After a particularly chaotic season of life, you may look around as the dust settles and realize that your scriptures took a back seat to the commotion. Or maybe you’re in such a season this very moment.
Whatever your circumstances are, don’t be hard on yourself. When it comes to gospel study, what matters most is simply choosing to return, again and again. Here are a few ways to help you ease back into the scriptures.
1. Ask for a Recommendation
We ask friends to recommend their favorite books to us, so why not ask for scripture recommendations, too? Have someone you trust share their favorite scripture chapter with you. Leaning on their faith can give you a comforting spiritual boost. As Elder Ronald A. Rasband said, “Don’t be discouraged if you find yourself having to believe on the testimony of others. That in and of itself is a gift.”
After you’ve studied the recommended chapter, consider chatting with the person about why those verses mean so much to them, and share any insights or questions you had.
2. Start with a Question
If your study needs direction and purpose, read the scriptures searching for an answer to a question that’s been on your mind. If you don’t have one, study a question of someone close to you, and share your findings with them. Use the Topical Guide, the Bible Dictionary, the Index, and other study helps. As you put yourself in a place to be taught by the Spirit, gospel study will begin to feel interesting and even delicious.
President Dallin H. Oaks testified of the power of this approach when he said,
“We may … find that a specific verse of scripture that was spoken for quite a different purpose in an entirely different age will, under the interpretive influence of the Holy Ghost, give us a very personal message adapted to our personal needs today. …
“ … The scriptures will help us resolve all of our personal questions because by reading them we invite and qualify ourselves for the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, which will guide us into all truth.”
3. Use a Guidebook
If even the thought of studying the scriptures overwhelms you, try simplifying your approach by using a Come, Follow Me guidebook. The Seek guidebook created by The Red Headed Hostess (RHH) includes reflective questions, historical context, character lists, timelines, and prompts for each week of Come, Follow Me, along with space to draw or take notes.
Shannon Foster, the founder of RHH, believes the key to insightful and life-changing scripture study is to slow down. “If you need to start by just drawing pictures or writing down what’s happening, it won’t be very long until you are writing down things that are deep wisdom,” she says.
4. Find a Study Buddy
Elder Gérald Caussé taught, “The Lord’s compensating blessings often come through the kindness and service of others who help us accomplish what we cannot do on our own.”
If you need motivation to open your scriptures, find someone who is willing to keep you accountable. This could be a family member, friend, ward member, or ministering partner you study with on a regular basis. You may decide to study the scriptures together in person, or you could read them separately and discuss your insights later over text, video call, or phone call.
Whatever your approach, there is power in seeking out the spiritual companionship of a fellow disciple.
Embrace the Cycle
Though we may feel guilty for phases where we let our spiritual practice fall through the cracks, we can accept that they are a natural part of our imperfect mortal journey.
The authors of The Power of Stillness share the experience of a woman who had a breakthrough about her meditation practice, and it’s a realization we can apply to gospel study as well:
“Instead of trying to create a state of forced and rigid stillness, and feeling like she was failing when she couldn’t sustain that, she started to work with the cycle of the mind—training it to recognize its wandering and consciously come back to a place of calm, back to still ... over and over.”
So, with a deep breath and an open heart, we can decide to reenter the scriptures. As we do, God will meet us wherever we’re at.
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