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A Personal Approach to Scripture Study: Learning to Love the Scriptures

Justin Baer

How do you feel about the scriptures? Do you love reading the scriptures? Do you look forward to your scripture study time, or do you dread it?

There is a correlation between scripture study and revelation. If we want to receive the blessings of scripture study, we need to do more than just read. We need to learn to love studying the scriptures.

The scriptures are vital to our spiritual survival

During his first conference as President of the Church, Russell M. Nelson gave an oft-quoted promise and warning: “[I]n coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”1 President Dallin H. Oaks has recently emphasized this warning, saying, “One of the many reasons you will need the constant influence of the Holy Ghost is that you live in a season in which the adversary has become so effective at disguising truth that if you don’t have the Holy Ghost, you will be deceived.”2

President Oaks provided four ways to draw closer to our Savior, and one of those ways was strengthening our faith in Christ, which he said means “daily trying, one step at a time, with prayer and scripture study.”3

Scripture study is one of the most basic, fundamental, daily activities that we can do to have the Holy Ghost with us; and so, scripture study is vital to our spiritual survival. How can we improve our study, or how can we get started?

Start where you are

Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught us to start where we are:

The perfect place to begin is exactly where you are right now. It doesn’t matter how unqualified you may think you are or how far behind others you may feel.4

We may feel intimidated, or it might have been a while since we spent meaningful time in the scriptures, but we aren’t expected to be gospel scholars after one scripture study session. We only need to start where we are, then move forward step by step.

Start with something small and simple

Scripture study needs to be a daily habit. The best way to create a habit is by doing one small thing consistently:

Habit-formation advice is ultimately simple — repeat an action consistently in the same context.

Decades of psychological research consistently show that mere repetition of a simple action in a consistent context leads, through associative learning, to the action being activated upon subsequent exposure to those contextual cues (that is, habitually).5

In other words, we are more inclined to develop habits by consistently doing simple actions, or “small and simple things,”6 when we associate that small action with a particular context.

As an example, we need to train before running a marathon, and at the most basic level, “you simply want to make sure you’re running regularly, at an easy, steady effort. Being overambitious with a training plan can lead to inconsistency – you’ll get more success from a plan you can stick to and enjoy . . . than ending up running six days one week and not at all the next.”7

Consistency is the most important part of developing a habit, and consistently doing small and simple things will help us to turn those things into habits. So it’s not just OK to start small, it’s the best way to develop a habit.

Make the time

The first, and perhaps most important step to improving or starting our study of the scriptures, is to make the time.

A beautiful, but subtle scripture about the Savior says, “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”8 Jesus had been healing the sick and casting out devils.9 He was so popular that the people wouldn’t leave him alone.10 Because he was so busy, he didn’t wait until time was available to pray; instead, he made time by waking up early.

He made time. If we want to be consistent with our scripture study, we need to make time.

New research [] shows a simple trick that allows us to get back some control and bounce back from goal-pursuit failure: Instead of saying that we didn’t have the time to go the gym, we can say that we didn’t make the time. This simple shift in language allows us to feel like how we dealt with our lack of time was a choice, and that we can change our approach in the future and regain motivation. We go from a helpless mindset about our busy schedules to a more active mindset of managing our time.11

If you want to start or improve your study of the scriptures, make the time, and do it at that time every day.

Choose a place

The place is as important as the time. “Our environment has a silent but profound influence on our daily behaviors.”12

Our brains are wired to respond automatically to stimuli around us, often bypassing conscious decision-making. . . .

The simplest way to build better habits is to engineer your environment so that the best choices are the easiest ones. When the path of least resistance leads to positive behaviors, you don’t need willpower—you just follow the setup you’ve created. . . .

We often overestimate the power of motivation and underestimate the influence of our environment. The reality is that success isn’t about willpower—it’s about designing a system where good habits are the default. . . . Small, consistent changes lead to extraordinary results over time.13

The place matters, and it becomes easier to develop good habits when we combine the place with the time. A great example is with Joseph Smith and the First Vision.

Make your place your own Sacred Grove

In 1843, David Nye White interviewed Joseph Smith and published an article in the Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette.14 During this interview, Joseph included a fascinating detail about the First Vision, which he only mentioned in this one account:

There was a reformation among the different religious denominations in the neighborhood where I lived, and I became serious, and was desirous to know what Church to join. While thinking of this matter, I opened the Testament promiscuously on these words, in James, “Ask of the Lord who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.” I just determined I’d ask him. I immediately went out into the woods where my father had a clearing, and went to the stump where I had stuck my axe when I had quit work, and I kneeled down, and prayed.15

Where did Joseph go? “[I]nto the woods where my father had a clearing, and went to the stump where I had stuck my axe when I had quit work.” He specifically mentioned the place where he had worked and stuck his axe in a stump. We can draw several inferences from this.

Joseph went to a place that he knew. He was likely comfortable there; it was a place where he felt at peace. It was a place that he liked. Joseph was 14 and an active, strong teenager. This might have been a place where he liked to play, not just work. I imagine that he might have tried climbing trees there. When he made the decision to pray, he chose a place that he knew well.

If we want to improve our scripture study, we need to choose a place where we can be at peace. We need to choose a place where we feel comfortable. We need to create our own sacred grove.

My place is quite strange

We are all unique, and we all have to make the effort to find a place that works for us. As we look for a place to study the scriptures, we need to discover what works for us.

Early in my college studies, I couldn’t focus when I was trying to study. I couldn’t find a place where I could get any work done. When I was in the library, I noticed every minor sound. I heard books scraping on the shelves. I heard whispers. I heard footsteps as people walked up and down the aisles. Every small noise distracted me.

So one day I tried studying in the cafeteria. And there, with people talking, music playing, and noise everywhere, I was able to focus. Because of the wash of sound, I wasn’t distracted by any one noise like when I was in the library.

In February 2013, I started a renewed effort to study the scriptures. But I struggled. It was hard, and I wasn’t enjoying it. After a while, I remembered my experience in college, and I wondered if I could have a better experience studying the scriptures if I did it in a public place. So, I went to McDonald’s. And amazingly, I had a much better experience there than when I was trying to study at home.

Now, I consistently study my scriptures in McDonald’s. I know that’s crazy. But it works for me.

We are all different, and we all have different likes and different abilities. Find a place where you can enjoy your study of the scriptures. You need to find your own sacred grove.

Learn what you love about the scriptures

The scriptures are simple, but also beautifully complex. Learn what you love about them.

As I mentioned, in 2013, after a period of inactivity studying the scriptures, I decided to make an effort to be consistent. I started with the Doctrine and Covenants, which was the topic of study for gospel doctrine that year. I really liked the Bible and the Book of Mormon, but I had never liked the Doctrine and Covenants. So my prayer at the beginning of 2013 was to learn to love the D&C.

It was hard, and slow-going. I was forcing myself to study each day, but I didn’t like it. But in February 2013, I started studying church history. And almost immediately, I started to love the Doctrine and Covenants. It took me a while to realize what had changed, but when I did, I learned something about myself. I needed the stories of the scriptures. I struggled with abstract concepts, and focusing on the stories helped me to see concrete examples of how the principles of the gospel were lived.

Trying to understand the stories of the scriptures helps me in many ways. I associate gospel principles with scripture stories, so when I try to understand doctrines, I think of scripture stories. I’m able to better remember where in the scriptures the stories take place. I compare stories to see similarities and differences, which helps me have a broader understanding of the doctrines. I love the stories in the scriptures, and that helps me drive my study.

But that’s me. That’s how I learned to love studying the scriptures. Part of learning to love the scriptures is a journey of self-discovery. Every person who yearns to love the scriptures needs to learn what they love about the scriptures, which likely involves learning more about themselves.

Develop a method for your study

With the time, the place, and the love for the scriptures, it is important to develop a method, or a way to study that is specific to your particular gifts and talents.

The Church has provided a significant amount of resources. Do you want to read paper? Do you want to listen to the audiobook? Do you prefer electronic, like on your phone, tablet, or computer? Whatever your preferred method of study, the resources are available.

My method is to start with a new book every time. I like a “clean slate.” When I start a new book, I think of a topic that I want to study, and I choose a marking system to help me focus on that topic. Here are a few examples of things I’ve done:

  • I have used the missionary lessons from the Preach My Gospel, and chosen colors to mark my scriptures based on the colors of each missionary lesson.
  • I have chosen a different color for each of the three covenants in the sacrament, plus one more for the gift of the Holy Ghost.16
  • I used Russell M. Nelson’s talk called, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” from his April 2017 general conference talk, and used a different color for each of the four things he taught would help us draw the power of Jesus Christ into our lives.17
  • I have chosen a different color for each of the five covenants we make in the Endowment.18

For each of these, I would start with a new book, then mark things that helped me better understand the topics of my marking system. This has motivated me to continue to study, knowing that I would learn new things each time. Part of my struggles have happened when I feel like I’m reading the same thing over and over again. But with a different focus, it feels new every time.

But like all these examples, this is just me. This won’t work for everyone (and probably won’t work for most people). Everybody needs to find their own method. This is another opportunity for self-discovery. We need to know how we learn, and what we can do with our scripture study that takes advantage of and continues to develop our personal, unique gifts.

Feast upon the words of Christ

The suggestions in this post are to help develop good habits for scripture study. But the most important part of studying the scriptures is feasting upon the “words of Christ.”

Nephi pled with his people to “feast upon the words of Christ.”19 It is true that we often use that phrase in the context of scripture study. But as we look at the context of Nephi’s message, he’s not talking about scriptures. He’s talking about the Holy Ghost:

Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.20

When Nephi talks about the “words of Christ,” he’s talking about the words that come to us through the Holy Ghost. Elder Bednar has taught, “Revelations from the Father and the Son are conveyed through the Holy Ghost. He is the messenger for and the witness of the Father and the Son.”21 So, Nephi is emphasizing the importance of revelation.

I believe that the greatest value of scripture study is that it gives us an opportunity to receive revelation. The scriptures are really just words in a book. True power from scripture study comes when we receive revelation and are taught directly by the Savior through the Holy Ghost. We see an example of this in the Joseph Smith History:

We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation.

Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of.22

It was the Holy Ghost that helped Joseph understand the scriptures. We need to follow his example and seek revelation while we study. The scriptures help us to hear the word of God, not only the word contained in the scriptures, but the living word that comes to us through the Holy Ghost:

The scriptures which we have give prophecies and promises, and they have been fulfilled in our day.

What a glorious blessing! For when we want to speak to God, we pray. And when we want Him to speak to us, we search the scriptures; for His words are spoken through His prophets. He will then teach us as we listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

If you have not heard His voice speaking to you lately, return with new eyes and new ears to the scriptures. They are our spiritual lifeline.23

It is vital that scripture study become a habit. Daily study of the scriptures will help you have the constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

So, make the time, choose a place, learn what you love about the scriptures, develop a method for your study, and feast upon the words of Christ. This will help you develop a habit of scripture study, which will help you have the constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

References

  1. Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” April 2018, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/04/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives?lang=eng&id=p37#p37. ↩︎
  2. Dallin H. Oaks, “Coming Closer to Jesus Christ,” BYU Speeches, February 10, 2026, https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/dallin-h-oaks/coming-closer-to-jesus-christ/. ↩︎
  3. Ibid. ↩︎
  4. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Hope of God’s Light,” April 2013, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2013/04/the-hope-of-gods-light?lang=eng&id=p20#p20. ↩︎
  5. Gardner B, Lally P, Wardle J. Making health habitual: the psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice. Br J Gen Pract. 2012 Dec, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3505409/. ↩︎
  6. Alma 37:6. ↩︎
  7. Tom Craggs, “25 rules of successful marathon training,” Runners World, March 30, 2026, https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/marathon/a36969929/successful-marathon-training-rules/. ↩︎
  8. Mark 1:35. ↩︎
  9. Mark 1:34. ↩︎
  10. See Matthew 12:15, “great multitudes followed him”; Mark 2:4, “And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof”; Mark 3:9, “And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him”; Mark 6:31, “there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat”; Luke 5:1, “the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God”; Luke 8:45, “Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee”; John 6:2, “a great multitude followed him”; John 6:15, “Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king.” ↩︎
  11. Janina Steinmetz Ph.D, “A Simple Linguistic Trick That Can Help You Find Motivation,” Psychology Today Website, October 30, 2025, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-social-consumer/202510/a-simple-linguistic-trick-that-can-help-you-find-motivation. ↩︎
  12. Aditi Subramaniam, Ph.D., “How Your Environment Shapes Your Habits,” Psychology Today Website, March 17, 2025, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/parenting-from-a-neuroscience-perspective/202503/how-your-environment-shapes-your-habits. ↩︎
  13. Ibid. ↩︎
  14. Accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, Joseph Smith Papers, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/site/accounts-of-the-first-vision. ↩︎
  15. Interview, 29 August 1843, Extract, p. 3, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed April 11, 2026, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/interview-29-august-1843-extract/1. ↩︎
  16. Doctrine and Covenants 20:77. ↩︎
  17. As I understand his talk, those four things are: (1) learning about Him, (2) choosing to have faith in Him and follow Him, (3) making sacred covenants and keeping those covenants with precision, (4) reaching up to Him in faith. See Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” April 2017, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/04/drawing-the-power-of-jesus-christ-into-our-lives?lang=eng. ↩︎
  18. “About the Temple Endowment,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/what-is-temple-endowment?lang=eng. ↩︎
  19. 2 Nephi 32:3. ↩︎
  20. 2 Nephi 32:2-3. ↩︎
  21. David A. Bednar, “Receive the Holy Ghost,” October 2010, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/10/receive-the-holy-ghost?lang=eng&id=p5#p5. ↩︎
  22. Joseph Smith-History1:73-74. ↩︎
  23. Robert D. Hales, “Holy Scriptures: The Power of God unto Our Salvation,” October 2006, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2006/10/holy-scriptures-the-power-of-god-unto-our-salvation?lang=eng&id=p23-p25#p23. ↩︎

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