As a kid in school, I was not a fan or any good at memorization. I remember struggling to learn my 20 lines of Shakespeare, the various rules for hydration and oxidation in organic chemistry, the dates of the Civil War, etc. No fun and I questioned the value.
A few years ago, prompted by my patriarchal blessing, I decided to give memorization another shot. In the ensuing four years or so, I've memorized quite a bit of stuff. I laid it all out this morning to take an inventory (to see what the girls had lost when they got into it earlier this week). Each morning I recite a handful of these to make sure I don't forget that which I've spent time memorizing. These are the contents of my "memory box". At this point, I've gone through the Book of Mormon, part of the Doctrine & Covenants (both of which I purchased study guides for that were written in the 70s by a friend's mom)and am currently creating my own New Testament study guide. The contents of my box are:
A snippet from each chapter heading in the Book of Mormon
A snippet from each section heading for the first 28 sections of the D&C
Four long summaries (Articles of Faith, For the Strength of Youth, Duties of the Aaronic Priesthood, Definitions & Contents of the D&C)
53 Book of Mormon scriptures
22 D&C scriptures
1 scripture from the PoGP
3 scriptures from the Bible
1 miscellaneous quote
Still lots left to do.
This post is not meant to be a pat on the back, but an idea for something I have found tremendously useful. This memorization creates a framework on which every lesson, talk or discussion I listen to now hangs. It is now more meaningful to me when someone starts reading a verse about free agency from 2 Nephi 2 to know that this is the chapter right before Lehi dies when he shares his last works with his son Jacob (right before his words to Joseph), who was born in 1 Nephi 18 right before they sailed to the promised land and that this same Jacob would later denounce unchastity, share the allegory of the olive tree, relate the story of Sherem and then give the plates to his son Enos, who would in turn testify of the character of his father Jacob as he received his own conversion. If you're in a rut in your personal or family study, give a bit of memorization a try. I've been in a bit of a rut from reciting so much - this morning's inventory has got me re-energized to get back to it.
I'm also glad I figured out which two cards were missing...
2 comments:
very cool. but you already knew we thought you were cool...
I have been gloriously impressed by your dedication in filling your mind with worthy thoughts and scriptures. I have seen them bless our lives; yours singularly and our family's in general. this fantastic endeavor is one more reason I feel so blessed to be your wife.
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