Personal Study Habits
Mark Wrathall, Alma 30-63, A brief theological introduction. Page 2. “Your understanding of scriptures is manifest in what you do in response to them, not what you say or think about them. . . . The authors and editors of the book of Alma don’t articulate and defend theories about God. They describe their firsthand experiences—experiences of a life devoted to the service of God.”
Mark Wrathall on the Maxwell Institute podcast: "To be honest, I was a little conflicted about writing the book because I’ve always believed that we need to be having a direct and immediate confrontation with the scriptures and I always worry about people who lack a prophetic calling who set themselves up as intermediaries between us and the scriptures and I don’t want the book that I’ve written to become anything like that.
I really offer it in the spirit of presenting a different view on the scriptures than we’re perhaps used to, and I hope that rather than having people focus on my book that it will send them back to Alma itself and get them to engage with the scriptures directly.”
Discussion Notes:
This is why we go to the primary source; the scriptures, the talk, the article, etc. We read for ourselves what is being written or said, not a translation. Personal study includes going to the primary source.
Reads every night, but usually doesn’t get insight during her reading, it comes afterward—hiking Grand Canyon, sees a ram and makes a connection to and thinks of the Savior—the symbolism was obvious to her
Better when she studies a topic to search, needs a reason to dig deeper
The reason is huge - or if something is on her mind. Early morning studying works best for her, before social media, email, etc.,
Study starts with a question, usually prompted by something she has read, and challenges what she thinks about what she is reading -
Reverend Margaret Barker - always go to the primary source
Listening to the scriptures is somewhat helpful, but she prefers a fresh paperback Book of Mormon to highlight what is helpful to her and whatever her family’s current situation - writes promptings, etc., in the margins of the book
Writes down the promptings she receives in a Google doc with a date, etc.
An older friend has the best well-marked scriptures with pencil writings throughout her scriptures. She is a woman of faith, who was raised Baptist and who loves and studies the words of Isaiah.
Marking ideas for using the Gospel Library app: Red = words of God, Purple = women, Yellow = light, Green = Earth has a spirit, Blue for everything else. Use tags for easy reference on topics. Using tags and notes - creates your personal topical guide
Allred's quote is, “I believe that God is vitally interested in the way His gospel is presented. Often, the presentation or method of instruction makes all the difference not only in acceptance but also in understanding.”
Needs to let the spirit of forgiveness flow through her body and scripture study helps with that. First response let it be forgiveness - work to retrain the brain.
Present the material correctly - Allred: “I believe that God is vitally interested in the way His gospel is presented. Often, the presentation or method of instruction makes all the difference not only in acceptance but also in understanding.”
From the Allred article: Create a symbol for ourselves -
Fluent in the language of the spirit: “I like the following statement by Joseph Fielding McConkie, as it challenges us as gospel scholars to focus our study more intently on symbols and how doctrine often flows through them: “To be fluent in the language of the Spirit one must be fluent in the language of symbolism.”
Do we use patterns or symbols in our speaking or teaching?
Elder Christofferson - https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/10/21christofferson?lang=eng
Weapons of rebellion -
The symbolism of war doesn’t help as a positive symbol
How to study Come Follow Me - some only read the assigned scriptures and not the material because it is too restrictive
Some like to read the Come Follow Me for a good overview
Ideas for active studying include:
Create a study guide by topic. Formulate questions and problems and write complete answers. Create your own quiz.
Become a teacher. Say the information aloud in your own words as if you are the instructor and teaching the concepts to a class.
Derive examples that relate to your own experiences.
Create concept maps or diagrams that explain the material.
Develop symbols that represent concepts.
For non-technical classes (e.g., English, History, Psychology), figure out the big ideas so you can explain, contrast, and re-evaluate them.
For technical classes, work on the problems and explain the steps and why they work.
Study in terms of question, evidence, and conclusion: What is the question posed by the instructor/author? What is the evidence that they present? What is the conclusion?
Problems are your friend -
https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/studying-101-study-smarter-not-harder/
Sources noted:
“Symbolism: A Divine Means of Instruction” by Michael N. Allred
Scripture Plus App: Go to Plans, Book of Mormon, etc., and then today’s plan -
KnoWhys on Scripture Central - https://scripturecentral.org/ and https://scripturecentral.org/knowhy