It has now been seven months since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reduced church on Sunday from three hours to two hours so that families could spend more time together at home, learning as a family.
How are you, your family, and the people you influence, doing with studying the scriptures at home, and trying to make sure that the one hour you "got back" is being used wisely? If you teach a class at church, it's a great question to ask to encourage folks and solicit ideas. I'd love to ask the Primary children this question as part of Singing Time on Sunday because I think some of them would share surprising, and fun new insights, that could be shared with other parents, and it would also give the children opportunities to be missionaries and share ideas that excite them with their family.
You could even make this part of a Singing Time game - sing a song while passing an object. When the pianist stops, you can stop and have the child holding the item share something they like about scripture study at home. Or, instead of sharing an idea, the child can choose from a box in the front of the room that has other people's ideas already in them. Then, children in the room can raise their hand if their family does the idea that is listed. Ideas include: acting out scriptures, having a child take turns and teach a lesson, playing a game each Sunday describing a scripture story and having family members guess the names of the people in the story, etc.
A single friend shared that she typically calls her parents that live in a different state every Sunday, and they discuss the scriptures and that week's lesson in the Come Follow Me manual together over the phone.
A parent of a family with children ranging from elementary school to high school age shared last Sunday that they realized there was too much material in the manual to try to get through every point with their children so instead, they tuned into a key thought, and focused on that piece. This also allows them to focus on material in a way that could complement their varied ages and perspectives in life.
The kitchen table where I like to study scriptures. After a "first pass" I then pull out my laptop and add cross-references or look up additional materials and questions on churchofjesuschrist.org. (This is not a staged photo. I just took a picture of what I had left out on the kitchen table from last night's study.)
Personally, the weeks that we are on top of it, the scriptures become so exciting for me. I am finding myself cross-referencing, going back to re-read a scripture from two lessons ago as I make personal parallels between stories. I want everyone to have those exciting ah-ha moments. I don't think you need to beat yourself up if you don't get them every time, but when you do, it will give you a boost to try harder on weeks when it seems like you're not quite getting to your scriptures.
For example, one week, I read about how Thomas, famously known as "Doubting Thomas" because he needed to see the marks on Jesus' hands and feet to be confident that it was the Savior - was also the one that bravely said, let's go back to Lazarus (who had died, and who the Savior wanted to see, even though it was very dangerous for him to return to Lazarus' town at that time) and if we die, we die. He really should have been known as Brave Thomas. The other disciples were all there when Jesus first appeared, so for all we know, they might have had the same reaction as Thomas. Later, when I reached the scripture about Thomas not knowing if it was really the Savior that had come back, I thought of him as Brave Thomas and was better able to relate to him personally in being very human to have a moment of doubt. The heroes in our scriptures typically have the common theme of being very brave, very heroic, and very capable of human error. It's a great reminder to us that we are following in their footsteps and that we aren't expected to be, and aren't perfect either - the Savior makes up the difference for us.
Taking digital notes on churchofjesuschrist.org.
Personally, my study methods change constantly. I'm sharing what I do right now but keep in mind that studying scriptures shouldn't feel overwhelming or intimidating. It might just be that one of these items resonates with you:
How are you, your family, and the people you influence, doing with studying the scriptures at home, and trying to make sure that the one hour you "got back" is being used wisely? If you teach a class at church, it's a great question to ask to encourage folks and solicit ideas. I'd love to ask the Primary children this question as part of Singing Time on Sunday because I think some of them would share surprising, and fun new insights, that could be shared with other parents, and it would also give the children opportunities to be missionaries and share ideas that excite them with their family.
You could even make this part of a Singing Time game - sing a song while passing an object. When the pianist stops, you can stop and have the child holding the item share something they like about scripture study at home. Or, instead of sharing an idea, the child can choose from a box in the front of the room that has other people's ideas already in them. Then, children in the room can raise their hand if their family does the idea that is listed. Ideas include: acting out scriptures, having a child take turns and teach a lesson, playing a game each Sunday describing a scripture story and having family members guess the names of the people in the story, etc.
A parent of a family with children ranging from elementary school to high school age shared last Sunday that they realized there was too much material in the manual to try to get through every point with their children so instead, they tuned into a key thought, and focused on that piece. This also allows them to focus on material in a way that could complement their varied ages and perspectives in life.
The kitchen table where I like to study scriptures. After a "first pass" I then pull out my laptop and add cross-references or look up additional materials and questions on churchofjesuschrist.org. (This is not a staged photo. I just took a picture of what I had left out on the kitchen table from last night's study.)
Personally, the weeks that we are on top of it, the scriptures become so exciting for me. I am finding myself cross-referencing, going back to re-read a scripture from two lessons ago as I make personal parallels between stories. I want everyone to have those exciting ah-ha moments. I don't think you need to beat yourself up if you don't get them every time, but when you do, it will give you a boost to try harder on weeks when it seems like you're not quite getting to your scriptures.
For example, one week, I read about how Thomas, famously known as "Doubting Thomas" because he needed to see the marks on Jesus' hands and feet to be confident that it was the Savior - was also the one that bravely said, let's go back to Lazarus (who had died, and who the Savior wanted to see, even though it was very dangerous for him to return to Lazarus' town at that time) and if we die, we die. He really should have been known as Brave Thomas. The other disciples were all there when Jesus first appeared, so for all we know, they might have had the same reaction as Thomas. Later, when I reached the scripture about Thomas not knowing if it was really the Savior that had come back, I thought of him as Brave Thomas and was better able to relate to him personally in being very human to have a moment of doubt. The heroes in our scriptures typically have the common theme of being very brave, very heroic, and very capable of human error. It's a great reminder to us that we are following in their footsteps and that we aren't expected to be, and aren't perfect either - the Savior makes up the difference for us.
Taking digital notes on churchofjesuschrist.org.
Personally, my study methods change constantly. I'm sharing what I do right now but keep in mind that studying scriptures shouldn't feel overwhelming or intimidating. It might just be that one of these items resonates with you:
- I look at the recommended reading for the week and read my physical scriptures first, jotting down notes or questions to revisit at the end of each chapter.
- I then look up anything that caught my interest.
- I supplement with the Come Follow Me manuals and The New Testament Study Guide: Start to Finish with Thomas R. Valletta as the General Editor for additional thoughts. They can also help me clarify things I didn't understand. I also really liked Living the Parables.
- Being flexible with following up on my questions and observations, rather than forcing myself to pound through a set of scriptures quickly and jump into a study manual too quickly, makes what I am reading so much more meaningful.
- Sometimes if I felt I read something too quickly and want to think about a chapter further, or if I'm behind, I'll listen to the set of scriptures on audio in the my car while driving. Either way, I make sure to revisit with the physical reading. The combination of media - audio, digital copy, and hard copies, has made a profound difference on how much I get out of my scripture study.
- I also draw what I learn sometimes. There are so many fun ways to make scripture study exciting, rather than a chore, and to bring it to life for children as well. I incorporate my love of writing and drawing into capturing notes on scriptures too.
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