Using the Gospel Library to be able to talk on anything at any time.
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:53 pm
I felt impressed some years ago that I need to be able to talk on any Gospel subject at any time. To enable myself to do this, I started making what I call scripture chains in my hardcopy scriptures. With the advent of the Gospel Library, this is much easier.
Basically what I do is use the Notebook feature to create a document called Scripture Chain Launch Page. In the document, I list subjects that I want to be able to talk on. For example, on of my topics is Why Tribulation? So my entry for that looks like this:
Why Tribulation? Ether 6:4
I then go to Ether 6:4. There I have verses 4-8 marked. Here's the note I have attached to that scripture.
-----------------------
Why Tribulation?
Sometimes we feel as if mountain waves of tribulation are falling upon us. we wonder why God allows such troubles to come into our lives.
The Jaredites were traveling in barges God taught them to build. You'd think that by following God's commandments, their lives would be easy. but that was not the case. God deliberately taught them to build barges that were capable of being turned upside down. Even so, they were designed to continue to function properly and to keep the Jaredites safe.
It works the same for us. Sometimes we feel as if a mountain wave of tribulation is hitting us. Like the Jaredite's barges, God's commandments and covenants keep us safe when this happens.
Notice also who sent the mountain waves upon the Jaredites. It was God himself. It was these very waves that enabled the Jaredites to move forward toward their promised land.
God does the same for us. He gives us weaknesses, trials, and tribulations to drive us forth toward his kingdom. But like the Jaredites, we must keep his commandments and follow his instructions exactly if we are to remain safe and move forward. Imagine, for instance, what would have happened if the Jaredites had saved themselves some work by deciding that the barges didn't need to be quite as stout and strong as the Lord commanded. They could have easily died on their journey by neglecting to follow God with exactness, cosistency, and diligence.
James 1:2
-----------------------
I start with the title of the scripture chain, and I end with the reference for the next scripture in the chain. I do this because I often use the same scriptures for multiple scripture chains. The notes for all chains that use these particular verses are all in the same note. Here's an example of what I mean.
-----------------------
Finding Your Promised Land
The Jaredites did everything they could to prepare for their journey. Then they put themselves into God's hands and moved forward on their journey by literally taking the plunge.
You and I are the same. We must do all we can, move forward, and rely on God for the rest.
Notice that the barges God taught them to build were capable of being turned upside down. But even so, they continued to function properly and to keep the Jaredites safe. Even whe. the mountain waves crashed upon them, they moved steadily towards their promised land.
It works the same for us. Sometimes we feel as if a mountain wave of tribulation is hitting us. God's commandments and covenants keep us safe when this happens.
Notice also who sent the mountain waves upon the Jaredites. It was God himself. It was these very waves that enabled the Jaredites to move forward toward their promised land.
God does the same for us. He gives us weaknesses, trials, and tribulations to drive us forth toward his kingdom. But like the Jaredites, we must keep his commandments and follow his instructions exactly if we are toremain safe and move forward. Imagine, for instance, what would have happened if the Jaredites had saved themselves some work by deciding that the barges didn't need to be quite as stout and strong as the Lord commanded. They could have easily died on their journey by neglecting to follow God with exactness, cosistency, and diligence. Keeping our covenants works exactly this way.
Rev 11:1-2
Why Tribulation?
Sometimes we feel as if mountain waves of tribulation are falling upon us. we wonder why God allows such troubles to come into our lives.
The Jaredites were traveling in barges God taught them to build. You'd think that by following God's commandments, their lives would be easy. but that was not the case. God deliberately taught them to build barges that were capable of being turned upside down. Even so, they were designed to continue to function properly and to keep the Jaredites safe.
It works the same for us. Sometimes we feel as if a mountain wave of tribulation is hitting us. Like the Jaredite's barges, God's commandments and covenants keep us safe when this happens.
Notice also who sent the mountain waves upon the Jaredites. It was God himself. It was these very waves that enabled the Jaredites to move forward toward their promised land.
God does the same for us. He gives us weaknesses, trials, and tribulations to drive us forth toward his kingdom. But like the Jaredites, we must keep his commandments and follow his instructions exactly if we are to remain safe and move forward. Imagine, for instance, what would have happened if the Jaredites had saved themselves some work by deciding that the barges didn't need to be quite as stout and strong as the Lord commanded. They could have easily died on their journey by neglecting to follow God with exactness, cosistency, and diligence.
James 1:2
Facing Tribulation with Christ
Matt 14:22
-----------------------
So you can see that I use Ether 6:4-8 for three different chains. Each one has its own title and reference to the next scripture, along with specific narrative for each particular talk, if there is any.
I then add actual links for each chain. So the references you see in my notes above are also made into links so I can move rapidly from one scripture in the chain to the next. I am often called upon to give talks at a moment's notice, or sometimes no notice at all. People have often asked me how I do it. I wish I could say I was a Gospel genius, but the reality is that I cheat. I have this stuff all prepared already in scripture chains, so I just get up and rattle it off.
I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it was pure inspiration and direction from the Holy Ghost. I really had very little to do with it. And I was doing the studying anyway, this just gave greater organization and purpose to my studying.
So here's why I'm posting. I'd really like to request that a few features be added to facilitate this type of study.
1. Please make the notebook documents more integrated with the rest of the app. It would be ideal if they were available under a Notebook entry in the main menu. Tapping the Notebook button in the upper left corner does get me to my scripture chain launch page, but it's a pain to move back and forth between the Notebook and the Library. If the Notebook documents were just integrated into the Library, you could make the management of the documents live under Manage Library. That would make the whole interface much easier to use.
2. Please allow multiple notes for the same verses. I tried adding a new note to some selected verses, but it overwrote the old note. Right now, I'm keeping all of the commentary for all of the scripture chains that use particular verses in the same note, as shown above. If I could add as many notes to the verses as I wanted, then I could just put the name of the scripture chain in the title and make a separate note for each chain. This would be much more intuitive.
3. As long as I'm asking, please consider allowing links in notes. That way, each note in the chain could have its own link to the next scripture in the chain.
4. Please enable sharing. It would be great to be able to select a scripture chain and click a "Share" button to send these to my kids, friends, relatives, Ward members, or whoever. Ideally, it would package all of the scriptures in the chain, along with all of the notes that pertain to it. I know this is a big ask. But since I'm asking, I might as well go for the whole wish list.
Thanks for your consideration. I want you to know that the Gospel Library is a great app. I bought another app that does the same thing, and it's very slick. It's got lots of resources and a great interface. But it doesn't enable me to link scriptures, so I can't do scripture chains. These days, most of my scripture study is focused on building these chains As a result, I hardly use that app. I use Gospel Library constantly. I'm really grateful for it and for whoever wrote it.
Thanks,
Dave Conger
Basically what I do is use the Notebook feature to create a document called Scripture Chain Launch Page. In the document, I list subjects that I want to be able to talk on. For example, on of my topics is Why Tribulation? So my entry for that looks like this:
Why Tribulation? Ether 6:4
I then go to Ether 6:4. There I have verses 4-8 marked. Here's the note I have attached to that scripture.
-----------------------
Why Tribulation?
Sometimes we feel as if mountain waves of tribulation are falling upon us. we wonder why God allows such troubles to come into our lives.
The Jaredites were traveling in barges God taught them to build. You'd think that by following God's commandments, their lives would be easy. but that was not the case. God deliberately taught them to build barges that were capable of being turned upside down. Even so, they were designed to continue to function properly and to keep the Jaredites safe.
It works the same for us. Sometimes we feel as if a mountain wave of tribulation is hitting us. Like the Jaredite's barges, God's commandments and covenants keep us safe when this happens.
Notice also who sent the mountain waves upon the Jaredites. It was God himself. It was these very waves that enabled the Jaredites to move forward toward their promised land.
God does the same for us. He gives us weaknesses, trials, and tribulations to drive us forth toward his kingdom. But like the Jaredites, we must keep his commandments and follow his instructions exactly if we are to remain safe and move forward. Imagine, for instance, what would have happened if the Jaredites had saved themselves some work by deciding that the barges didn't need to be quite as stout and strong as the Lord commanded. They could have easily died on their journey by neglecting to follow God with exactness, cosistency, and diligence.
James 1:2
-----------------------
I start with the title of the scripture chain, and I end with the reference for the next scripture in the chain. I do this because I often use the same scriptures for multiple scripture chains. The notes for all chains that use these particular verses are all in the same note. Here's an example of what I mean.
-----------------------
Finding Your Promised Land
The Jaredites did everything they could to prepare for their journey. Then they put themselves into God's hands and moved forward on their journey by literally taking the plunge.
You and I are the same. We must do all we can, move forward, and rely on God for the rest.
Notice that the barges God taught them to build were capable of being turned upside down. But even so, they continued to function properly and to keep the Jaredites safe. Even whe. the mountain waves crashed upon them, they moved steadily towards their promised land.
It works the same for us. Sometimes we feel as if a mountain wave of tribulation is hitting us. God's commandments and covenants keep us safe when this happens.
Notice also who sent the mountain waves upon the Jaredites. It was God himself. It was these very waves that enabled the Jaredites to move forward toward their promised land.
God does the same for us. He gives us weaknesses, trials, and tribulations to drive us forth toward his kingdom. But like the Jaredites, we must keep his commandments and follow his instructions exactly if we are toremain safe and move forward. Imagine, for instance, what would have happened if the Jaredites had saved themselves some work by deciding that the barges didn't need to be quite as stout and strong as the Lord commanded. They could have easily died on their journey by neglecting to follow God with exactness, cosistency, and diligence. Keeping our covenants works exactly this way.
Rev 11:1-2
Why Tribulation?
Sometimes we feel as if mountain waves of tribulation are falling upon us. we wonder why God allows such troubles to come into our lives.
The Jaredites were traveling in barges God taught them to build. You'd think that by following God's commandments, their lives would be easy. but that was not the case. God deliberately taught them to build barges that were capable of being turned upside down. Even so, they were designed to continue to function properly and to keep the Jaredites safe.
It works the same for us. Sometimes we feel as if a mountain wave of tribulation is hitting us. Like the Jaredite's barges, God's commandments and covenants keep us safe when this happens.
Notice also who sent the mountain waves upon the Jaredites. It was God himself. It was these very waves that enabled the Jaredites to move forward toward their promised land.
God does the same for us. He gives us weaknesses, trials, and tribulations to drive us forth toward his kingdom. But like the Jaredites, we must keep his commandments and follow his instructions exactly if we are to remain safe and move forward. Imagine, for instance, what would have happened if the Jaredites had saved themselves some work by deciding that the barges didn't need to be quite as stout and strong as the Lord commanded. They could have easily died on their journey by neglecting to follow God with exactness, cosistency, and diligence.
James 1:2
Facing Tribulation with Christ
Matt 14:22
-----------------------
So you can see that I use Ether 6:4-8 for three different chains. Each one has its own title and reference to the next scripture, along with specific narrative for each particular talk, if there is any.
I then add actual links for each chain. So the references you see in my notes above are also made into links so I can move rapidly from one scripture in the chain to the next. I am often called upon to give talks at a moment's notice, or sometimes no notice at all. People have often asked me how I do it. I wish I could say I was a Gospel genius, but the reality is that I cheat. I have this stuff all prepared already in scripture chains, so I just get up and rattle it off.
I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it was pure inspiration and direction from the Holy Ghost. I really had very little to do with it. And I was doing the studying anyway, this just gave greater organization and purpose to my studying.
So here's why I'm posting. I'd really like to request that a few features be added to facilitate this type of study.
1. Please make the notebook documents more integrated with the rest of the app. It would be ideal if they were available under a Notebook entry in the main menu. Tapping the Notebook button in the upper left corner does get me to my scripture chain launch page, but it's a pain to move back and forth between the Notebook and the Library. If the Notebook documents were just integrated into the Library, you could make the management of the documents live under Manage Library. That would make the whole interface much easier to use.
2. Please allow multiple notes for the same verses. I tried adding a new note to some selected verses, but it overwrote the old note. Right now, I'm keeping all of the commentary for all of the scripture chains that use particular verses in the same note, as shown above. If I could add as many notes to the verses as I wanted, then I could just put the name of the scripture chain in the title and make a separate note for each chain. This would be much more intuitive.
3. As long as I'm asking, please consider allowing links in notes. That way, each note in the chain could have its own link to the next scripture in the chain.
4. Please enable sharing. It would be great to be able to select a scripture chain and click a "Share" button to send these to my kids, friends, relatives, Ward members, or whoever. Ideally, it would package all of the scriptures in the chain, along with all of the notes that pertain to it. I know this is a big ask. But since I'm asking, I might as well go for the whole wish list.
Thanks for your consideration. I want you to know that the Gospel Library is a great app. I bought another app that does the same thing, and it's very slick. It's got lots of resources and a great interface. But it doesn't enable me to link scriptures, so I can't do scripture chains. These days, most of my scripture study is focused on building these chains As a result, I hardly use that app. I use Gospel Library constantly. I'm really grateful for it and for whoever wrote it.
Thanks,
Dave Conger