Scripture Study

I read the scriptures and feel that we can gain a lot by reading them on a regular basis. I know that the more I read, the more familiar I become with words and phrases and how they are used, so the meaning becomes more clear to me. Still, there are difficult passages, archaic language, and other barriers to a complete understanding. I find it helpful to read commentaries, use dictionaries, and refer to other books to help me find the meanings. Using more than one source can help keep me from being led astray, too.

Some books I have found helpful include Scripture Study: Tools and Suggestions by James Faulconer (of Times & Seasons blog fame), the LDS church's institute/seminary manuals, plus various well-known commentaries and dictionaries such as Smith's Bible Dictionary and the Matthew Henry Complete Commentary. The latter two, plus many more, can be found online at Crosswalk Bible Study Tools.

I bought a CD at Wal-Mart called The Bible Collection - Deluxe that has a number of English and foreign language translations of the Bible itself, plus a number of the commentaries and dictionaries. There are also books you can buy such as Harper's Study Bible and various translations and the study tools already mentioned. In addition, if you have GospeLink and/or Infobase and/or other LDS CDs and programs, past and present, you will find commentaries in them for the Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. Church manuals and magazines are at www.lds.org and are searchable, for even more help.

The point of all this being that sometimes we need some help figuring out obscure references or terms, the meanings of which were obvious when written, but now are hidden in history. If you have any favorite links to study tools or books you would like to recommend, feel free to do so in the comments. I would be interested and others would be, also.

I'd also suggest a trip over to Scribal Scratchings as that is a blog that discusses the Bible and its history and translation. Scott includes footnotes, too.

It's always important to read the scriptures themselves, but it can help immensely to use study tools. I realize this is old hat to some of you, but there are always new people coming along who could use some tips and links!