📍  Hello, and welcome back to Primarily Scripture. I am Cindy Young, and I am so glad you are here. This is a beginner's guide to scripture study. We're told to study the scriptures, but what does that look like? We know what reading our scriptures is, right? But how do you study? We talk about just a couple little things each week that will help you to study your scriptures more effectively. And the goal is that you'll be able to learn how to do these things and then go off and study all on your own.

 This year we're in the Book of Mormon, following Come Follow Me, and this week we are reading Jacob chapters 5 through 7. 

Before we actually get into the scriptures, I want to talk to you about the difference between a   📍 sermon and a   📍 story. Now, some of you know what a sermon is, but for our youngest listeners, let me explain it to you. It's very simple. A sermon is a talk or 
📍 teachings about a religious topic, like giving a talk in church. Every talk at General Conference is a sermon. Perhaps your parents will give you a sermon in family home evening or at scripture study. But sermons are very helpful and it's something that the Lord asks his prophets to do all the time.

So when we read the scriptures, of course, we're going to come across sermons, right? The prophet will go to the people and give a sermon, and then he goes back to his tent and writes it down on the plates so that we can then have it. A story is pretty self explanatory. You know what a story is, right? It 📍 tells you about the people and what they did, what happened, how they felt, things like that. Sometimes in the middle of a story, you'll have a sermon. And sometimes in the middle of a sermon, you'll have a story.  But, knowing the difference is super important when you're beginning to study the scriptures. And here's why.  Do you remember that in past episodes, we've talked about things to look for.

When you read your scriptures, you should be looking for things. So knowing if it's a sermon  or a story will help you to narrow down what it is you're going to look for. 

 So if you're reading a story, I want you to look for the   📍 people. 📍 What did they do?   📍 What did they feel?   📍 What can we learn from these things?

And if it's a sermon, then you can look for 📍 what is the doctrine? What are they trying to teach?📍 Did they give you a to do list?📍 Are there warnings?📍 Are there promises? 

The stories and sermons that are included in the scriptures are always going to have spiritual lessons in them - we  don't have the stories of them getting up in the morning to make breakfast, and then they took a nap in the afternoon. That's not the story that we're going to get. Because they saved room for the stories that most powerfully taught spiritual lessons. Now you might find some of the things that are in stories in sermons, and you might find some of those sermon ideas in stories, but at least when you're beginning to study, if you can figure out story or sermon, it will really help you to then know what the next step is. 

And this week, in these three chapters, we actually have some of both. We have a story. We have a sermon.  We also have what is called an allegory. Jacob chapter 5 is so long, it has 77 verses in it, and it is a story that teaches a lesson. Kind of like a parable.

And so as you're reading,  pay attention to if it's a story or a sermon  or maybe even both.

 For anybody just joining us, you should know that you can go onto the website, PrimarilyScripture.com, and there are free worksheets that I make every single week that will help you to walk through these things.

Don't feel like you have to do everything on the worksheets. There's a lot packed into just a couple of pages.  But they're broken up into different pieces so you can pick and choose which parts you want to study and what you want to work on.

And one of the things on this week's worksheet I want to talk to you about right now.  And I called it 📍 Ah-ha Moments.  What I call those times when all of a sudden you go,  I understand this now. Oh, it just all makes sense in my mind. That's so cool. That will happen to you when you're studying the scriptures. Sometimes you read and you go, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I understand. I know what this means. And then on a different day, you might come back to that same exact verse and read it again. And suddenly, it just all makes sense and it touches your heart in a different way. 

Every time you read the scriptures, you should be paying attention. If you have an Ah-ha moment, that's important! 📍 The Holy Ghost is helping you to understand. That's one of the jobs that the Holy Ghost has, is to help us learn and understand. 

And no matter what else you're studying, if you have a moment like that, will you 
📍 pause and really pay attention? and   📍 stop and think about it. Because maybe the Holy Ghost really wants you to learn about that one thing at that time. So don't ignore that, okay? It is so important!

Because personal scripture study is personal.  I'm giving you lots of different ways that you can study and things to dig into. But those   📍 Ah-ha moments are revelation for you. And that's how you build your testimony.  Your testimony is what you have experienced. So if you experience an Ah-ha moment, that is your testimony growing. 

So absolutely pay attention! The Lord wants to give you messages through the scriptures, and he will send the Holy Ghost to help you understand what is most important for you.

Does that make sense?  One of my Ah-ha moments as I was studying these chapters came when I read  📍 Jacob chapter six, verse 12. And I memorized this verse because I love it so much. Are you ready?   "Oh, be wise. What can I say more?" And I love this verse!

It's so simple. Jacob just says, be wise. What else can I say? Just be wise. And I really felt the spirit that if we just strive to make good choices, then everything else will line up. And my mind kind of had this light bulb moment of,  yeah, every good choice I make matters.   So great. Now, is that new doctrine? Is that something I'd never thought of before?

No.  Of course I have thought of that before!  People all around the world have talked about this verse, "O be wise," and have had conversations about this exact same thing. I have had conversations about this exact verse before,  but as I read it this week, the spirit spoke to my heart especially strong.

And so I paused and I thought about it again.  And who knows, maybe this week I will need that reminder that I just need to make a good choice. I just need to be wise  and I'm so grateful that the Holy Ghost will send those messages to me right when I need them.   It doesn't happen if I don't open my scriptures though, because the scriptures are one of the biggest tools that the Holy Ghost will use to get those messages from Heavenly Father into your heart. 

So don't just listen to me talk about the scriptures. Will you please go open up your scriptures and read this week and pay attention. Figure out if you're reading a story or a sermon  and then look for the things that are in stories and sermons and what lessons you can learn.  And as you're doing that, pay attention to those Ah-ha moments because the spirit will speak to you. 

Thanks for being here today, you guys.

I'll see you next time. Bye.  

  📍  Thanks for tuning in to Primarily Scripture with Cindy Young. Don't forget you can subscribe to the newsletter and download free worksheets on the website PrimarilyScripture. com. And if you like the channel, be sure to subscribe, like, share, and leave a review. See you next time!