Mustard Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 I was listening to the mormon chanel and sherri dew speaking with Elder Scott, when asked about the subject, he said that studying the gospel via ipad, android, digitally, that is was in his opinion a poor way to study the gospel. I don't want to butt heads with an Apostle but see what he may have meant. He advocates "hefting" the book in his hands, and that there is just something about it. I love to study the gospel with my Ipad and instead of writing notes in the margin as Elder Scott talked about last conference, I can write unlimited notes, make tags, mark, go to cross references in a second and make my own just as quick. This system is officially from the church as well. So I just want your thougts on Elder Scott's opinion. This in no way is to demean Him as an Apostle and servent of Christ, but I just don't understand how how my ipad is a poor way to study the gospel, I would say it has made it a magnificent venture. Anyway, thoughts please...Thanks...
Calm Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 I think some people can get distracted by the bells and whistles, but over all it is about familiarity and being able to make use of it the best way.
KevinG Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) Advantages of electronic media are easy searching and transporability. Disadvantages is we may miss serendipitous discoveries if our searches are dependent on code and not our own manual searching.For me - I agree that hefting any book has a feeling of authenticity and can lead to a feeling of reverence. Then again I love on line scriptures for their easy accessibility and the fact that I keep forgetting which section or chapter my favorite verses are in.Brothers and Sisters please open your Bible to the book of Angry Birds.As electronic media and print media get more similar I think opinions like Elder Scotts may modify. Either that or us old pre-digital folks will fade away. Edited November 1, 2011 by DaddyG
Freedom Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 the biggest problem with digital scriptures is that you have no record of your work when you drop the pad on the concrete on the way to church. Our digital age is ensuring that, 3 thousand years from now, nobody will know we ever existed. They will have the same evidence we have of the Nephites: pots and pans. My scriptures are a heritage for my children as much as a method to study the word of God.But as to your question, I would agree with you. It is much more a generational thing and perhaps there will be a time when the church no longer prints scriptures. I recall as a missionary having two general authorities visit within the same month. One told us that we must pray the moment we wake up, getting our knees on the floor before our feet. The next said we must get up, shower and dressed in our best before presenting ourselves before our God. I also recall a talk condemning online dating, how the single adults are encouraged to register with them to find a suitable mate or at least a like minded friend. 1
volgadon Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 Personally, I'd rather have a physical book in my hands. I'm also able to quickly turn to another page. It feels different with ebooks. 1
stevedallas Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 Though not LDS, I have several LDS apps. I have LDSMedia, Mormon Favorite Verses, LDS News, Gospel Art, Mormon Channel, Preach the Gospel, DB Bookshelf, and the LDS Scriptures App fro LDSScriptures.com. I love the apps. I love to read and download the latest news, etc. It is so handy to have so much info right at my fingertips. I am an admitted geek when it comes to this stuff. Having said that, I also bought a new Triple two years ago. 1
cinepro Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) The problem I have with my droid is that the display can be hard to read in the fluorescent lighting of the church building. The best solution I've found is to bring a fedora with me to Church, and when I need to read something I place the phone in the hat to shield the light. It seems to work well. Edited November 1, 2011 by cinepro 3
LeSellers Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 Personally, I'd rather have a physical book in my hands. I'm also able to quickly turn to another page. It feels different with ebooks.That, and, even a broken book is still useful. A broken Kindle, not so much.Lehi
floatingboy Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 i think reading the scriptures in a book is fine, but i really prefer reading a scroll. or a stone tablet. something about the feel of it...this is clearly his personal preference, which has, in my opinion, NOTHING to do with him being an apostle. it's also a generational thing, and i find it completely unsurprising that an older person would have a preference for books. people prefer that which is familiar. in 50 years, a person his age will say that they just prefer the feel of an electronic tablet that they can hold in their hands, versus having the image holographically projected in front of their eyes, and going to a cross-reference by looking at it directly and blinking twice.
volgadon Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) but i really prefer reading a scrollI've done that.it's also a generational thing, and i find it completely unsurprising that an older person would have a preference for books. people prefer that which is familiar.I'm 27. Edited November 1, 2011 by volgadon
Rivers Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 The problem I have with my droid is that the display can be hard to read in the fluorescent lighting of the church building. The best solution I've found is to bring a fedora with me to Church, and when I need to read something I place the phone in the hat to shield the light. It seems to work well.You bring a hat to church?
Saints Alive Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 I'd say that this is Elder Scott's personal opinion. I find much more freedom reading the scriptures electronically that i ever did with paper. When i travel my iPad weighs the same wether I have one or one hundred books downloaded on it.
Brant Gardner Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 The problem I have with my droid is that the display can be hard to read in the fluorescent lighting of the church building. The best solution I've found is to bring a fedora with me to Church, and when I need to read something I place the phone in the hat to shield the light. It seems to work well.Channeling Joseph or just a little retro-tech?
Senator Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 It's an opinion. Feel free to use whatever you like.
Mansquatch Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 I love things about both. Can't we all just get along? I also like/dislike Microsoft and Apple equally.
KevinG Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 the biggest problem with digital scriptures is that you have no record of your work when you drop the pad on the concrete on the way to church. Our digital age is ensuring that, 3 thousand years from now, nobody will know we ever existed.This is why I chisel my journal on a granite outcropping. It takes a while but future civilizations with know without a certainty of a doubt that "The Jovrnal of K..."Well I haven't gotten that far yet.
Sky Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 I’m old school – I’ve never used an ipod for scriptures. I like having the actual books with me and being able to turn the pages. I would think it would be easier to get a sense of having searched the scriptures from an actual book rather than squinting at a small electronic screen. On the other hand, the books can get a little cumbersome to carry around at church, as well as getting worn out and faded. And torn out pages. Lots of highlight marks. I like to get a new set of scriptures every ten years or so. An ipod would eliminate all of that, but how easy is it to use the cross references? I imagine that it would be quicker to get to a certain scripture you are looking for on an ipod, too.
KevinG Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 The problem I have with my droid is that the display can be hard to read in the fluorescent lighting of the church building. The best solution I've found is to bring a fedora with me to Church, and when I need to read something I place the phone in the hat to shield the light. It seems to work well.
cinepro Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 Last Sunday in Sunday School, someone had to pass around a sign-up sheet for an activity and they passed around their iPad!
KevinG Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 I figure the Bishop would look at me funny for asking for assistance while unemployed if I showed up with a new Ipad or Kindle.
Grundelwalken Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 While I agree that it is a personal thing (whether you use digital or book), I have found that most who use digital DO NOT do as well when it comes time to find something they have read. The tactile feel of a book and the ability to remember where something is on a page gives a great advantage. I'm sure some will rebut this with their own experiences but I watch a lot as I teach and see struggles (especially among young people). Those who use books are much more adept at finding things than those with ipod/android versions. FYI, I do use my digital stuff when I am away from my scriptures, scout camps or when I don't want to wake my wife up as I read and enjoy the convenience but would never trade. MW
kolipoki09 Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 The problem I have with my droid is that the display can be hard to read in the fluorescent lighting of the church building. The best solution I've found is to bring a fedora with me to Church, and when I need to read something I place the phone in the hat to shield the light. It seems to work well.When I took a Church History course at BYU-Idaho a few years ago covering the translation process of the BoM, I had a teacher bring in a cowboy hat and ask if he could borrow someone's iPod. He placed the iPod inside the hat and passed it around the room, asking each class member to look inside. Then, much to the utter shock of some of our class members, boldly proclaimed "South Park got that part right." As I walk to class to this day, I still find myself shielding the screen of my MP3 player so as to better see the characters of fire projected thereon. The only thing is, it's a small screen, so I can only see about 20 or 30 words at a time. 1
kolipoki09 Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 We had a Stake High Councilman read his entire talk from his iPad during Sacrament meeting two weeks ago. I have a father-in-law, himself a Stake President, who has forbidden the use of iPads and other types of similar digital media among stake leaders and members of Bishoprics during church meetings. I have a Hebrew professor who has banned the use of Accordance Bible Software, and instead insists upon using an archaic and outdated Lutheran Hebrew Lexicon for translating the Old Testament. I have a financial clerk who vocally hates Linux. A few weeks ago I gave a philosophy lecture to a group of students, nearly all of whom pulled out various forms of digital media to look up the verses I was quoting in the scriptures. (Yes, we mingled both.)I have no personal qualms with having individuals read the scriptures with digital media, just as I'm sure ,many medieval rabbis weren't particularly offended when the Masoretic text was created in codex form, rather than as a scroll (though to this say, the scroll is considered more sacred).
volgadon Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 I have no personal qualms with having individuals read the scriptures with digital media, just as I'm sure ,many medieval rabbis weren't particularly offended when the Masoretic text was created in codex form, rather than as a scroll (though to this say, the scroll is considered more sacred).Were codexes used liturgically then it is safe to say that they would have been mortified.
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