First Thing in the Morning

Some times the best time to do scripture study with the kids is first thing in the morning; even before you get out of bed, let your little guys climb right in... if they haven't already snuck in during the night, like mine usually have;) It's the perfect time to grab your bedside copy or phone and snuggle for bit to some great wisdom that will start the day of right!

We don't do this all the time but this morning was a lazy one for us. Since my husband has been out of town I have let my boys sleep in my room. So as soon as the sun started rising we were up. And since we were all together already in the same room I just called everyone over onto my bed for scripture study. There was some protesting since some just wanted to get a start on the day already and head down stairs. But I love doing scriptures this way, and hey, I'm the mom and hate to get out of bed. Besides we can cuddle while we do it:)

This morning I looked up the scriptures in my LDS Scripture phone app. There are others that are free or cheaper, I believe, but I really like this one. Feeling like I should look at our scripture mastery scriptures I opened that up. I then remembered I had a category of saved scriptures that I wanted to share with the kids. When I opened it up there was actually just one! Matt 5:44... perfect. With three little boys and three big personalities there can be a lot of conflict in our house. And having had to deal with bullying issues in the past with neighbor kids this was a good scripture for them for sure.

We actually just focused on the first verse. Short and simple, right?  I hope to be able to build on it with the next verse over the next few days. 

With this verse, I read it once out loud and then had them repeat it with me. Then my oldest read the words that he could. He actually picked a stopping point in the middle of the scripture. I'm guessing he took a look at the rest of the words and knew he wouldn't know how to read them or something. But I didn't push it, because the first part was what I wanted him to focus on anyway.

Matthew 5:44

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Morning and Night Scripture Study

One of the best things we have done for our family has been to do scripture study both morning and night. I remember hearing some speaker comment how doing occasional scripture study, with today's temptations and trials, would not give us the spiritual strength that we, along with our children, would need. And so we decided that we would take the counsel and run with it. And what a blessing it has been!

First of all, we all know that young children have a super short attention span. So, doing it both morning and night, I felt like we could do two short lessons instead of one long one. And it has worked out wonderfully! Of course, there is nothing wrong with doing just one short lesson either, but there are benefits to two for sure.

If your mornings are rushed like mine are so many days, then doing a quick short study is probably all you're going to have time for. We still like to do it so that it sets a tone for the day. If this is the case then just make the effort to do something more meaningful at night.

But if your children are still young or you have a late start school schedule or are on a school break then you may find that you are able to take your time studying the scriptures during breakfast, before or after. This is great because then you can do a short quick lesson or review at bedtime and have more time to wrestle with the kids getting their teeth brushed and Pj's on;) Or more time to read a favorite bedtime story. It's great.

The good news is that if you aim to do it twice a day and one day comes along that is particularly busy, and we all know it will, odds are that you will still be able to find one time that works out for you.

But what I have come to love most about doing scripture study twice a day with the kids is that over time they have taken responsibility for the morning study. They know that before they do anything else they should do scripture study. There are have been times when we have forgotten and they have reminded us. I have been so surprised that at such a young age they have adopted the morning as their personal scripture study time, whereas, bedtime is a definite family study time. They even do it many days without our help or instruction.

Of course, if it seems overwhelming to do it morning and night, just do it once a day, but maybe you can vary the time you do it to find what works best for your children and each individual child. Every family is different and every child is different. The point is just to do it when they are young so they develop a habit and love for the scriptures.

Happy reading!

Memorizing Scriptures

One of the most surprising things I have learned is that a young a child can start memorizing scriptures even before they can speak. And how quickly they can do so. All it takes is a little fun and repetition:) And what's more is that they love to do it!

One of my sons was barely 12 months old when he started doing the hand movements along with his older brothers. He would get so excited every time we said them out loud that he would want us to do it over and over and over again. So, the first tip I have to share has never been a problem;)

Here's a list that has worked for our kids (hopefully yours too!)

Repetition... repetition... repetition!
Say it each night for one month or so. Then pick a new one when you feel like they have learned it well enough. Even if they don't know it that well you can move on and come back to it another time.

Make up hand and body movements
The more signs you can make up to go with the verse the better. This really helps the younger ones learn! When my oldest was 2 and could talk and say the scriptures out loud that he memorized I thought that was young. But now I know that even at 12 months they can do the signs and "do" the scriptures along with their older siblings:) Again, maybe they don't know what it all means but they are a part of the scripture fun for sure!

Say scriptures out loud that you have memorized
Some nights instead of reading a story we will just say a scripture out loud that we ourselves have memorized... usually in the dark when they are laying still. One of our favorites was Helaman 5:12. It is a long one and I never thought they would memorize it all. But one day I thought I would start it and see if anyone could finish it. To my surprise my 5 year old had just about the whole thing memorized. So just saying one out loud and having them become familiar with it, they might surprise you too!

Record it on video
Some kids love to perform and be recorded. More than that they love watching themselves over and over:) Most laptops these days have a camera and make it easy to record and playback. It might even be fun for them to send a video to Grandma and Grandpa or a an aunt or uncle. Tell them they are being missionaries also! I will post some videos soon if they kids will give me their permission.


Some of the ones that our kids have memorized are:
(I've bolded the parts that we've memorized)

1 Nephi 3:7
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Isaiah 12:2
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Article of Faith 1
We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

Article of Faith 4
We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Article of Faith 13
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Doc & Cov 84:88
And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

And here is a quote from Elder Scott from this last General Conference about memorizing scriptures:

"Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change."


I know this principle to be true. It has been fun to memorize scriptures with our kids and to memorize them for ourselves. It has helped in church when they are asked to share a scripture with their primary. It is also neat when a speaker reads a scripture out loud that they know; they instantly look up and pay attention because they are familiar with it. A definite plus for anyone who has a hard time like we do during church and keeping their attention!

So give it a try! Let me know how it goes! Also, if you are stumped on the hand movements, give me a shout and I will help you come up with something fun!

Keep it Brief

Since our children have started getting more active scripture study has gotten a little harder to do. One thing that really helped us was to keep it short and to the point.

For example:

One of the very first scriptures I remember reading with my boys was 1 Nephi 3:7.

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

With this scripture we actually only focused on the bolded words and not the entire verse. So feel free to get to the heart of the scripture. If their attention and ability is anything like their picky and sometimes tiny appetites as toddlers (I don't know about you but mine that don't like to eat;) then give them a bite-sized scripture. Sometimes the bigger words or multiple ideas in a scripture can make their heads spin when they are so little. And this way you can focus on simple principles like obedience or faith. Later you can build on that and talk about God's commandments promises.

Rosemary M. Wixom shares the experience of how another family found that having each child read just one scripture each day was a good method as well.

"One such family with four young children writes: “We decided to start small because of our children’s short attention spans. Our oldest child was not yet reading, but she could repeat our words, so we began reading the Book of Mormon, just three verses each night. My husband and I would read one verse each, and then Sydney would repeat a verse. We progressed to four verses and then five verses as the boys began to repeat their own verses. Yes, it was tedious, but we kept going. We tried to focus on consistency instead of speed. It took us three-and-a-half years to finish the Book of Mormon. It was a great feeling of accomplishment!” Oct Conference 2010 -


Here is a little list on how to keep it brief:


Focused on only one scripture at a time
Study the same scripture for a few days or even a week
Give them a bite-sized scripture by focusing on a small portion of an important scripture
Focus on one simple principle in the verse
Have each child read or repeat just one scripture each

When to Start Scripture Study?

Start from birth! There is no better time to start, except for now, of course, if you haven't started yet. Make it part of your every day routine. Get in the habit now and when they are older they will never know differently. The habit will be established and they will love it. Especially those first few years before they know how to rebel;) It is priceless.

Make it your family scripture study whenever that might be or include it in their bedtime routine. When they are infants you can read the scriptures out loud.  Babies are often comforted by the sound of your voice.  We know that they may not understand what you are reading about, but you do! And honestly, you never know when they might start feeling the spirit.

Even before my son knew how to speak well I knew he felt the Spirit. We were reading from the Book of Mormon and he looked at me and said, "Happy," pointing to his heart. 

So start early and don't give up. Even when they start to move around and be more active stick with it! We used to just shut the door to the nursery and let our son roam around while we read. Whatever works, right? And honestly, they are listening and by consistently doing it you are showing them it is important. 

Training Up a Child to Love the Scriptures

Proverbs 22:6

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

As a mom of 4 little ones, ages 6, 4, 2 and 10 months old, I am constantly trying to find ways to get the kids excited about reading the scriptures! And it is no easy task! With all of them just bursting with energy it can sometimes feel like my effort is being ignored as they tumble and do cartwheels across the room as I try to get their attention. 

But it is so important, especially in the world that we live in, for them to learn the scripture stories and to love them. They are God's divine map to keep us on the straight and narrow path that will lead us to Christ and help us return to Our Father in Heaven one day. My hope is that through the scriptures they will choose to follow Him. It's just getting them to scriptures that has been the challenge. And while I am not the most seasoned mother, I wanted to share what has worked for us in the hopes that maybe it will work for you too! 

I would absolutely LOVE to hear what has worked for your family! So, please feel free to comment, share your thoughts, your successes, and even your failures if you need a place to vent.

Remember, you are not just raising a child, you are raising a child of God; they are still His and He will help you because you are His child too!