Back From Haiatus

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Aaron

It’s been 5 years since I’ve blogged here, and during much of that time, this blog has been offline. There were some reasons for that, namely that the DB got corrupted, and I wasn’t motivated at that time to fix it. However, I’ve got it repaired, and got everything back online.

The motivation for bringing the site back up was the recent news that Harold Camping has been making regarding The Rapture. I would like to provide commentary on what an LDS member thinks of this situation, and what the doctrine of the LDS Church is. Those posts will be coming up in the next few days.

Anyway, for those astute readers who still have my feed in your RSS reader, I’m back!

Posted in Mission of the Church | Leave a comment

A Lofty Aspiration

Posted on June 11, 2006 by Aaron

My wife and I have decided that we are going to read the ENTIRE Standard Works by the end of the year. This means, the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price in that order.

We started about 6-8 weeks ago, and we have not been 100% faithful in keeping that goal. However, it is only 11 pages per day. Just reading out loud, it takes about 30 minutes. Not too bad.

Why do this? Last year, President Gordon B. Hinkley challenged everyone to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. We did not do it, so have decided to take it a step further this year by reading everything cover to cover. We’ll make it.

The best part? As I am going along, I am putting a small checkmark in red ink to every reference to Jesus Christ, keeping running totals by chapter and book. Ultimately, I would like to see what the final count is once we finish. These references include nouns, pronouns, symbols and metaphors both in the first, second and third persons.

Right now, I should be at Judges chapter 1, but rather, I am at Numbers chapter 1. So I am a little behind. I’ll catch up.

Posted in The Scriptures | 1 Comment

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Posted on May 5, 2006 by Aaron

Guess what came in the mail today? After almost 8 months of waiting, I finally received my Qur’an. I cannot believe it. I had completely forgotten about it. Well, maybe not completely forgotten, but given up definitely

You should see it. You should feel it and heft it. It is beautiful. It is trully a marvelous book. Even if I don’t agree with it’s teachings 100%, I will trully cherish this book.

The book is nearly 3 inches thick. It has a georgous cover with full color glossy pages. Looking through the book, it is extensive. The prologue, foreward and first 20 or so pages cover the meaning of the Qur’an, a little bit about its translation, and such. The most impressive part of the book however, aside from the message, is the extensive amount at which the publisher tries to get the reader to understand how to pronounce the Arabic vowels and consanants.  Included with the book are a letter from CAIR and a bookmark with an Arabic vowel and consanant pronunciation guide.

I would like to type what came from the letter.

“This is a book that We have revealed to you (Prophet Muhammad) so that you may lead mankind out of the depths of darkness into the light.” (The Holy Quran, 14:1)

Greetings:

Thank you for requesting your copy of the Holy Quran, Islam’s revealed text.  This is an important step toward understanding and coming to appreciate the universal teachings of Islam.

I hope you will take the earliest opportnity to read its verses and reflect on their meaning, thus doing your part to promote mutual understanding and tolerance of religious diversity in America.

As you may know, Muslims regard the Quran as the inerrant Word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh centure CE.  Coveyed by the Archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic, the word “Quran” itself means “recitation.”

Translations of the Quran are an approximation of the Arabic revelation, though the larger themes of monotheism, justice and brotherhood transcend the limitations of language.

Muslims are taught from an early age to treat the Quran with great care and respect.  For example, Muslims avoid placing the Quran on the floor, near the toilet or sink, near the feet, or in dirty or wet areas, as this is considered inappropriate treatment of a holy text.

Many Muslims hold the Quran by taking it in both hands as one would a valuable piece of art and keep themselves in a state of ritual purity, washing before opening the holy book.

Just as Muslims are expected to treat the religious texts of others with the utmost respect and courtesy, so too do we hope that you will take the information above into consideration when handling the Holy Quran.

I hope you find your Quran both educational and spiritually uplifting.  Congratulations on doing your part to encourage greater interfaith understanding and mutual respect at this crucial time in our nation’s history.  If you have any questions about handling the Quran, call CAIR at 202-488-8787, or email cair@cair-net.org.

Sincerly,
Nihad Awad
Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations

CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and chaperts nationwide and in Canada.  Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Well, I am excited.  Not only to read the holy text, but to talk about it with friends and family.  I am most certainly not questioning my testimony in the LDS Church, but rather, looking at expanding my cultural and religious knowledge.

When serving my mission in Toronto, Canada, the most warm and inviting people were those of the Muslim faith.  They were always willing to invite us into their homes and feed us.  Heck, we had more “dinner appointments” with Muslims than members of our own church! :)   In fact, while serving, I received a paperback Qur’an.  I have studied much of it, and have enjoyed what I read.

Anyway, I hope that other LDS members, and Christians in general, can also expand their religious and cultural paradigms.  Just because we belong to one faith does not mean we cannot be elightened by another.

Posted in Religion | 1 Comment

Released

Posted on April 14, 2006 by Aaron

Just a quick note to say that I have finally been released as Elders Quorum President in my ward.  I say finally, because I have served in the quorum for almost 6 years.  Three as 2nd Counselor and three as President.  What’s in store for me now?  Well, I am the Ward Chior Accompianist and the backup Ward Organist.  Although the callings are light, I can deal with that.  Hopefully, I will be able to fly under the radar of the Bishopric for a while. :)

Posted in Callings, Mission of the Church | Leave a comment

Imposing Religion on Government

Posted on March 27, 2006 by Aaron

Okay, here’s something to think about.  Should the teachings of the LDS Church, or any religion for that matter, impose itself upon the government?  I think, for obvious reasons, the answer would be no.  Think about it for a minute.  We give the people agency to govern themselves without imposing risk to others.  The whole purpose of government is to impose rules and laws to protect society.

Let’s think about this.  Murder.  There are laws against murder to protect the citizens of the society.  Same with stealing, drunk driving, drugs, etc.  So, now, I am going to pose another topic, which as been fairly of hot debate lately.  Notice what happens to your blood pressure, and emotions.

Should the government allow same sex marriages?

Immediately, definitely if you are a proclaimed Republican, you say with a loud resounding NO!  Of course not!  It goes against everything we believe.  Gay activies are a sin and an abomination in the eyes of God.  Plain and simple.  I don’t think we need to clarify any further.

Now ask yourself why not.  Why should gays not be allowed the right to marry?  Because it’s a sin?  Careful, you just agreed that religion should not impose itself upon government.  But same sex marriages is an exception, right?  Well, what did we define the purpose of government to be?  Protect the citizens from the risk to others.  Tell me, what risk are same sex marriages presenting to you?

Again, going back to agency, God has given us the right to rule ourselves.  We have our agency.  So, whether or not we pass a law that allows same sex marriages, the law will not change the actions of those people.  So why not give them the same rights as a husband and wife?  Why not give them the legal rights to make life and death decisions for their partner?  I am not condoning the gay lifestyle, at all.  It is wrong, and a sin, as mentioned before.  But is giving them the right to marry a sin?  Are you sinning by seperating the religion from the government?  Interesting question, isn’t it?

Believe me, this took a great deal to swallow.  The principle is taught in the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and even the New Testament.  Setting laws and forcing someone to live the principles of religion is ungodly and sacreligious.  It is against the greatest gift that God has given us, the gift of agency.  When the Millenium comes, then will the laws of God be the laws of the people.  Until then, it is completely within the Plan of Happiness for people to exercise their agency, and for everyone else to allow them that right.

Posted in Plan of Happiness, Transgression and Sin | 4 Comments

Is America Ready For A Mormon President?

Posted on February 24, 2006 by Aaron

I just received this in my email from my mom, and I thought it would be good to share on the blog. The reading raises some concerns about blacks and the priesthood as well as some doctrinal beliefs. However, the article is relatively honest and stright forward, and I have no problem posting it here. This article comes from a news posting at Boston News by John H. Bunzel. The article raises the question about Mitt Romney running for President in 2008, and how an Mormon President might affect the nation. Good read.

A RECENT Gallup poll shows that even among Republicans, 7 in 10 voters are more likely to support a candidate in 2008 who disagrees with the Karl Rove-George Bush plan of creating a long-term Republican era that panders to the religious right and drives away many moderates.
Many Republicans believe that Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, though still considered a long shot, could emerge as the ”dream candidate” they will be looking for: an attractive social conservative in one of the bluest of blue states (he opposed the Supreme Judicial Court’s legalization of gay marriage) whose CEO-style leadership will please the party’s conservative base while not alienating middle-of-the-road voters.

Knowing that today’s front-runner, possibly John McCain, won’t necessarily be 2008′s front-runner, they think Romney has a good chance of beating him in the early eastern GOP primaries.

But Romney has a problem. He is a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which, as Washington Monthly’s editor Amy Sullivan points out, makes him unacceptable to evangelical voters who make up 30 percent of the Republican electorate. Their hostility to Mormonism is not some vague prejudice that some Americans have. It’s a ”doctrinal thing,” based on their conviction that Mormonism ”isn’t just another religion,” but a ”cult” that they claim is ”false,” ”blasphemous,” and a threat to the Christian religion.

But Romney has an additional and perhaps even more serious problem. As taught by Mormon prophets from Brigham Young’s day to the late 1970s, blacks have been regarded as ”not equal with other races,” an inequality (to quote Mormon Apostle Bruce R. McConkie) that is ”the Lord’s doing based on his eternal laws of justice.” Mormon theologians have justified this racial bias by asserting that the black race is descended from Cain, who was cursed and marked (supposedly with a black skin) and whose descendants continued to bear the mark and the curse.

In 1978, the ban against African-Americans in the Mormon priesthood was dropped, along with long-standing church doctrines that were used to bolster claims of black inferiority. However, critics of the church maintain that although the ban has been removed, the doctrine has not changed. ”It’s the linkage to Cain that so distresses Mormon African-Americans today,” says California attorney Dennis Gladwell, who has been working with church leaders calling for change. ”It places their spiritual lineage in shambles, since they are alleged descendants of a man who has come to symbolize evil on the same level as Lucifer himself.”

One should not be surprised if — or when — the media press the governor on other issues, polygamy for instance, which the Mormon church no longer condones, and Romney says little more than that his belief in Jesus Christ and serving one’s neighbor and community are widely shared values.

But didn’t John Kennedy in 1960 prove that religion has nothing to do with a candidate’s political qualifications to be president? Yes — for Catholics. However, 46 years later, a public declaration of one’s personal religiosity is now required of all presidential candidates as evidence that they live by a deep-rooted moral yardstick confirmed by their religious faith.

This resurgence of religion underscores a powerful force in recent presidential races — namely, the rise of values politics framed as moral issues. One message is clear: Those whose religious faith is perceived as sincere and ”real” will have demonstrated the strength of character necessary to lead our country.

Little wonder that since the 2004 elections, the Democrats — acknowledging that the Republicans have been far more successful in winning over religious and faith-friendly voters — have been developing religious outreach programs, hiring faith advisers, and training candidates on how to ”talk the talk” that will attract more church-going voters.

At a time when the Bush-led Republican Party has made a presidential candidate’s personal religious faith a test of his or her moral stature and authority, this very test could disqualify Romney in the eyes of many Republicans as the core tenets of his faith are circulated to bring out sharply the strong opposition of Mormon theology to Christian doctrine.

Or, to put it in evangelical terms (as Sullivan has done), ”It might be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for Mitt Romney to win the Republican nomination.”

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

Ward Choir Music

Posted on February 6, 2006 by Aaron

I am the accompianist for the ward choir. I enjoy it quite a bit (except our chorister doesn’t exactly know how to lead a choir, so I have to play and lead at the same time). However, yesterday, we picked up a new piece that we will be playing for stake conference in a few weeks. What is interesting, is at the bottom of the page, it says the following:

This arrangement copyright 2002 by Sally DeFord
224 Tamarron Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80919 719/260-8925
Making copies for non-commercial use is permitted
This and other DeFord sheet music may be downloaded free at:

http://www.defordmusic.com

Making copies for non-commercial use is permitted. Being a open source advocate, I strongly believe in the freedom of sharing. It seems that even though this music isn’t “open source”, Sally DeFord also believes in sharing. For crying out loud, she is making her arrangements available online completely for free. I applaud her. Good job!

This is quite the contrast when compared to Brent Jorgenson and Jackman Music:

Copyright © 2002 by JACKMAN MUSIC CORPORATION, All Rights Reserved
P.O. Box 1900, Orem UT 84059-1900 USA * Tel 1 (801) 225-0859 * Fax 1 (801) 225-0851 * www.jackmanmusic.com
No part of this book may be reproduced exectp those pages which are specifically marked otherwise.
“Hymnplicity” is a trademark of Jackman Music Corporation.

And when looking at the bottom of each page, you see the same contact information with the following copyright:

No part of this piece may be reproduced, whether for emergency, nonprofit, church, education use, or otherwise.

Gads. Not even for emergencies eh? A little stingy, aren’t we. What is very, very interesting, is every hymn in the Hymnplicity book does not have a copyright at the end of the hymn, which means that those hymns may be reproduced for non-commercial church and home use:

Hymns having the notice © (year) LDS, hymns showing no copyright notice, and general materials in this collection may be copied for noncommercial church or home use. If a notice appears with a hymn, it must be included on each copy made. Hymns with copyright notices other than © (year) LDS, unless otherwise noted, must not be copied without written permission of the copyright owners.

The Church has the idea: share. So why does Jackman Music and Brent Jorgenson have such a hard time with it? And why are they using hymns that can be copied and shared? I have always had a hard time with this. Not just hymns, but making money off of the Church in general. Music, books, etc. It just seems wrong to me, but that is personal opinion, and I won’t get into it here.

At any rate, I have encouraged the choir and chorister to get our future music from Sally DeFord, not because the music is free, which is a bonus, but because she recognizes the freedom of sharing and community. She recognizes that these hymn arrangements were made possible because of the hymnal, and she gives her talent back without any thought of reward. To me, that is right inline with what the Gospel teaches.

Posted in Hymns | 6 Comments

Getting Released

Posted on January 25, 2006 by Aaron

Well, it happened. I was extended a release from being Elders Quorum President from my ward. I knew it would come eventually, as I have been in the presidency for 6 years and as president for 3 of them.

Last Sunday, while I was at work, the Stake President was looking for me wishing to extend the release. Becuase I was not there, and he could not get ahold of me, the Bishop stopped by my house last night. He mentioned that he wanted to thank me for all the hard work I had done, and felt that I was probably burnt out, and ready for something new.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about it, as I have become accustomed to many of the tasks and duties. Frankly, I will feel empty when I don’t have to worry about them anymore. Also, as with anything in life, I look back and wonder if I gave it my absolute best. There were months where I know I didn’t do a thing, and there are months where my family and school were put last and the calling first. Overall, I think I did some good, and my counselors were great. I don’t have many regrets.

I feel a great deal of relief through this as well. I no longer have to spend time worrying about the home teaching list or families, whether or not we have a teacher for the Sunday lesson, who is active and who isn’t, etc. I can just go to church and attend my meetings like a regular member. Hopefully, I won’t receive a calling for a little while. I think of everything on my plate, and think what a relief it will be to just worry about the temporal things currently in my life.

As I mentioned, I will miss the calling. I will miss the close bond I made with my counselors and secretary. I will miss the experiences that come. Part of me doesn’t want to give it up, because these blessings. However, I need to let it go and give another member of the quorum the opportunity to serve. Life goes on.

Hopefully, with my wife as a counselor in the Primary, they won’t put me in as a primary teacher. :)

Posted in Callings | Leave a comment

Member Missionary Work

Posted on January 22, 2006 by Aaron

When I served my full-time mission in Toronto, Canada, it would bug me so bad that members didn’t seem to care about member missionary work. As a missionary, you realized fairly quickly that you were only as effective as your relationship with the local ward members. Missionaries who didn’t understand this had a hard time bringing more souls to Christ through the waters of baptism. Members who didn’t understand this had a hard time keeping converts active.

However, after arriving home, I soon came to realize that member missionary is a lot harder than I thought. First off, I don’t have a lot of non-member friends. I tend to socialize within my religious circle, mainly because not only do I go to church with them, but they live within a couple blocks of me and attend the same university that I do. In other words, I see them more than just at church. The non-member friends that I do have I either see at work or school. So I guess I understand a little about what the members in Toronto must have felt like. Talking to your non-LDS friends about religion is hard.

When do you bring it up? How do you bring it up? There is a time and place for everything and when do you when that is for this sort of discussion? Well, I found an opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up.

I have a great deal of respect for Muslims. More so than any other Christian or non-Christian group excluding the LDS faith. I have grown to develop a deep love and admiration for the Muslim faith. This love came while serving my mission. I would run into more Muslims than any other group. I had extensive discussions with Muslim members from all walks of the globe. I learned that these people take their religion very seriously, and their teachings follow very closely to the LDS religion. I have read much of the Qur’an, and recently ordered one from the web which I hope to receive soon.

There is an employee at work who was just recently hired who is Muslim. He is awesome. My wife and I went to a dinner party for work, and after the party gave him a ride home. On the way home, he asked many questions about the LDS faith and Christianity in general. Because the drive was about 45 minutes long, we had a lot to talk about, and stayed on topic the entire ride.

He as a great deal of respect for the LDS religion because of our strong beliefs and the way we conduct ourselves as members. He mentioned that most Christian members do not take their religion seriously and don’t follow many of the teachings, however he has noticed that LDS members do. He admires us for our determination to stay on the strait and narrow.

Well, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I began teaching him about God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Holy Ghost, Prophets, Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. When I was finished, I asked him that if I could get him a copy of the Book of Mormon in his language if he would read it. He said he would, and the member missionary work began.

One week later, with the help of a friend, I was able to get him a copy in Bangalese (he is from Bangladesh) and told him about a passage that I wanted him to read and handed him the copy. Of course, the passage was Moroni 10:3-5.

3. Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

I give him ride home from work quite frequently, so on the next ride home, I will teach him about what he read, and ask him if he would like to learn more. Eventually, if things work out well, I will turn him over to the full-time missionaries to make sure he receives the proper teachings through the Spirit and hopefully bring him to Christ through the waters of baptism.

I have never really done this before. I have been home from my mission now for almost 8 years, and this is a first. It feels good. A wholesome good. A good like I just saved a life good. I hope that I can keep this sort of motivation up, because right now, I feel great. Too bad he isn’t with me now, and we could have a great conversation about the passage in Moroni and what he feels about it.

Posted in Book of Mormon, Mission of the Church | Leave a comment

Creating a Meaningful Scripture Marking System

Posted on January 6, 2006 by Aaron

I thought that I would share my thoughts on creating a scripture marking system that works and is meaningful to you. I want to share this, because my wife has a new quadruple combination, and she is struggling with exactly how to mark her scriptures.

First things first. You need to layout in a clear fashion exactly what your goal for your new marking system should be. For example, is your goal to gain a further knowledge of the deeper mysteries of God? Is your goal, maybe, to learn the stories on a more comprehensive level? Is your goal to increase your speed in locating scriptures when you can’t exactly remember the reference? My goal, when creating my scripture marking system was to be able to give a 5-10 minute talk with no advance notice. In other words, if a speaker for Sacrament Meeting canceled last minute, I would be prepared with just my scriptures to give a talk. Setting aside exactly what you want to accomplish as a goal for your scripture marking will ultimately determine how you mark them.

Next, you need to decide exactly what to mark. This can take up a great deal of time figuring it out. For example, you may want to mark major gospel topics. You may want to mark all references to Christ. You may want to mark just the deeper things of the Kingdom. Whatever the case may be, you need to decide. Because I was a missionary when I developed this system, I personally wanted to mark many things, and as such, I had to decide in a clear manor how I would keep them separated. I decide to mark the following:

  • The 50 major Gospel topics, organized by story (more on that in a bit).
  • Missionary discussion scriptures (the discussions are no longer used by missionaries).
  • Deeper things of the mysteries of God and the Gospel.
  • Changes to editions in the Book of Mormon.
  • Anti-bashing scriptures (a different paradigm to scripture bashing where you preach the Gospel to people who want to bash).
  • Personal commentary reflecting on my own life.
  • Scripture study scriptures.

As you can see, I have a lot that I want to mark. Each of them has their own way of identifying what is what, which we will get to next. The first in the list is marking the 50 major Gospel topics organized by story. This comes from the amazing Scripture Kit by Bruce Barton. Each Gospel topic is associated with a story. From that main story, there are many more scriptures from other stories that help teach the topic at hand. This helps with cross-references and aids me in that spontaneous 5 minute talk I might need to give. Also mentioned in my list are the missionary discussions. I served my mission from 1996-1998, a time when we relied heavy on the discussions for teaching. Now, missionaries don’t use the discussions any longer to teach, so even tho the discussions aren’t used, they make great scriptures for teaching. Another item on my list to point out for clarification is anti-bashing scriptures. When serving my mission, I was constantly battered by Jehovah Witnesses, Muslims, Baptists and anyone with a grudge against the Mormons. At first instinct, I wanted to defend the Church, but found myself bashing right along with them. I then had a paradigm shift in mental thinking, and began using these opportunities as teaching opportunities. Quickly, I went from the spirit of contention to following the Holy Spirit. And the discussions went from bashing to teaching. Anti-bashing scriptures are teaching scriptures for commonly used tactics of anti-Mormon advocates.

Once you decide exactly what to mark, you need to decide how to mark it. Common ways are to either use many colors- one color for each topic, or one color for everything. I personally recommend staying away from both. In fact, you don’t need anymore than 4 colors to mark everything in the scriptures, and you should use at least 2 different colors to avoid redundancy. In fact, you may even want to play with marking styles. For example, underlining the verse, instead of outlining it. Using a combination of pen and pencil to help distinguish further. Block outlining and verse number circling are good ways to mark several consecutive scriptures. Diagonal slashes across the verses is another good way to easily identify the marking. You don’t have to mark a full verse either. Marking major points or things that stand out in a particular verse is a good way to get a handle on why you marked what you did.

Choosing your marking instruments can be difficult and daunting. I mentioned that you could use pen and pencil. You should be using acid-free writing instruments so your pages don’t color over time. Also, avoid highlighter markers. I have not found that these weaken the page, cause wrinkles and bleed through. For pencil, a lead should be chosen that can be easily erased. Color pencils are hard to erase off of white pages as they are a combination of lead and oil. Pens can easily bleed through the page, so choose a blank page in your scriptures out of the way to test the bleeding of the pen and how well the pencil erases. Also, pens should not be ballpoint or roller ball as ink blots can gather on the page, and create a mess. Remember, you are marking very thin pages. The life of the page and ultimately your scriptures will determine on how well you choose your scripture marking pens and pencils.

Lastly, note taking. The LDS standard set of scriptures provides ample room for you to take notes. You have decent sized margins surrounding the pages, and between the major books there are typically blank pages with plenty of note taking room. If this is not enough, and you need more, small acid-free Postit notes make great companions. However, they add thickness to your set, and should be used sparingly so you don’t break your binding. Same goes for gluing in sheets of paper between pages. These are great ways to bet further clarification or understanding on a certain topic or scripture, but they can seriously compromise the integrity of your set if abused. I have extra sheets and Postit notes in my quadruple combination, but they are few and far between.

Okay, now that I have give you the guidelines for creating a meaningful marking system, let me share with you mine. Maybe it will help spark some ideas on how exactly to build yours. First the goal. Remember, my goal was to be able to give a 5 minute talk at the drop of a hat with no prior preparation. Because of this goal, I developed a very complex yet very clear marking system to help me in that task. So, first I bought the Scripture Kit from Bruce Barton. I put the 50 Main Subjects sticker under the front over of my quad. I then assigned each of the 50 topics a color. Actually, I only had 13 colors that were fairly distinguishable, so I reused most of the colors 4 times. The colors, however, aren’t for marking pages. They are for identifying where the main topic story is when the set it close. That’s right, I purchased 3/4″ x 1/2″ blank rectangular labels and cut them in half the long way. Then I colored each label the colors according to one of the 50 main subjects. The first 25 I pinched across the top page of the set with the last 25 across the bottom page of the set. Each of the 50 main subjects has many scriptures, so many of these labels for each subject exist. All in all, I would say I pinched on the pages of my quad over 3,000 labels. When my quad is closed, you can see the colors of each label lined up in columns. See the image links below if you don’t understand what I did.

50MainSubjects.jpg
PageLabel.jpg
ScripturesClosed.jpg

Once the labels were in place, I need to mark the scripture for the labels location. This was very time consuming and quite daunting, but the overall effect is exactly what I wanted. When I identify a topic, say baptism, then I look for the color label on the page with the quad closed, and turn to one. Then, I look for a scripture marked in blue pencil with the the letters “MS xx” where xx is the topic number for baptism, in this case “MS 7″. Because I have multiple labels for that one topic, I have a scripture chain that I can teach from stretching from the Old Testament through the Pearl of Great Price. See the image below to help visualize.

FindBaptismLabel.jpg
Each of the 50 main subjects has a root story associated with the topic. This root story is shown on the 50 Main Subjects sticker on in the inside cover of my set. The scripture itself is marked in red pencil with diagonal slashing lines and the “MS xx” identifier next to it. This makes it exceptionally easy to start my “5 minute talk” and it is easily identifiable. See the image below.

BaptismRootStory.jpg

The 50 subjects is my root for giving the spur of the moment “5 minute talk” in church. The remainder of the marking system I developed aids in personal study and group discussion. These don’t impact the “5 minute talk” as much as the 50 main subjects, but they are easily identifiable and do aid in preparing lessons or talks. For my marking system, I chose the following colors and patterns. Pen always underlines the verse (with a ruler for nice straight lines) and pencil always highlights or outlines the verse.

  • Red pen (underlined)- Anti-bashing scriptures. These are great teaching scriptures when confronted with anti-Mormon zealots. Rather than bash saying “well this scripture says such-and-such”, teach fromt he scriptures saying “we believe this-and-that according to this scripture. When starting with “we believe”, as the 13 Articles of Faith do, you lay down any argument and prepare for a lesson.
  • Blue pen (underlined)- Deep doctrine. I have always been interested in deep doctrine and the mysteries of God. When studying FARMS, doctrinal discourses or other stimulating material, and I find something deep, I mark it with this.
  • Green pen (underlined)- Missionary discussion scriptures. I marked these as such, so when handing my scriptures to the person I was teaching, they could quickly find what scripture I wanted them to read. Also, this came in handy when memorizing scriptures that pertained to the discussions.
  • Black pen (underlined)- Personal experience pertaining to that verse. Whenever I stumbled upon a scripture that answered a question in my life or meant something to me, I would mark it this way, then write in a margin why. This marking is not very common throughout the Standard Works.
  • Red pencil (highlight)- Used when studying along side a study manual. Most highlighting is accomanied by a quotation, thoughts or discoveries. I try to keep this marking a minimum as I don’t want my scriptures to be bleeding red with pencil.
  • Red pencil (diagonal slash)- Indentifying the root story for one of the main topics as described above.
  • Red pencil (outline)- Used rather than marking many verses or to identify a major event that spans many versus. When Jesus Christ visited the Americas in 3 Nephi, chapters 12-14 are outlined showing the sermon he gave to the people.
  • Blue pencil (highlight)- Intentifies the scripture chain associated with each topic from the main 50. Each verse also has a corresponding page label on either the top or bottom of the page as well as “MS xx” where xx is the number to identify the topic.
  • Yellow pencil (highlight)- Shows changes in editions with the Book of Mormon. These markings are rare, and only serve as a study guide to help clarify why the changes were made.
  • Mechanical .05 lead pencil- Notes, mainly in the margins. When making notes, I use this pencil so I can write small and a lot. If a margin is already occupied next to the verse, I circle the verse number and draw a line (with a ruler to keep it straight) from the number to the margin containing the note. All handwriting is done in this marking.
  • Postit notes- Provide the background to the missionary scriptures marked in green pen. This help aid me in teaching people so I could provide a little bit about the verse before reading it.

That’s it! Farily lengthy and quite complex, but very well seperated and each marking is easily identifyable. The nice aspect about this marking system is it is not adaptable to change. Unfortunately for many people, their marking system becomes over worked and under used. It isn’t long before people forget why they marked the scripture they did. Here, everything is laid out in a clean fashion, and the definition of the system lies on the inside back cover.

If you have any questions concerning my marking system or need help with yours, please comment below or email me. I would be happy to help you out.

Posted in Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, New Testament, Old Testament, Pearl of Great Price | 2 Comments