New Study Plan

I'm sorry for the big gap in posts. I've been thinking seriously about how I want to approach my scripture study and how I can really gain the most from it.

There are three things I wish to accomplish from my scripture study:

1 - Motivate myself to change
2 - Gain factual knowledge
3 - Gain faith in the gospel

I have realized that my current study plan is mostly focused on number 2, and numbers 1 and 3 are only a by-product. I would like to change my study plan so it helps me achieve all three goals.

After pondering it, I've decided my scripture study needs to include the following things to help me achieve all three by products from my scripture study.

1- Invite the spirit
2- A quiet environment
3- Beginning with a prayer
4- Focusing on personal application
5- Writing down what I have learned
6- A humble, teachable attitude
7- A regular time each day to study
8- Flexibility so I can work around family needs
9- Quantifying what I have learned such that I could share it with others

So, from now on my entries are going to be very different. Rather than sticking with the lesson plan from Doctrines of the Gospel, I am going to find something to read each day that pertains to things going on now in my life. This could include any of the standard works, general conference addresses, articles from church magazines, or books on church doctrine.

I will then write up a semi-personal application to share on this blog. If someday I actually have anyone reading this blog, I'd love to encourage comments and discussion based on the entries.

So, we'll see where it goes from here...

Study Plan Update

Although I have hardly been perfect in doing one post per day, my post frequency may decrease further from this point forward. Rather than trying to complete one post per day, I am imposing a time limit on my study each day. This will allow me to focus more fully on family duties.

Some posts don't take very long at all, while other posts seem to take forever (usually because they contain so much valuable information). So, I really don't know what frequency my posts will take on from this point forward. Just know that a post will not go up until it is complete. The date that appears on the post is the date the post was started, even if it is not posted until several days later.

I also am going to try to do better at labeling each post. In my rush to get the post done for the day I have neglected adding labels to most of my posts - this is something I would like to change.

Study Plan, Update 1

This last post took me forever to do. I think I really got into it, but it took way too long. So, from now on rather than trying to just outline everything I feel I learned, I will instead only pick 3 major themes and use maybe 2 or 3 scriptures/quotes each.

Study Plan

Currently, I am planning to go through the Institute Manual Doctrines of the Gospel. Recently I finished reading all four standard works, but I don't feel that I gained as much as I could have. I hope that by focusing on a theme based study for a while I will get back in the habit of looking for deeper meaning as I read.