On the positive side, this is the first year that I won't be teaching AVID at the nearby high school immediately after our early morning seminary class. For the last three years, I would run out of the church building with the kids to make it to school with barely enough time to check my mailbox. Never enough time to make last minute copies.
I admit, it's very nice to have time to contemplate and plan for seminary without having to worry about the demands of a new school year. Trainings, registration, curriculum, emails, setting up a classroom, and meetings. Endless meetings.
So, I have been given a gift of time. Time to think. Where does my mind go to? Electronic scriptures. How do I incorporate electronic scriptures into my seminary classroom?
Well, I have three reasons why I struggle personally with this new format.
First, I can't read electronic scriptures. My brain doesn't work that way. Scrolling seems to actually be "scrambling" for me. The constant motion jumbles everything up and I can never remember where anything is. I've heard the testimonials about the convenience of having everything at your fingertips and the tools that are so easy to use "a child can do it." I've tried. I really have tried. But my brain doesn't work that way. I use location memory to find scriptures and can tell you exactly where the scripture is placed on a page before I turn to it. It's very important for me to have the location of printed information in a fixed position-- then I can file it away for future use.
Second, I have to MARK my scriptures. Yes, I know. You can do it electronically. But I am serious about marking my scriptures. I have a scripture marking station with special pens of many colors, post-it notes, and vellum inserts. It's the real deal. I even have a couple of Pinterest postings that have been pinned hundreds of times that feature a glimpse of my scriptures. "Beware of pride, Sister Wagher." I know...I struggle.
I purchase new scriptures every four years out of necessity. My scriptures are more like a journey journal. When I re-read my scriptures...I can be reminded of what I was thinking, what resources I had beside me, and what answers I was searching for at the time. I wrote all of that in the margins and on carefully placed notes. Usually by the end of four years I have rotated through the books and the inserts take it's toll on the binding. I wasn't always this way. The Red Headed Hostess inspired me to use my scriptures as a way to journal a legacy. She does the same thing in the hopes of passing on her scriptures to her children so they have a piece of her in the gospel. She treasures a set of scriptures that she has of her own ancestor that allows her to get a spiritual glimpse of who that person was. I want to do the same- although I don't have any children at the moment- but I want to be prepared for my "someday."
It's not the same with electronic scriptures. You can't pass that on to posterity. Sure, someone can log onto your account and look at what you've done, but that would require a password- something that I doubt will be passed on beyond one generation. Can you imagine? "Your great-grandmother's password is 1mt22@3eeb. Remember that. Treasure it always." I don't think so. The digital legacy of the deceased is something that needs to be explored further by the Church. Until there is a solution, I'm sticking with paper scriptures.
The third reason why I haven't embraced electronic scriptures is because of POWER. Not scripture power, but rather turn-on-the-lights-Thomas-Edison-power. I grew up in the White Mountains of Arizona right on the edge of a national forest. No stoplights, no drive-thrus. We would lose power all the time during a winter snow storm or a summer thunder boomer. As a teenager, I knew the power company phone number by heart and would be often be tasked to call to report an outage. Once we were even snowed in for a week without power and had to be dug out by our loving bishop and his sons.
I don't trust that I will always have electricity. I know that emergencies happen and with those emergencies, power is often lost. Electronic devices are rendered useless during such times. I never want to be without the words of the prophets during such a time. I need 24/7 access to my personal scriptures.
With that being said, now comes the hard part. I must balance my personal feelings with the new age. I need to prayerfully approach how to use electronic devices in the seminary classroom that enhances the Spirit instead of taking from it. I need to figure out a way to have students "write" in their electronic versions like the paper ones; to place the quotes and principles near the verses we are discussing; to feel and know the power of the scriptures in whatever form they may be. This is my goal. Pray for me.
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