How I Study General Conference
My conference editions of the Ensign used to get pretty worn. This summer I attended Education Week at BYU-Idaho and learned this trick from an instructor. Take the Ensign to a store like Office Max or Staples and have them do two things:
1. Spiral bind it.
2. Have them put a clear plastic cover on the front and a black cover on the back.
It's fairly cheep to do. Should be under five dollars.
Then I get to the meat of studying. I pick topic's and assign them colors. This year was just three.
-When any talk tells us to read our scriptures. (last year it was ALL over the place)
-When any of the talks give advice about raising families or anything in the vein of families
-Marking any questions the speakers ask US!
In conferences past I've had put to five topic's to focus on and it can be anything you
want really, but I pick the themes that are repeated over and over again.
I treat them as I do my scriptures, because they are just that! I mark them up.
I always write/bullet point the main points of the talk.
The one below says this:
# Our own lives can be temple standard; no gritty walls or crooked/flawed windows.
# Our "contractor" hold us to high standards.
# The Lord knows the level of our efforts and if we have done our personal best.
I write in the margin's, I circle words, and I even write my feelings sometimes.
All of it just like I do with my scriptures. The picture does not show
my completed study
of this talk as it is now but here is what I wrote up:
* Moral issues addressed in families:
* Repentance only panacea
* Unkindness
* Sexual immorality
* Immersion in the scriptures
* Take any necessary action to feel the Spirit
I box whole paragraphs that I feel as super important. Along with the color makers I use a black marker. This year it's a Paper Mate flair pen. Find the ones that don't smear. I used colored permanent markers that also don't smear. I haven't shown it here, but I also will circle the footnote numbers that I particularly liked. The footnotes make it SO like the scriptures. Being led by Jesus Christ through a prophet of God and His Twelve Apostles is wonderful. We get to hear from them twice a year. I always feel the Spirit and know what I need to do to make my life better.
To learn more: Things As They Really Are
