Scripture study can be challenging. But if we continue with faith, we will find strength and personal insight each time we read.
More than just another item on a to-do list, effective scripture study can become a powerful skill that, with practice, can make daily study truly meaningful. As David B. Marsh of the Church’s Priesthood Department explains in an Ensign article, when we put in the effort to search the scriptures daily, our study becomes an uplifting experience.
For Marsh, scripture study did not come easily at first. He had a hard time hearing about others’ spiritual scripture study experiences while feeling like he himself “struggled to understand what [he] was reading.” Many of us may also struggle to study effectively every day and to recognize the significance of our efforts. Our study time can become a quick visit to the scriptures instead of a daily search for understanding.
Marsh explains various tools he uses to study the scriptures more effectively, such as searching for answers to specific questions, studying a particular topic, or simply reading a whole book of scripture from start to finish. Scripture study is different for each person and can even vary from day to day. Marsh notes that “there is no one right way to study the scriptures.”
As Marsh explains, learning how to study and practicing different study skills can help us make daily study more meaningful and insightful so that we can experience more “uplifting discoveries and . . . moments of personal revelation” each time we study. When we practice and learn study skills daily, we can find power and personal insights that help us “draw closer to the Lord.”
Read David Marsh’s article on scripture study.
Source: Ensign
—Bethany Hailstone, Mormon Insights
Find more insights
Read Elder Henry B. Eyring’s thoughts about ways scripture study leads to greater spiritual growth.
Check out some creative scripture study ideas by Andrea Cartwright.
How can we go wrong with these suggestions? It’s true that the manner of study does not matter; we just need to do it. And the more we study, the better we can understand the language of the scriptures. It worked for me! I started reading quite young, but I didn’t actually start to grasp it until my young adult years. It takes time.