Because I Kept a Scripture Journal

Today something really cool happened to me at church. I got to Sunday School with my friends and we were waiting around for our teacher to come. We technically don't have a teacher right now because our previous one was just released, so we were waiting for the sub. But a while passed and no one came. My friends asked me if I would teach the lesson. I agreed, even though I hadn't prepared anything. So, I pulled out my scripture journal. Inside of it, I take notes when people give talks, at firesides, during lessons, general conference, etc. I opened to a random page, skimmed it, and was able to teach from the notes I had taken on a talk given in sacrament meeting five months ago. There were scripture references, analogies, and impressions I had felt. I used my own thoughts, impressions, and knowledge as well to give the lesson fluidity. We referenced the scriptures several times and drew upon at least three stories from the scriptures. Our teacher finally came in with only twenty minutes left of the class and let me continue teaching.
This was a very cool moment for me. I felt the Spirit confirming that Heavenly Father was proud of me. And I'm proud of me, too. I'm happy that I was able to take notes and that I could teach by using the promptings of the Holy ghost. I felt the Spirit in my lesson. It was so special because I knew the things to say and teach, even though I had only a list of bullet points in front of me. I truly know that Lord is mindful of us and loves us dearly. He wants to bless us and He wants us to be happy.

This is a slightly goofy picture of me with my study journals. The middle two are completely full. The journal on the left is halfway full, but I got bored of using it. Haha. And the notebook on the far right is my current notebook.

Seriously though, study notebooks are the coolest things ever. You can record impressions you receive during scripture study, info from talks, etc.

Here's a typical page in mine. I use different arrows and indentations and bullet points to keep things organized. And, notes don't have to be perfect.

You can even glue in handouts from class.

Here's a page in a past study journal where I really wanted to learn a lot about faith. So I printed out some information about faith from True to the Faith and glued it in. Then, I methodically went through and looked up every scripture reference and even some of the footnote scriptures of those scriptures. I recorded other scriptures I found and impressions I received.

I ran out of room on that page, so I glued in a piece of paper to fold down. The writing is on the other side.

 If you don't already have a study notebook, you should consider keeping one. You can use it however you want. You don't have to keep yours like mine. Everyone is different. But I am always so grateful that I record this information and the sacred impressions I receive from the Holy Ghost while studying. And I know that the Lord blesses us with more spiritual experiences if we show Him we treasure the ones he gives us by writing them down.

If you want ideas for starting a scripture journal or have any questions, let me know!

The Blessings of the Book of Mormon

Exciting News! This girl just finished the Book of Mormon, cover-to-cover, for the first time!!! Reading the Book of Mormon for myself has been such a great experience for me! I didn't know that I could do it until my young women's leaders challenged me to do so. I admit, it took longer than I thought it would, but I learned so much!
First, I learned that I CAN do anything I put my mind to. For me, reading the Book of Mormon seemed daunting.  I'm not really sure what I was afraid of, maybe I was afraid that I would never finish. Over the years, there have been many times where I've started reading, only to get to 1 Nephi chapter 6. But this time, I did it. The main factor which I think was key to my success was that I had faith. This time when I started, I prayed that Heavenly Father would help me. I asked that He would help me understand it, and help me accomplish this goal. Because I knew that my goal of reading the Book of Mormon was pleasing to Heavenly father, I knew that He would help me.
Second, I learned how much I can gain from reading the scriptures everyday. I started realizing this back in October, and I posted on it (Scripture in My DAILY Life). But throughout these months, I have been realizing it even more. Those days when I don't read the scriptures simply don't go as well as the days where I do read the scriptures. Also, I have so much more confidence because I know that what I'm doing is pleasing to Heavenly Father, and I know that He is proud of me. It's great to know that the most powerful person in the universe is proud of me.
Third, I know the scriptures better. This is a great thing for my blog posts, talks, and lessons that I may be asked to give. I have had a fabulous example of that in the last week. I have been writing a talk for New Beginnings, a meeting in Young Women's for the parents and girls, and because I knew where a certain scripture was, I was able to use it in my talk. I didn't have to research it because I knew exactly where it was!
Fourth, my testimony in the Book of Mormon has been enriched. Before I read it, I mostly knew that The Book of Mormon is true. But now that I've read it from cover-to-cover, I can absolutely testify that this book is beautiful, holy, strengthening scripture that will enrich our lives and help us live to our potential.

To find out more about the Book of Mormon, click here.