FAMILY Scripture Study Journals- The Red Headed Hostess

My husband and I have said over and over that we need to study the scriptures together

and it is a goal that we have failed at!

We hadn’t come up with something that actually works for us.

We have tried reading together at night, we have talked about preparing our lessons together, we have tried studying in the afternoon… you get the picture.  And when we have tried, it hasn’t been especially effective because we didn’t have a program or goal other than that we should study together.  It has been frustrating because we both know how important it is and how it will help strengthen our home and family!  And I know that many of you feel the same way because you have emailed me about it!

Here is a journal that I have recently put together – and it really works for us.

I made it with families in mind, but it works for couples too.

This journal is designed to go along with a scripture study session that lasts 10 or 15 minutes or it could be used for a longer more extensive study.  It is up to YOU!  It is also adaptable for various ages!

One thing I love about this journal is that not only does it help us have a quick and effective study, but it leaves a record behind.  I think that is so important!

Inside the journal is an outline that you fill out with your family as you study.  As parents you can decide what you want to study.

  • You can study the scriptures
  • You can study conference talks
  • You can discuss a topic

*  One thing I suggest you try is to only read a handful of verses rather than an entire chapter.  Keep it small enough that your kids can grab a hold of the verses rather than be overwhelmed – if they are overwhelmed they may come to dislike scripture study.  You can see above that my husband and I just studied a few verses together.

Some ideas for you:

  • You could paraphrase part of the chapter and then focus on a few of the verses.
  • You could focus on the chapters they are studying in Sunday School the following Sunday
  • You could have your children choose where they want to read

I love this part.

This box is meant to be a snapshot into your family.  How fun to look back and not only see what you studied together, but also the simple comings and goings… and it may be good for everyone to hear what everyone else has planned!

The next two boxes help prep your family for what you are about to read.

This does not need to be extensive – just a simple overview and preparation.

***At this point  you would then read together the verses you want to study.  You can discuss the meaning of the verses and teach from them, or you could simply read them and see what your family picks up.

After you read then you can go around and have each person share their favorite part
that you just read and why it is their favorite.

As you study this way daily your kids will know that they get to share and they will be searching for their “favorite” part!  And then they will teach each other!

The point of this box is:

  • To help your kids be engaged
  • For everyone to teach each other
  • To provide a way for you to keep a record of what everyone says (how fun to look back and read through these pages)

There is also a box where you can make goals from what you read.

You can make a family goal or have everyone make individual goals.

This box should help your family truly liken the scriptures unto themselves!

And finally, there is a box available for many different purposes and left to your discretion as parents on how to best use this box.

If you have children who cannot read or write, you could have them draw a picture of what you are reading about.

I drew a visual of our goal that we made together from our study

But I could have come up with a family motto

Or I could have drawn a picture of what was happening

Or we could have made a list together of things we could do to accomplish our goals

***All in all, this journal is working for us, and if you feel it would work for you, it is available for you whenever you want it.  Just click on the “shopping” tab in the top right of this site, find this journal and click on “go here to buy”.

14 comments

  1. This is great! When my husband and I study together, we do talk about it after, but how great it would be to have some of those discussions written down. Thanks so much! Are these journals going to be available at the Quilted Bear also?

  2. I love this! I have been looking for something to make our scripture time more meaningful and also more of a feast rather than a recitation…which is sometimes how it feels. Thanks so much.

  3. Congrats on the baby :). My youngest is a few weeks older than yours… It’s a fun time! Will these be available on amazon? Thanks for all you do. This will be great for my family!

  6. I am so excited about these new journals!! I want to get six of them so that each one of my children will get to have one when we are finished! What a great gift to leave for our posterity. Thank you so much, Shannon for all of your inspiring ideas. I love them! I find my self checking your blog several times a day to see if there is anything new because I get so excited about what you will come up with next. :}

  7. I love, love, love this! Thank you so much and just made a purchase! It’s your talents and willingness to share that makes my life as a mother so much easier! 🙂

  9. Just thinking a little bit more about this and decided I love the “What’s happening in our lives today?” part plus and I just had to have one…Thanks! For some reason I didn’t realize I could buy directly from your site until now so I have purchased from Amazon. The process was easy and I am excited for it to show up and for our family to start using it!

  14. I second the suggestion of a General Conference journal 🙂

    I have just ordered a few of these journals now to use in our family scripture study anxiously awaiting their arrival. Have been using the topic and chapter scripture study journals for my individual study – love them.

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