick a topic. Have everyone find a scripture on that topic to share with the group. Discuss the scriptures chosen and why they were chosen.
Benefits: Learn to use the
index. Learn how to prepare talks on a specific topic.
Scripture Golf: One person randomly chooses a scripture to read without sharing where it is located. The rest of the group then guess what book they think the verse is in. Those who are correct get to choose what chapter it's in. Those who are correct (or the closest 2) then get to choose what verse they think it is. The person who guesses correctly or comes the closest wins.
Benefits: Learn to
recognized where in the scriptures certain events or teaching are located.
Benefits: A fun way to
engage younger (and older) people into reading the scriptures.
What About?: Preparation: Members of the group contemplate issues that they have questions about. Everyone then writes their questions down and places them into a jar. During scripture study time, randomly draw one question from the jar and read it out loud. Everyone then uses their scriptures to search out possible answers and shares them with the group.
Benefits: Learn how to
search the scriptures for answers. Learn to liken the scriptures unto
ourselves.
Popcorn reading: Determine the number of scriptures that each person will read and who will begin. After the first person has read their scriptures then everyone hurries to “pop” in to be the next reader.
Benefits: Keeps family
members engaged in scripture reading.
Lights, Camera, Action: After reading a story, have the group put on a play about what they've read.
Benefits: Engages listening
skills. Develops comprehension skills.
Who Said?: Read quotes from the scripture. Then have the group guess who is speaking. The first person to guesses correctly gets to go next.
Benefits: To be able to
recognize the teachings of the prophets.
Music and The Spoken Word: Choose a Hymn. Sing that Hymn and then read the scripture(s) listed and discuss who wrote the lyrics.
Benefits: To gain
appreciation for music. Learn about the lives and experiences of the composers.
A great resource is Our Latter-Day Hymns - The Stories and Messages by Karen
Lynn Davidson.
Scripture
Patterns of the Lord
by Gene
R. Cook
"Seeking patterns in the
scriptures helps us to search them more deeply. It gives greater understanding
of how the Lord speaks, and it helps us to see more clearly how the scriptures
are constructed. But don't get frustrated or worried if they don't come easily.
The only thing you need to worry about
is to humble yourself and pray as you read the scriptures. If you do that,
the Lord will teach you the rest."
1. Definitions - The Lord has his own way of speaking, and he has his own way of defining certain words. If we don't learn how he communicates, we may not understand what he wants to say to us. For example, the world tells us that truth means having the facts or the correct information; but D&C 93:24 gives us the Lord's definition. So every time you read the word truth in the scriptures, remember the Lord's definition, and you'll better comprehend what he has in mind. Also, if you come to an archaic (ancient) word you don't understand, don't just pass it by. Check the footnotes or look it up in the Bible dictionary or a regular dictionary.
2. Doctrinal Lists - Sequential Order
·
1 Nephi 17:3; Alma 14:1; Alma 22:16; Alma 58:10
3. Doctrinal Lists - Cause and Effect
·
1 Nephi 17:3;
Helaman 15:7-8; Moroni
4. If and/or Then to Identify Cause and Effect - Watch out for an assumed if or then. When you see one or the other, take a close look and see if the Lord is implying an actual if-then relationship.
·
2 Nephi 31:5; Alma 37:40-41; Ether 12:27;
D&C 104:56 and hundred more!
5. Words for Emphasis, Attention or Focus
·
And it
came to pass is a simple, powerful, modest, humble way of
saying volumes. It takes the emphasis, attention and focus from one place and
puts it in another. Watch for that phrase in your reading, and you will see how
effectively it serves that purpose. Examples include 1 Nephi 7:1; 1 Nephi
18:25; Jacob 5:4; Enos 1:25
·
Yea (appears 1,526 times) puts great focus and
emphasis on the phrase that follows it, giving greater power to that scripture.
Examples include 1 Nephi18:18 and 2 Nephi 4:35.
·
Behold should cause us to slow down and pay
attention. (appears 3,205 times). Examples include 1 Nephi 2:1 and 2 Nephi
1:10.
·
Even - Pay attention to how it directs your
thinking as you read. You may be surprised. Examples include 1 Nephi 10:4 and
Alma 32:27.
6. Antecedents - Used to indicate which noun goes with which pronoun or other substitute. Sometimes it is very challenging to discover the antecedent in some passages, but when you do, you will be able to decipher the scriptures much more quickly.
·
1 Nephi 3:5 - The antecedent of "it"
in this verse is that Nephi and his brothers have to return to Jerusalem
·
Other examples include 1 Nephi 8:20; 1 Nephi
13:23; Moroni
7. Reverse Meanings or Absence of a Word, Phrase, Etc - with reverse meanings, we learn by seeing the opposite of what we expected - or by seeing what's not in a passage, as well as what's there.
·
D&C 41:1 - hear/will not hear, Alma
·
Examples of Absence of a Word(s) include: free agency, leadership, welfare and
weaknesses.
Free agency is not found in the scriptures. The Lord never talks about agency as freedom to do whatever you
want. Instead, he uses the word agency
without a qualifier, or refers to it as moral
agency. (D&C 101:78) Also, see Ether 12:27 and notice that the Lord says weakness instead of weaknesses. Is there a difference? Why would the Lord, who loves
us, give us weakness anyway? Weakness
has more to do with the state of mortality than with individual character
flaws. In the pre-existence when we only had spirit bodies, we didn't have
mortal weakness. But the Lord gave us bodies in a fallen state- which a state
of weakness - because that is the only way we could become as he is.
8. Literal
Reading - The scriptures are literal. For example, the fifth Article of
Faith states, "We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands
by those who are in authority". Does the Lord really mean that? Is it his
will that all callings to serve God are to be given by prophecy - meaning by
the spirit of revelation? Should even a Primary teacher in the nursery be called
by prophecy? Or can the bishop just choose according to his own judgment - or
according to desperation? No. It is the bishop who has the keys of the
priesthood in the administration of a ward. Whether he is serving with his
hands or his voice, he is representing the Lord. However, let us be cautious
that we do not put literal meanings on things the Lord clearly intends to be
figurative. And let us not put figurative or symbolic meanings on things the
Lord wants us to read literally.
9. Summary
Phrases - After the Lord has taught a concept, he sometimes stops to make a
summary statement. These statements are often preceded by one or more "cue
words" that help us spot them.
·
Thus we see - gives us the bottom line, the moral to the
story, the thing the Lord most wants us to learn and remember. Examples
include: Alma
·
Therefore - shows cause and effect. Examples include: 1
Nephi 1:1; 1 Nephi 3:6; and 3 Nephi 13:8-9.
·
Wherefore - shows cause and effect. Examples include: 1
Nephi 2:16; 1 Nephi 7:12 and D&C 6-7.
·
Nevertheless - shows contrast. Examples include: 1 Nephi
13:23; 1 Nephi 14:12 and D&C 1:32.
10. Similes - A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared. Usually the comparison includes the word like or as. There are many wonderful similes in the scriptures - and if we are not paying attention to the comparisons the Lord Makes, we might miss some insights into doctrine and truth. Examples include:
·
As -
Isaiah 35:1-2; 2 Nephi 3:19; D&C 65:2; D&C 101:39 and Abraham 3:18.
·
Like - Matthew 13:31, 44, 47; Matthew 28:3; Jacob
5:3 and Mosiah 2:38.
11. Superlatives - In a way this is another example of reverse learning, because the remarkable thing about superlatives (words that express or involve the extreme degree in comparison) in the scriptures is that the Lord rarely uses them. So when they are used, we should pay close attention. Examples include:
·
Great
worth - 1 Nephi 13:23
·
More or less - D&C 93:24-25
·
A marvelous work - 2 Nephi 25:17 and D&C
4:1
·
Good, very good - Moses 2:25, 31
·
Great - Genesis 12:2
·
Wonderful - Isaiah 9:61
12. Absolutes
- Unlike superlatives, the Lord uses absolutes quite frequently. When humans
use absolutes, they are most likely guilty of exaggeration, but the Lord always
speaks very precisely. If he speaks in an absolute, we can be certain he means
it. Examples include:
·
Always -
Mosiah 4:11-12
·
Never - John 6:35; 1 Corinthians 13:8 and Alma
41:10.
·
All - Romans 3:23; 2 Nephi 32:3 and D&C
18:11.
·
All/None - Mark 12:30; 2 Nephi 2:6-7 and 2 Nephi
26:33.
·
Nothing - 2 Nephi 26:33
·
Every - Moroni
·
No - Alma 40:26
Study Helps in the Latter-day Saint Editions of the
Scriptures
Cross-References
A cross-reference is a scripture
reference that will lead you to additional information and insight on the topic
you are studying.
For example, read Ether 13:10
and notice footnote 10a. By finding and reading the
scripture referred to in the footnote, what additional insights do you gain about
those who will be made clean through the Savior’s Atonement?
Topical
Guide and Bible
Dictionary References
The Topical Guide (TG)
contains an alphabetical list of hundreds of topics with scripture references
in all four standard works of the Church. The Bible Dictionary (BD) gives definitions and explanations for many biblical
names and subjects. Although not referenced in the footnotes, you may want to
check the index for the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and
Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price for additional references.
For example, read 2 Nephi 15:10.
As you do, you may wonder about the words bath, homer,
and ephah. Notice footnote 10a,
which refers you to “weights and measures” in the Bible Dictionary (pp.
788–89).
In the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees, Zenos spoke of fruit that became corrupt. Read Jacob 5:42 and notice footnote 42a. Use the Topical Guide and find several scripture references that help explain what the corrupt fruit represents.
Help
with Words and Phrases
Some words and phrases are labeled with the following notations:
- HEB: An alternate
(substitute) translation from the Hebrew (the original language of the Old
Testament).
- GR: An alternate
translation from the Greek (the original language of the New Testament).
- IE: An explanation of
idioms (words or phrases used in a specific way when the scriptures were
written but not commonly used today) and difficult constructions.
- OR: A clarification
of the meaning of archaic (old) expressions.
What insight do you gain from knowing the meaning of
the Hebrew word for “snatched” in Mosiah 27:29?
The Joseph Smith
Translation of the Bible
The Lord commanded the Prophet Joseph Smith to study
the Bible and seek revelation to obtain a more complete and true biblical
translation (see D&C 37:1;
45:60; 73:3–4).
Consequently, the Prophet Joseph Smith restored many important truths and made
many significant changes in Bible passages that were possibly mistranslated,
unclear, or incomplete (see Articles of Faith 1:8). This version with the inspired changes is called
the “Joseph Smith Translation.” The translation is abbreviated in the footnotes
as “JST.” Some Joseph Smith Translation changes are in
the footnotes, while others are found in an appendix entitled “Joseph Smith
Translation,” which begins on page 797 of the Latter-day Saint edition of the
King James Version of the Bible.
Read Alma 13:14
and notice footnote 14a. What additional
understanding do we gain about Melchizedek from the Joseph Smith Translation?
Bible
Maps and Photographs
The Bible maps and photographs found in the appendix
of the Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible are helpful in finding places
referred to in the scriptures. (Look for these maps and photos at lds.org/Menu/Study/Scriptures/Study
Helps/Bible Photographs. The photos are beautiful!)
Church
History Chronology, Maps, and Photographs
In 1999 the Church added new maps and photographs to
the triple combination. These features are similar to the corresponding ones in
the Latter-day Saint edition of the King James Bible. This section also
includes a chronology of Church history events. (Again, go to
lds.org/Menu/Study/Scriptures/Study Helps/Church History Maps or Church History
Photographs)
Chapter
Headings, Section Headings, and Verse Summaries
Chapter and section headings and verse summaries
explain or give important background information to help you understand what
you read. For example, what helpful information do you get about the role of Jesus
Christ by reading the chapter heading
for Mosiah 15?
Conclusion
Having the study helps found in Latter-day Saint
editions of the scriptures is like having a small collection of reference books
available to you—all in one place!
Finally, don't forget to check out lds.org for some
additional resources.
·
There is a help
called The Guide to the Scriptures that I've only seen in electronic media; but
I love it! You can study any gospel
topic or research a person or place from the scriptures.
(lds.org/Menu/Study/Scriptures/Study Helps/Guide to the Scriptures)
·
Every Manual the
church publishes is available online! Some of my favorites are the Sunday
School, Seminary and Institute manuals.
