Overcoming problems #4

In describing some of the habits and techniques that I've used to make studying the scriptures more productive, I want to start off by saying, you need to find whatever works for you. Nothing is out of bounds or cheating when it comes to gaining further light and knowledge when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everybody learns at their own pace and with their own techniques. I'm going to start by describing some of the things that I have found that work for me, they may or may not work for you. But the point is, to look beyond the things you've been doing that haven't allowed you to achieve the results that you desire.

The first thing and it's a must, is praying before you begin your scripture study. It's like everything else in life, you cannot cook a great meal without going to the store and buying the ingredients. You need to set yourself up for success. You need to ask Heavenly Father to help you in gaining the light and knowledge that you seek. You need to ask that He would allow and help you to learn the things that He would have you learn at that time. He's not going to give you knowledge that He feels you're not ready for. Line upon line precept upon precept. When I'm praying before I start to study the scriptures, I feel like I'm inviting the spirit to attend my scripture studying session. You need to remember that all good things come from God. We can read the scriptures but we can't gain light and knowledge without Heavenly Father helping us. It's not uncommon for me to stop in the middle of studying to say another prayer to help me understand a particular verse or to help clear my mind to feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Sometimes we can be so focused on trying to read a particular chapter that we lose sight of learning from that chapter. Let me explain it this way, you can read a particular verse time after time and then all of a sudden you read that same verse and go wow, I never understood that or I don't ever remember seeing that verse. Now you're studying and not just reading. And your study partner (The Holy Ghost) just showed you that verse because you were ready for that knowledge. I call that finding little nuggets of wisdom and it motivates me to study even harder.

In my next post I'll get into what helps me stay focused while reading.