Review
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Title: And These Words: A Scripture Study Journal
Author: Emily Belle Freeman
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Nonfiction
Year Published: 2021
Number of Pages: 220
Binding: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-62972-944-2
Price: $24.99
Reviewed By Trudy Thompson for the Association for Mormon Letters
In the book of Deuteronomy in the Bible, we read:
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up…And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)
Emily Belle Freeman begins And These Words: A Scripture Study Journal by writing a letter to the reader, where she quotes President Russell M. Nelson from his talk in 2015 to the sisters of the church: “A Plea To My Sisters,” in which he ended with an apostolic blessing:
I bless you to rise to your full stature, to fulfill the measure of your creation… Step forward! Take your rightful and needful place…in the kingdom of God… and I promise you in the name of Jesus Christ that as you do so, the Holy Ghost will magnify your influence in an unprecedented way!
Ms. Freeman goes on to challenge the reader to ponder on and record what is and isn’t working in our daily scripture study when the best time of day to study the scriptures is for each of us, where the best place to study is, and how we can best prepare.
The book then gives us worksheets which we are to read and write our answers to, along with suggestions on how to mark our scriptures in various ways to highlight keywords, phrases, what pulls at our heartstrings, and what gives us an “aha” moment. Additional worksheets are included to assist the reader in picking out one verse to ponder on, writing that verse down, then listing the verse before and after the chosen verse, concluding with what the reader has learned and understood from the chosen verse.
All of this is meant to help the reader to delve deeper into the scriptures and more fully ponder, search and pray for a deeper understanding of the sacred verses we are blessed with in our Standard Works. The rest of the journal consists of blank pages, with a place to record the date and a verse of scripture at the bottom of each page.
With And These Words, Ms. Freeman desires that we will be blessed with the ability to rise to our full stature and to fulfill the measure of our creation, as the Holy Ghost magnifies our influence in unprecedented ways. Surely, an in-depth study of the scriptures will lead us along that path.