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I love to read and have since about third-grade. Yet the way I read now is drastically different than how I read then. I study English literature at BYU and have become one of those people that analyzes and picks apart every book I read and film or TV show that I watch. I wasn’t always this way, in fact I hated being forced to find the symbolism in books I read in high school English classes (oh the irony that I will do what I once hated for the rest of my life…).

The shift for me was on my mission. Perhaps it was because I was starved of reading materials and had already read the scriptures a couple of times (closer to a couple dozen in the case of The Book of Mormon), but for whatever reason I started to read differently. More closely. I questioned the text, tried to figure out what was happening behind the scenes. What was motivating Nephi to start his narrative by stating he was born of goodly parents and was large in stature? Did Isaac know what was going on as Abraham led him to the top of the mountain? What would Laman or Lemuel have written if they were the ones keeping the record?

I became an analyzer, a critical thinker, in my reading. A tendency that has only been strengthened throughout my roughly four years at BYU.

Here are some ways I’ve personally improved my scripture study:

  1. Ask questions of the scriptures. Questions are my favorite. I try to imagine that someone is telling me a story and I think of the questions I would have for that person. Questioning and being a bit skeptical comes pretty naturally to me, so I’m not sure exactly how others should cultivate that.
  2. Try to discern the layers of narration or authorship. Most scriptural texts have layers of narration or authorship that can complicate the act of interpretation. Some of this information may need to come from outside sources, but for The Book of Mormon practically everything you need to know is in the text. There’s the translation layer, Mormon’s abridgment of an earlier record, and sometimes the earlier record whole-cloth (putting aside questions of historicity there’s still value in figuring out who said what. The same techniques are used when reading a Jane Austen novel, a story by Henry James or countless other authors).
  3. Have fun. Sometimes scripture reading is boring as death. So make it fun. I like to create scripture chains that prove ridiculous things because it helps me remember specific verses and illustrates the importance of understanding scriptural context. Or I write snarky comments in the margins, sometimes linking verses or phrases with pop culture references (like Donny Osmond throughout the Joseph in Egypt story or Mufasa at the end of Mosiah 5).
  4. Forget what you know. There is huge cultural baggage associated with the scriptures. Lifetimes of meaning and interpretation forced onto a text. Sometimes these interpretations are rubbish. Like faith being a seed in Alma 32. Alma straight-up says in verse 28, “Now, we will compare the word unto a seed.” The SEED IS THE WORD. NOT FAITH. So, forget what you know (sometimes circumstances are just beyond our control).
  5. Focus on the text. Once you’ve forgotten what the scriptures “should” say, you can actually read them to figure out what they say. Focusing on what is on the page, reading strictly the text (even ignoring the chapter headings and footnotes, since they can force certain interpretations that don’t necessarily hold up under close reading).

Let’s feast!…On the word, of course.

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