Commiting to read my scriptures.


Lost_one
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I have decided that I am going to commit myself to read the scriptures. This thread is my way of putting some pressure on myself to do so. I wan't to see how far I get before I give up.

Commitment for May 2011; Read the complete D&C. If I have time, I would like to also complete the Pearls of Great Price and Joseph Smith History.

Read so far this month; D&C completed. Pearl of Great Price completed, including Joseph Smith History and Articles of Faith.

The reason I am starting with this part of the standard works is simply because I have never fully read them before.

I hope to finish this commitment before the end of May as I would like to start the Book of Mormon on the 1st of June. My hope is to completely read through the whole BoM, D&C, PoGP and JSH before my re-baptism. This months commitment is purely for completion and not really part of my re-baptism commitment.

It would seem that I have completed my monthly commitment a few days early, so will be starting from the Book of Mormon from tomorrow, instead of from June 1st. I have proven to myself that I can commit to reading scripture everyday so there is no excuse anymore.

Thanks for reading.

Edited by Lost_one
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JUST REMEMBER TO PACE YOURSELF. THE MAIN THING IS THAT YOU READ EVERYDAY. I LIKE TO START FROM THE BOOK OF MORMON, AND READ ONE CHAPTER A DAY, AND THEN WHEN I AM DONE WITH THE BOOK OF MORMON, I READ ONE CHAPTER OF THE D&C, then the pearl of great price, etc. I also like to try to read one chapter starting from the new or old testament a day as well. Probably takes about 15-20 min max. If you do this you will be surprised how many times you go threw all the standard works. If you read 1 scripture or 1 chapter a day it does not matter. Whatever works for you, just do it everyday. Do not burn yourself out. Remember that it is not a race. I am proud of you. This will make a difference in your life, and your family.

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Absolutely get into the habit of reading every day. It's a great habit. Not to get into any details, but I committed myself to re-reading the BOM all the way through as I was coming out of my own personal apostasy. I had been disfellowshiped and let it turn into much more, as often happens.

I just so happen to finish reading the BOM a few hours before my Stake Council where I was re-fellowshipped. Didn't plan it that way, but interesting how things work out, eh? Good luck and the holding to the words of God definitely help on this journey.

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I am starting from the book of Mormon. This months commitment is more about completing scriptures I have never properly sat down and read. My commitment is from June 1st, where I will be starting from 1st Nephi, all the way through to the Articles of Faith. I wan't to complete them before my re-baptism, which is at least a full year away. Once Baptised, I am going to start from Genesis, all the way through the standard works, then start again.

This is something I did not do the last time and is something I really feel bad about.

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Last year when I read the Standard Works, I felt great. I did half an hour a day, which is quite intense, but it was my goal and I used the thought of read scriptures vs watch a half-hour sitcom. Find a good pace that works for you, and, has been said, READ EVERY DAY!!! If you skip days, it's easy to skip more and more.

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My goal is to read every day in the scriptures--at least something. So, my minimum is at least one verse of scripture a day. Because my minimum requirement is practical and something I can do, I've been able to say I've been reading every day for years and years. Now, I usually don't read just one verse. I usually read at least a chapter or more. For me this has worked because I keep my scriptures at my bed, and if I haven't read during the day, I can read before falling to sleep. And even on some nights when I can hardly keep my eyes open because of such a busy and hectic day, I know I can read at least one verse, so I do.

What's also nice is having my scriptures on my iphone. I always have my scriptures with me. And if I choose to read late at night (I'm a bit of a night owl), I can read from my iphone without the light on, and it doesn't keep my husband awake. I actually have found that I read more of my scriptures because of my iphone. Yeah for technology.

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Last year when I read the Standard Works, I felt great. I did half an hour a day, which is quite intense, but it was my goal and I used the thought of read scriptures vs watch a half-hour sitcom. Find a good pace that works for you, and, has been said, READ EVERY DAY!!! If you skip days, it's easy to skip more and more.

I totally agree. Reading everyday is a must. As for pace. I got the BoM, D&C and PoGP on CD and I read along with it. I find the pace easy to keep up with. My plan is to read along with a single disc per day. Thats 14 sections of the D&C per session. I can then go back and pick out anything of particular interest I have marked for further study. I must admit to having read the scriptures in the first post in just 2 days and know thats to much. I will stick to a single disc per day, as it's important to not burn myself out.

@classylady: I am ordering a large print set of scriptures purely for the purpose of keeping on my coffee table and a regular set for taking to church. These will be my reading set and will probably be covered in underlined verses and little bits of scrap paper. I only have a compact quad at the moment, which is not the best for lots of reading. These will be relegated to my bedroom table, once the other sets get here.

Edited by Lost_one
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  • 2 weeks later...

Woo hoo! D&C completed on May 23. I'm now going to see how far I can get through the PoGP and JSH sections, before the end of the month.

I wish to start the BoM and continue through all the standard works continually from this point onwards for the rest of my life. Although I stated in my OP that I wanted to start the BoM on June 1st, I will not begin it until I have completed the PoGP and JSH sections first.

For many years this has been something which I wished to address and now I finally am.

Thank you.

Edited by Lost_one
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That is awesome. Keep it up!!

Thank you Pam. I have now completed my Commitment for May. As I have completed my commitment 6 days early, I will begin the Book of Mormon tomorrow, instead of June 1st.

My original commitment was to complete the BoM and PoGP before my re-baptism, But working it out. If I commit to reading my scriptures for one hour per day at the same pace as I have been this month, I should complete the standard works of the church within 4 months.

My interview is pencilled in for around 10 months time. This basicly means that I should have no difficulty fitting the whole standard works in before my re-baptism. If I manage to complete the standard works in a good time, I will get myself Jesus the Christ, as a reward. :D

Thank you to everyone who posted encouragement. You really did help.

Regards

John

Edited by Lost_one
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One chapter a day would be my idea for more reasonable but my brother reads an hour each day and he seems to really enjoy it. Just don't burn yourself out. If you find yourself getting worn out, I'd try the one chapter a day idea that many people seem to do. I hope it works out for you.

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One chapter a day would be my idea for more reasonable but my brother reads an hour each day and he seems to really enjoy it. Just don't burn yourself out. If you find yourself getting worn out, I'd try the one chapter a day idea that many people seem to do. I hope it works out for you.

I find it very difficult to read a chapter. I always want to keep going. Giving myself a time limit, works far better and is more likely to prevent burnout.

An hour a day, at my normal reading pace would complete the scriptures in 4 months I have at least 10 months to complete all the scriptures, so will try to slow my pace. I'm just a fast reader in general. A book rarely lasts me more than 3 days. The fact that the D&C and PoGP took me around 12 days was quite surprising. I expected it to take no more than 8 days.

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Reading scriptures is not like reading novels. If I read a page of scripture in under three or four minutes, it's a sign that I'm not reading carefully enough or paying enough attention, both to the words and to the Spirit. With note-taking, cross-referencing, and pondering, five to ten minutes per page is probably more realistic.

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Reading scriptures is not like reading novels. If I read a page of scripture in under three or four minutes, it's a sign that I'm not reading carefully enough or paying enough attention, both to the words and to the Spirit. With note-taking, cross-referencing, and pondering, five to ten minutes per page is probably more realistic.

Exactly. Thats why I need to slow my pace down, as it's not a novel. I do take quick notes while reading and go back over those. My pace reading the scriptures is slower than normal reading, But my overall pace is still to quick. I would like to try to stretch it out over the whole 10 months in order to make more room for the spirit. Cross-referencing is not something I do enough of, so that is something I need to work on too.

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One thing I did when working through my own repentance process was a "Topical study" and keep a scripture journal. I know you're trying to read the whole thing all the way through, but I wanted to explain how this helped me. I spent at least half an hour, everyday, combing through every single scripture listed under a particular topic having to do with repentance. I started with, of course, "repentance". Then moved on to other similarly themed topics- the atonement, Jesus Christ Savior, sin, temptation, humility, guilt, sorrow, perfection, etc.

As I worked through these scriptures, I took very careful notes of what I thought and felt about each scripture, what it meant to me personally, how it applied to my actions, etc. If one scripture made me think of another or I felt the need to look at footnotes, I had no problems with getting side-tracked. I let the spirit guide the direction of my study. Eventually, I had a comprehensive little "book" about repentance and my own personal repentance process.

I enjoy reading the scriptures cover to cover, but don't do this as much as I used to. I feel I get more meaningful study out of it when I pull a topic of interest for that day and follow the promptings.

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One thing I did when working through my own repentance process was a "Topical study" and keep a scripture journal. I know you're trying to read the whole thing all the way through, but I wanted to explain how this helped me. I spent at least half an hour, everyday, combing through every single scripture listed under a particular topic having to do with repentance. I started with, of course, "repentance". Then moved on to other similarly themed topics- the atonement, Jesus Christ Savior, sin, temptation, humility, guilt, sorrow, perfection, etc.

As I worked through these scriptures, I took very careful notes of what I thought and felt about each scripture, what it meant to me personally, how it applied to my actions, etc. If one scripture made me think of another or I felt the need to look at footnotes, I had no problems with getting side-tracked. I let the spirit guide the direction of my study. Eventually, I had a comprehensive little "book" about repentance and my own personal repentance process.

I enjoy reading the scriptures cover to cover, but don't do this as much as I used to. I feel I get more meaningful study out of it when I pull a topic of interest for that day and follow the promptings.

That is a rather good idea actually. I still wan't to read all the scriptures at least once all the way through each year, But I really like this too. Thank you. I will seriously give this ago.

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That is a rather good idea actually. I still wan't to read all the scriptures at least once all the way through each year, But I really like this too. Thank you. I will seriously give this ago.

Agreed. I think it is helpful to read all the scriptures through cover to cover at least once in a while. I also think that is probably why President Hinckley and now Monson have challenged us to read the entire Book of Mormon every year. I get a better feel for the direction they take and remember where I can find particularly references better when I do this. Yet it feels more like I am reading a novel, and I don't always get everything out of it that I could. That is why I now prefer the topical study, but I still attempt to read the BoM cover-to-cover once a year in keeping with the prophet's challenge.

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Agreed. I think it is helpful to read all the scriptures through cover to cover at least once in a while. I also think that is probably why President Hinckley and now Monson have challenged us to read the entire Book of Mormon every year. I get a better feel for the direction they take and remember where I can find particularly references better when I do this. Yet it feels more like I am reading a novel, and I don't always get everything out of it that I could. That is why I now prefer the topical study, but I still attempt to read the BoM cover-to-cover once a year in keeping with the prophet's challenge.

The first time I read through the entire BoM was when President Hinckley challenged us to do so. I know what you mean about it feeling abit like reading a novel and like you, I always find it easier to find particular chapters and verses, if I have read it recently. That was one of the reasons I wanted to challenge myself to read them. I was in Gospel Principles class about a month ago and I was so slow at finding the right book, never mind the right chapter and verse, that I really felt ashamed of myself. I knew it was because I had neglected to read them for quite a while.
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