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Doctrinal Reading: Examples & Ideas

No matter how we approach our scripture study or what resources we use we should always seek to make it our own and to do it in a manner that brings the Spirit in our personal lives. The methods that help one person feel and live by the Spirit may not work for others. In all your study, make it personal and find the methods that work best for you. If old methods are not bringing the same power and influence that you previously felt, make changes and try new methods.

Perhaps the easiest way to get into doctrinal reading is to just start with a blank sheet of paper and a quiet room. Right down on the top of the page a principle that you want to learn about. Then below it list some of the aspects of that principle. Faith is the first principle of the gospel, yet it is a powerful and multifaceted principle. There is the faith that moves mountains, the faith to see miracles, the faith to be still and wait on the Lord, the faith to get up and get to work. Each of these types of faith is powerful and real. Our current struggles in life will all require faith, but at different times Father will want us to exercise that faith in different ways. Consider what type of faith you want to learn about. Sometimes the greatest strength will come from reading stories of God performing miracles in the lives of others. Other times we need to reconnect with the love God has for us and just remember that he is watching and he cares. By identifying what we want to read about we will be more likely to be able to find the verses and chapters that will give us strength and wisdom to meet today's challenges.

The LDS Footnotes, Topical Guide, Bible Dictionary, and index were designed to help members engage in diverse forms of scripture study including doctrinal reading. Learning to use these tools is an important part of successful daily scripture study. Most of you are probably familiar with each of these tools and have probably used them many times. We recommend using them as a spring board for your doctrinal reading. You can start in any one of these resources and then work toward chapter reading. Pick a topic you want to learn about, such as faith or repentance. Look it up in the Bible Dictionary and read the entry. Look up the scriptures mentioned in the entry. Then follow the references in your favorite verses. Similarly, look up topics of interested in the Topical Guide or Index and scan through the first lines to find verses related to your specific interest or if you are just getting into a subject, look up every reference. As you learn to move through the scriptures and follow the paths these tools create you will gain great knowledge on many wonderful principles. In using these tools we recommend you regularly take time to meditate and pray. Because these tools focus primarily on verse reading you may loose the spirit if you spend most of your time turning pages. Memorizing verses and taking time to compare verses and meditate and pray about them will help make verse reading a more spiritual experience.

To do Chapter Reading on your own we recommend you use the manuals produced by the Church. The book "Gospel Principles" has many wonderful quotes and groups of verses collected in a style similar to Chapter Reading. It also lists individual verses that are good for memorization and meditation.