There are several ways to study the scriptures. One way is used in Gospel Principles class. Each week the lesson covers one SUBJECT. Another method is used in Gospel Doctrine class, where one SECTION OF SCRIPTURES is covered in each lesson.
In your personal scripture study you can read the scriptures like a novel, or you can take one subject, look up all the references to it in the Topical Guide, and search for quotes about the subject by general authorities. There are other approaches. The important thing is to actually DO something.
When I come to a word or a scripture I don't understand, I do a little research project and write up or compile my findings.
One of the first times I did this was on my mission in Uruguay, sometime between 1964 and 1966. I read a book by J. Reuben Clark, Jr., called Our Lord of the Gospels, which included a “harmony” of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
I'd never seen a "harmony" before. I bought a couple of cheap Spanish New Testaments, cut them up, and pasted the verses in a pair of spiral notebooks. I got a great deal of insight out of comparing the four gospel accounts side-by-side like that. Above is part of a page from one of those notebooks. From left to right the verses are from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The red number is the page in Talmage's Jesus the Christ that covers this material.
Over the half century since then, I’ve written, compiled, and collected hundreds of things like that, on every gospel topic. I've also collected other "harmonies". I'll include some of them from the Old Testament in future posts.
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