The Probelm With Verses

I've discovered another way to read the scriptures, or anything, that expanded my mind quite a bit -

In context.

I don't mean reading the three verses before and after the one you are looking at. I don't mean reading the chapter before and the chapter after the one you want to read. I mean starting at the beginning of a thought and not stopping until you reach the end.

Ultimately, you'd find yourself reading all of scripture in one sitting, but since that's impossible, we can break it down a little further.

In the middle of page 23 in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, Nephi is wanting some knowledge for himself from God. He is not satisfied with what his prophet/father has given him so he sits pondering and is caught away into an exceeding high mountain. What follows is a prophecy of a portion of the history of the world. The prophecy doesn't end until you reach the top of page 35(or the end of the book of Revelation, really).

This happens again and again throughout the book of Mormon. A couple more examples are pp. 86-102 and 102-122.

Rather than focusing on small portions of a great big thought, you are getting the whole picture. It's like being able to understand the planet Earth, and the things that go on here by just thinking "Earth" rather than needing to think about each individual thing separate from the one great whole it is a part of. You still see the tiny individual parts and they are still important, but you see them as being intertwined.

I do think there is a place for focusing in. I think portions of thought travel across scripture, allowing links from page to page, connecting ideas, broadening the understanding of words or phrases. But when it comes time to understand who you are in relation to what is going on in the world and what God is doing and what He wants to do, context is indispensable. Full context.

It helps to read these things in paragraph format. That way, thoughts that shouldn't be broken up by verses or chapters, aren't. You can find all the scriptures online in paragraph format or copy/paste and edit them yourself.

Good luck.

Happy reading