Inserts

One of the tools I love to use in scripture study are inserts.  I add them into my scriptures when I have additional information that I can't fit into the margins, etc.  (I can write fairly small, but I want to be able to read it twenty years from now.)  This, for example, is an interpretation of what the different types of ground represent in the Savior's Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13.

I frequently insert pictures into my scriptures.  I loved this one of Joseph and the many-colored coat, so I added it in to Genesis 37.  The artist is M. Edmund Mueller.  I just love how full and rich the colors are.  

 I added this picture, Jesus Christ Visits the Americas, by John Scott, into 3 Nephi 11.  

Inserts can be quotes, a handout from a sunday school class, a poem, anything that enlivens and supports your study of the scriptures!

This is a handout that I made at Christmas time when I was on my mission.  We read the verses from Matthew about the wise men following the star to find the baby Jesus, and then we invited people to consider what it was that brought them to Christ.  Was it prayer, scripture study, church attendance, etc., and then to take the opportunity to strengthen that.  Find your star, find the thing that brings you closer to the Savior.

Other examples of inserts that I have that have enhanced my understanding of the scriptures:

This one is in Luke 22, and I love the idea that the angel that came to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene may have been Michael.  Christ's Atonement saved us from the effects of the Fall of Adam and Eve, so how fitting that Adam, as Michael, the archangel, might have been the one to sustain Christ in his darkest hour.

This one is at the beginning of the book of Isaiah.  Isaiah can be a hard read, so this insert reminds me of the things I can remember and utilize as I study it.  "Great are the words of Isaiah", so we can't just ignore them because we don't understand them.

This insert talks about what the parts of Nebuchadnezzar's dream represent, based on Daniel's interpretation in Daniel 2.

This insert talks about the binding oath that Zoram and Nephi make to each other in 1 Nephi 4.  Most people these days do not make oaths like this, or stand by them, so it helps to understand why these oaths that Nephi and Zoram made to each other made such a significant difference to how they responded to each other. 

I would recommend using a glue stick or archival quality double stick tape to add inserts into your scriptures.  Wet glue, like Elmer's, or cheap double stick tape that will yellow and dry out over time, is not recommended.  

Inserts are a wonderful tool to enhance our understanding of the scriptures!!