Today our bishop gave a lesson in the combined meeting that had to do with scripture study. He is an advocate of marking scriptures and writing in the margins. I found it interesting that in a talk in sacrament meeting last week the speaker said that he found the scripture he had been given to use as a basis for his talk isolated in the page because it was the only passage that had not been underlined.;)
That is the problem I have with underlining. The scriptures that really touch my heart will likely stay as jewels in my memory. The scriptures are heavy with significance. While it is true that some of the genealogies and laws such as occur in Numbers, seem somewhat dreary to read and lacking in immediate relevance, the genealogy of Christ reminds us that he was born to the lineage of Judah who is something of a scoundrel, Rahab, a harlot in Jericho, and Ruth, a woman of Moab, not to mention David, who while great, was flawed. In fact, of that list, the two women seem to be the most admirable.
I have been reading through the Old Testament, mostly by listening on my MP3 device, but also during times at the temple when I have a few minutes such as while waiting to follow a session or serve at the veil. Richard and I are reading, mostly listening, to the Book of Mormon, which we recently completed and are now once again in 1 Nephi. The 'jewels' keep popping up and give delightful surprise. My most intensive period of scripture reading/study occurred while I was caring for my parents. I would read from three scriptural books daily and make record or comment in my journal. It was fascinating how the topics often 'braided'. The story or lesson learned from one source would augment another.
Our Sunday School lesson today had to do with choosing between good and evil, or in other words, the fruits of doing good. The need to choose between various ideas and actions comes home with real impact due to the interesting events that have come about because of a choice that Richard made last month.
Our teacher told a story of when she was a teenager and went to camp. They were given instructions to follow a string and not let go no matter what happened. She vowed to keep hold of the string, but during the exercise she let herself become convinced that something had happened and she should let go of the string and follow the girls who had convinced her to let go. She ended up blindfolded and alone.