Materials make it easy

When I was still working in the publishing industry, my work focused on writing/editing textbooks for students learning English. I loved it because I knew that the right structure and guidance on the page would make classroom instruction so much more effective. Truly, the right materials make learning so much more accessible and easy!

The same holds true for gospel literacy too, and I love that the Church has so many incredible resources readily available to us. All of us. This week I want to focus on some of the media that can help increase our understanding of the gospel AND help us teach it as well. Let's be sister scriptorians -- to lift ourselves and others!

• Manuals and Other Printed Materials: This deserves an entire post on its own, but I'll touch briefly on it here. There are countless manuals and print materials available to us that help us increase our understanding of the gospel. One of my favorite things to do is to take the teacher manuals for Gospel Doctrine and use those to guide my study of whatever volume of scripture I'm reading. Also check out the Missionary Reference Library if you've never read those!
• General Conference Subscriptions: Did you know you can subscribe to get an extra copy of both the General Conference issues of the Ensign? That way you can save one in a special place for your personal study -- and mark it up all you want!
• Visual Resource DVDs: These are pretty recent releases, so you may not know they are out there. They include all kinds of visuals to help you better understand the scriptures. So far they have been released for the Old Testament and the Doctrine and Covenants. Check them out!
• Gospel Art Book: For those of you with kids, this is a great volume. First of all, it's amazingly inexpensive for what it is, and second, it captures most of the pictures in the old Gospel Art Kit (GAK)... and then some! They do not have the story summary on the back like the GAK, but children love just looking through it and studying the pictures. Especially during Sacrament Meeting!
• Mormon Channel: Probably most of us have gotten familiar with the Mormon Messages on YouTube, but you may not have realized just how much there is available to you! Visit the Mormon Channel to listen to a variety of programming that you may find educational, uplifting... or just plain enjoyable!
• Movies: Visit the DVDs section of the Online Store and you'll notice what a vast collection of video presentations are available. These range from old classics to great recent releases. I have several favorites, but don't take my recommendations.... go look for yourself! They teach great principles, and by bringing things to life, make gospel learning much more real and memorable. (They're also good for fun Sunday activities!) 
• Church Magazines: I'll touch more on these in a later post, but I couldn't leave them out here. I'd especially encourage you to take some time to explore the online resources for the New Era and Friend magazines. Wow!

This week's post has been more general, but I hope it gets you thinking about what resources are available to you. Tap into these materials to enliven and enrich your gospel literacy... and share it with your family and friends, too!