I was thinking about D&C 38:27 while I did the dishes earlier. I learned something really important from the Spirit today.
D&C 38:24-27
The injunction from Christ to "be one" is probably my favorite in all of scripture. If I had to sum up the gospel of Jesus Christ in two words, I don't think I could choose two better ones.
What the Spirit told me today is that the injunction to be one is not an injunction to be the same. That's not how we create unity. I realize, in hindsight, that I thought they were the same for a long time. I would belong and experience unity only when I could make myself acceptable, and acceptance came easiest with sameness.
But this isn't what God needs or wants because it's nothing but a pretense. It isn't real. He doesn't want me to pretend to be someone I'm not. He wants me to be visible and feel loved as I am.
Real unity happens when we don't expect others to be like us before we will accept them. That's what Christ taught. That's what he wants.
I felt that profoundly in my kitchen today. I'm not sure why. But it meant the world to me and spoke to my heart.
The only way to think it is comes from not being familiar enough with the procedure by which past writings have (or have not) become scripture.
Not everything prophets and apostles do is instantly canonized as scripture. They and their positions are not the ones who determine what becomes scripture and what doesn't.
For something to become actual canonized scripture, it has to be presented to the Church for a sustaining vote for that clearly stated purpose. Reading it in general conference is not enough. Putting it in a manual is not enough. Even printing it inside a triple or quadruple combination isn't enough. That's why the Lectures on Faith used to be published with the Doctrine and Covenants and they aren't anymore. The Lectures on Faith never received a sustaining vote.
The Family Proclamation wasn't submitted for a sustaining vote when it was read for the first time in general conference. It wasn't even written in consultation with the female leadership of the Church.The general Relief Society presidency were not included in the drafting of this belief statement. They, and by extension the women of the Church, had no representation or input into its content.
Read Chieko Okazaki's comments on this some time if you don't believe me. She was in the general Relief Society presidency at the time and didn't like the way the situation was handled at all. Had they been consulted, she said, the Family Proclamation would look very different than it does. It was presented in the Relief Society general session, which was somehow supposed to make up for their exclusion. But reading something in a Relief Society meeting doesn't compensate for the lost value of what their contributions would have been.
Having something like the Family Proclamation is important enough to do it right. Part of that process has to include consulting with and receiving input from the female leadership of the Church. They receive revelation in their stewardship that male leadership will never be able to access.
"Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord."
Do we really believe this, as much for our leadership as we do for our families?
When God gives scripture to the Church, it will be given to the entire church. Not shoehorned into a Relief Society meeting against their will to provide legal standing for a court case in Hawaii.
So what do I think about the Family Proclamation?
It's a really good example of how it's not a perfect, errorless thing to speak for God in the Church. Those who do it make mistakes. They have agendas. They also change and grow with time and experience, which allows them (and those who come after them) to see old words with new eyes. A separation of distance and time gives us the opportunity, as a church, to see the fruits of a piece of writing before we decide together to canonize it.
I don't think the Family Proclamation will survive that process, the same way other pieces of writing have not. I don't see that as a bad thing. Whether people want to admit it or not, the Family Proclamation has a significant body count, in terms of LGBTQ+ members who have been rejected, disowned, murdered, and committed suicide because of it. As more and more of the original authors of the Family Proclamation pass away, that body count is going to become harder to ignore.
If we're going to attempt to the scriptural canon, I simple believe that with the power and access we have to Jesus Christ, we can do better.
I can't sleep because menstruation is terrible. Let's play with complex ideas until I give up on ever sleeping again.
I've always found that last question in 2 Ne 4:31 to be very brave. I've asked it many times in my prayers, and I'm never prepared for the answers I get.
In hindsight, I realize I thought I would be reinforced with a comfortable feeling of superiority over those who didn't keep the commandments. The joy of the moral high ground. I didn't realize I was asking for my heart to shake at ALL sin, with no knowledge of who my teachers would be.
It's one thing to look upon someone who isn't on a level playing field with me, and congratulate myself on my performance for living the commandments. It's another to receive that correction from people on their territory, where I was at the disadvantage.
Twitter has played a very big part in this.
I would learn about the sins of racism from Saints of color. Learning to shake at racism meant engaging with people I used to avoid.
I would learn to shake at the sin of sexism by engaging with women I once had no respect for. I listened to their stories, and realized I had judged them falsely.
I would shake at the sin of prejudice by engaging with LGBTQ+ Mormons. The first time I ever spoke to a transgender Mormon was on Twitter.
I prayed to shake at the sight of sin because I thought it meant the sins of other people. I didn't realize I was asking to shake at the sins in my own heart. Racism, sexism, and all forms of prejudice are sins. I didn't realize they were there inside of me. But God did and has given me opportunities to change.My prayers were answered, not in the way I expected, but in the ways I needed most.
Reflecting on this has made me reconsider how I interpret verse 32, and leaves me with questions I can't answer. If shaking at the appearance of sin is about MY sins, and not someone else's, what does it mean to be strict in the plain road?
I realized that my understanding of being strict always seemed to involve correcting, controlling, or avoiding other people whose lives were different than mine. I asked for the blessing of correction, and I got it. I lost respect for the person I used to be. I am now changing myself, with the hope of being able to say one day that I have changed.
My heart grew to love different people. Now I can't bring myself to make anything else about their lives any harder. Especially not their religious lives, which were big enough to include me long before I could do the same.I'm not interested in being the person who aggressively, and with personal knowledge of my own hypocrisy, points out the flaws in my neighbor and threatens them with the view of damnation.
Being strict in the plain road, to me, doesn't mean being exacting or demanding of the people around me anymore. That's not who I want to be. I don't want to see this in myself anymore. The nearest I can come to making sense of it is only being strict with myself. To be consistently true to my own values in all the ways they change and grow. I'm also not interested in the messages of any person who tries to entice me to act in any way that resembles this person. Her behavior is inconsistent with my values. I won't do it anymore.
It's absolutely no coincidence that I'm reading this chapter right now and getting this from Nephi. I'm in a very similar emotional place.For years, he has felt physically, emotionally, and spiritually responsible for leading his older brothers. This is his recognition that it's coming to an end and he can let it go. I feel this same way about breaking with my old ways, and conservative elements in my own faith that want me to continue in it.
I need to make peace with myself about how my conscience is breaking with some in my own faith. I need to let my desires carry me into my work and purpose. It's not my job to live the gospel the way others want me to live it, or to live it for others. I need to be secure enough in my own heart to let God work in it, whatever that looks like.
Whatever goodness springs forth from my heart, God is in it. That's what I learned from Nephi today. And I don't need to concern myself with how other people would do it differently.Their experiences and advice are for them. Mine are for me. And they don't have to be the same for us to both be right.
Daily scripture study is not an easy habit to maintain. You'll recall I did a previous post about my scripture study bullet journal, where I said I was making some great progress with consistency. But there were quite a few things in my approach that I didn't like, so I stopped doing them. And once I stopped planning, my study became inconsistent again.
So I sat down and decided to deconstruct what was working for me, and what wasn't. What came from it has me really excited, and I think will allow me to zero in on what was working, and to ditch everything else that was needlessly taking up time and space.
The only thing I need my bullet journal to do is to help me study the scriptures, prepare lessons, and take notes in my various meetings. That's it. I don't need it to be a calendar, a planner, or a place of endless doodling. All of that stuff, as trendy as it is on all of the Pinterest boards for bullet journaling, is a distraction to me. I don't have time to replicate via hand drawn calendars what my cell phone can do in a matter of seconds. So I'm not going to do it anymore.
Instead, I'm going to focus my spreads purely on planning my scripture study. I wanted something simple that requires very little set-up time. With my new daily spread, I feel like I've achieved that goal:
DAY
TOPICS/CHAPTERS/TALKS, ETC.
Monday (or date range for prolonged study)
Faith, Alma 32, Moroni 7, Holland (April 2016)
GOALS
Find verses for lesson, talk, discussion, etc.
Personal goals for daily scripture study
Reading material for classes to be taught on Sunday
Receive answers from the Holy Ghost to a specific question
CHAPTER : VERSE
NOTES
Alma 32:1
:2, 3, etc.
Moroni 7:1
Bednar, Topic
Include any direct quotes, personal impressions
New verses on multiple days for prolonged study
Add additional cross references and notes.
I'm excited to try out this daily spread to see how I like it. I like the elements here, but I could see myself continuing to perfect the formatting until I'm completely satisfied with it. I'll be sure to keep you posted as I find what works best for me here.
In terms of a weekly spread, this really is the full extent of what I need, in terms of long range planning. If I plan my scripture study topics too far in advance, they become too far removed from what my present needs and questions are. So in terms of nailing down exact topics, I'm sticking to a basic weekly spread. I've laid it out to fit the tall, narrow pages of my current journal. But I'm sticking with keeping Sunday as the largest day. That way, I can not only plan for how I plan to keep the Sabbath day holy, I can also jot down ideas during sacrament meeting of topics or questions I want to study in the coming week. These are easy enough to use the typical arrows, to indicate ideas that need to be migrated into an upcoming spread.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Include built-in spaces for FHE, family scripture study, family councils, etc.
Plan for individual study, with topics, chapters, goals, etc.
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
Schedule study for upcoming meetings, lessons on whichever day works best for you (For me, it's always Wednesday_
Schedule study before you attend the temple
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Plan to record promptings you receive,
scriptures you study at the temple
Schedule spiritual preparation for the sacrament
Finalize prep for Sunday meetings and lessons
SUNDAY
Plan to make the study of scriptures, general conference talks, devotionals, etc. a part of your Sabbath day observance
Note scriptures you want to use in meetings, councils, or lessons for the day
→ Indicate topics or chapters to be migrated with arrows
If you're feeling super proactive (or especially bored during testimony meeting or dry council Sunday) you can set up your weekly spread for the coming week, then fill it in. A sacrament meeting speaker may not be holding your attention, but getting something out of it anyway is a conscious choice. I've learned some amazing lessons from the scriptures in meetings like that, because the spirit of revelation is still there. Carrying that spirit into the rest of my week in what I study helps me to see the thread of revelation running throughout my life.
Because I don't find it especially productive to do monthly planning, I'm not going to do it anymore. The only part of that I found to be constructive was the goal setting, creative brainstorming, and personal reflection. So that's what I'm keeping. Instead of calendaring a bunch of stuff that far in advance, I'm going to stick with a list format to help me think of things to study. I can draw from it for my weekly planning if anything catches my fancy. I can migrate anything to next month's list that I still think is important, and add page numbers to the ones I do study.
Goals
What is working well in my scripture study, and how will I continue doing it?
How can I improve my study? What obstacles do I need to remove?
Topics
What is my least favorite or least frequently studied topic in the scriptures?
Break down larger questions into its fundamental gospel components, and study them
Reading Goals
Example: Finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the month
Is there more the Lord wants to teach you on a subject you have previously studied?
By simplifying the way I plan my scripture study, I will make it easier for myself to follow through. Instead of managing my study as an event, I want to facilitate the best possible experience for myself, based on what I need most in that moment. What this looks like changes for me so often, I need to more fully embrace the variety and depth that's truly available to me. I'm looking forward to how these new changes will help me to do that, and I'll continue to post updates here as I make these tools and techniques work for me.
So, I've finished working my way through my new note-taking system for general conference. I've been working out the kinks with various devotionals and conference talks from last session. I'm really happy with the results, so I thought I'd share them here!
As I mentioned before, one of the problems I'm trying to address is prioritizing better what I write down. I spend way too much time writing what the speakers are saying, instead of my own thoughts, feelings, and impressions. Why bother recording what the speakers are saying when the Church already does that online, in the Ensign, and the Gospel Library app?
My other problem is that my notes, even when they're on point and full of spiritual promptings, they don't translate into real action for me. They sit in a notebook, where I'll usually refer back to them for a lesson I'm teaching... and that's about it. That's almost as pointless as not taking notes at all.
So I thought about the kinds of things I wanted to write down: Invitations to act, verses or talks to look up or that come to mind as I'm listening, topics to study, blessings the speaker promised, feelings, questions, goals. All of these things are manifestations of the Holy Ghost, which is exactly what I want to be writing down. And most of them are action-based, and require follow up on my part.
But I also don't want to have to go through with a fine tooth comb to find all of this stuff in my notes. I want to be able to instantly recognize each note for what it is, and why I wrote it down. The more at-a-glance it can be, the more useful it will be to me.
So I decided to use emojis! You know, the simple ones that I can actually draw.
✉️ Invitations
🔎 Lookup/Scripture Verses
💞Feelings
💬 Direct Quotes, Talks
❓Question for Prayers, Scripture Study
💭Thoughts, Ideas
📌Goals, To-Do, Reminders
🌠Blessings
In thinking about how to make sure I do a quality follow up with the notes I take, I realized I could also incorporate my color coding system from my scripture study. So for each of the things I write down from general conference, I can ask myself how they relate to what I study in the scriptures. Since my topics are pretty straightforward, it's not hard to do with my finished notes:
★ Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (their words, attributes, etc.)
As I go back over my notes, or sometimes even as I'm taking them, I'll write or mark something in one of the colors because it corresponds to one of my study topics. Then at the end of the talk, I'll put a colored star next to the speaker's name for each of the topics they mentioned. I can see at a glance the topics they covered, in a way that is most relevant to me and what I'm learning right now. And because what I'm studying and marking in my scriptures may change over time, I can change it up without having to go back to the drawing board.
Because I'm still keeping my bullet journal, I'm already envisioning a collection/index to my conference notes, where I write down each speaker's name, then put the colored stars next to their name. I'll be able to compare the talks to each other, see which of my study topics got those most mentions, and focus my future scripture study around those topics. Here's what my Women's Meeting index would look like, so you can see what I mean:
Women's Meeting
Jean B. Bingham ★★★★
Carole M. Stephens★★★★
Bonnie Oscarson★★★★
Dieter F. Uchtdorf★★★★
Each talk is unique, even when it echoes what other speakers have said before. Analyzing talks in this way has helped me to see how true that is. And this is just through the lens of what I'm studying, and what I'm looking to get out of general conference. No two people are alike, and perhaps that's the greatest miracle of all: that so many of us come searching for answers, and no two people will walk away hearing the same message.
I'm glad to say I've found a note-taking method that helps to capture this aspect of general conference. I can't wait to hear what our leaders have to say, so I can dig into my notes and get to work!
My scripture study is some of the most valuable time in the world to me. In order to be a functioning human being who is happy and at peace with myself, I need to be in the scriptures every day. And I admit, making it happen for myself is a struggle--even though I know how important it is. Even though I want to do it, need to do it, and genuinely love to do it. Life just has a way of crowding out the things that matter most to us until we figure out a way to stop it from happening.
I want to be the person that studies my scriptures every day. And I've never been able to figure out why achieving that consistency is so hard for me... until now.
About a month ago, I discovered Ryder Carroll's Bullet Journal phenomenon--which began as a minimalist planning system. I liked his approach, and decided to try it. The way he merged his journaling together with a homemade planner made a lot of sense. As I thought about it, I caught this awesome vision of how I could use it to take control of my spiritual life.
I see now why the system is so effective for me, and what my problem in the past has been. I've tried planning out my study before, but I greatly dislike most of the planners I've ever purchased. Having a planner separate from the notebook where I do all of my studying really doesn't work for me. It makes me treat studying and planning as two separate processes, when really I should be treating them as one. The moment I combined the planner into my study journal, the way the Bullet Journal system allows me to do it, I found it much easier to plan because I studied, and study because I planned.
So I thought I'd share a breakdown of the spreads I'm using, and why they're working so well for me over traditional commercial planners. As I continue improving upon my own approach, I'll try to add more ideas in some follow up posts!
Index and Numbered Pages
The first thing you do in a Bullet Journal, before you do anything else, is create an index. Now that I'm digitizing a lot of my past study journals, notebooks, and lessons, this practice alone is so valuable to me. When I try to access something again, or figure out the time period a journal covers, I can do that much more readily at a glance with an index. Now that I've been keeping an index in my journal, I don't think I could ever go back!
Monthly Spread
I follow Ryder Carroll here without a whole lot of variation. He numbers out each day of the month, then writes in his tasks and events on each day. He'll then migrate the tasks to the Future Log (which I don't use) or his Daily spreads as he needs them. I like the streamlined approach of it, especially the way I can use it together with the To-Do list.
To-Do List
This is a creation of my own, and is really all I need in terms of managing my ongoing projects. I write down all of the projects and ongoing tasks I have, then classify them by whether they are daily, weekly, or monthly tasks. Daily tasks are the elements I have built into my daily spread. Weekly tasks are ones I fill in automatically on the days that they apply.
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Tasks
D
Scripture Study
D
Morning Prayer
D
Evening Prayer
Monday
FHE
Wednesday
Lesson Planning
Thursday
Temple Checklist
Saturday
Sabbath Checklist
1
Indexing
2
Digitization: Study Journals
2
Personal Progress
1-3
Visiting Teaching
For ongoing projects that aren't tied to any particular day, I write down how many times I want to work on each one in a day, week, or month. Based on those goals, I migrate each one into my Monthly spread, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. This process alone made me realize why I find it so hard to use a traditional planner. They don't let me plan in this order because they don't give me space to really grapple with my goals like this. When the only place I have to write down my tasks is a calendar, I have to already commit myself to when I'm going to do them at the same time I decide I want to do them. But before I can do that, I need to analyze that task in conjunction with everything else I need to accomplish.
How often can I realistically expect to work on this project, with all of these other things I have to do? I can't decide when I'm going to do something until I've answered that question. I know that sounds so obvious, but I've never realized how important this is until keeping a bullet journal, because this is the way it encourages you to plan and process your goals.
Daily Spread
My daily spread, again, is not all that dissimilar from Ryder Carroll's. Instead of handling my tasks and events in a rapid log under the date, I use a two-column daily layout. On the left side is where I write in events from my Monthly spread. They're usually my higher priority tasks as well, since that's where I focus my planning. The right side is where I migrate things from the previous day, and write new tasks that come up throughout the day.
Date:
Prayer Tracker:
Scripture Study: Topic, Chapter, or Talk
Migrated Tasks from Previous Day
Events
High Priority Tasks
I have a weekly planning session every Sunday where I'll create a week's worthy of daily logs, fill in everything from my Monthly spread, then plan what I want to study in the scriptures in the coming week. I've really enjoyed seeing how the topics I choose end up being perfectly suited to what is happening in my day.
The day that's really unique is Sunday. Because Sunday is the busiest day of my week, this is a major reason that I can't use traditional planners. They cram Saturday and Sunday together, and I never have enough room for everything I need to plan for the Sabbath.
Date:
Prayer Tracker:
SS: Topic
Announcements:
Events
High Priority Tasks
I keep the two column format, but I include a lot more space. All of my planning happens in the left column, and the right column is for Announcements. I write down announcements from Sacrament Meeting, Young Women, and Relief Society on the right. If I have any meetings or events I need to schedule, I'll also write them in that column. Since that's also the day I do my weekly planning, none of the information sits for long. I get it all down in one place--the day that it's given to me--and I handle all of the scheduling the same day.
I also recently discoverd the calendar widget on my phone, so I'll also put events and meetings into my phone, so I can check them when I first wake up in the morning. Since I prefer to write things down and add them to my phone later, this approach works well for me.
Collections
Collections are made up of anything that you include in your journal that isn't a calendar or planning related item. Journal entries, lists of verses I create when I study, study questions, checklists--all of these things can be collections. Once bullet journaling hit Pinterest, there's no end to the suggestions for collections that are out there. Here's a few I've found, used, started, or am currently using:
Temple Prep Checklist
List of things I need to remember, do, bring, and ask myself before going to the temple for my shift. Since I've started planning to look it over on Thursday, I always remember my socks!
Sabbath Day Checklist
List of things I need to remember, do, bring, and ask myself before going to Church on Sunday.
Acts of Kindness List
List of things I can do to serve my husband, the sisters I visit teach, or anyone really. But especially visiting teaching.
Scripture Study Topics
Since one of the biggest deterrents to me studying the scriptures is not knowing what I want to study, I keep a list of when I think of a topic or have a question, and keep them together in the same place. Then I look at the list when I do my weekly planning, and just pick stuff from the list.
Scripture Study Topics (Related to the Temple)
Our temple president is always mentioning fascinating things to study. And his suggestions are always good. So I keep them on a separate list, and try to study something from it the day before my shift.
Gratitude Log
This one is really popular. You write down something every day that you're grateful for. I'm really bad at remembering it, but it's one I want to work on until I get it down!
Humor Log
I did this on my mission. Any time something really funny happened, I would write it down. Once I got a good list, I'd write them all up and send them to my mom. Since she isn't a member, it was all stuff she could appreciate, and let her know that I was happy. I want to start doing it again because I liked the way it made me look for humor in what would otherwise be really crappy situations.
Books to Read, Buy, or Finish
Lists of Verses or Conference Talks by Subject
My Undo List
The Opposite of a To-Do list, because they're things you want to STOP doing.
Lesson Plans
Ideas for Other Collections
My bullet journal for me is the place where I can keep track of my spiritual life. The chores and errands that I don't want to rule my life anymore are relegated to a white board on my refrigerator, where they can easily be erased. I begin each day with a blank slate for the most tedious things I have to do, instead of allowing them to rule my life. The feelings like I was born for more than housekeeping have already started to fade as I've given myself permission to do more than chores.
As time goes by, I look forward to seeing how my bullet journal experiment leads to greater things for my life as a Latter-day Saint.
