A few of my wise and attractive readers have sent me a link to an app/website that they discovered. It is a winner! It is called the LDS Scripture Citation Index, and was created by Steve Liddle (A very wise brother from BYU). Sure, maybe I’m late to the party, but even though this app is a couple of months old, I am geeking out over it, because it is new to me. I deem it BonaFide.
I’ll do my best to describe why it is cool by walking you through it with a hypothetical situation:
Imagine that you are giving a Sunday School lesson in less than 48 hours. (OK, so it’s not hypothetical at all.) The topic? The story of Jonah. After faithfully studying the manual, you could turn to the SCI app for more knowledge and enlightenment. (You can click on the phone screenshots to make them bigger.)
That is the home page. After it opens, you get some choices – I am doing a simple search by tapping the magnifying glass icon at the bottom, and entering in the scripture I am concerned about. IN this case, I entered in Jonah 1. (The whole chapter – but you can be more specific.)
After you tap “search” the app will go looking for references to that scripture in the following sources:
Yes, you see that correctly – 72 years of General Conference talks.
After it is done searching, it will give you a list of talks, teachings, and information that is directly related to the scripture you are studying.
Click on one of the choices, and violå: You get the words of a modern-day prophet talking about your scripture. In this case, President James E. Faust referencing Jonah 1 in a General Conference talk. I don’t know about you, but anytime something leads me to a talk by James E. Faust, I feel that I am in pretty safe hands.
Here is the talk:
The app can do a bunch of other stuff too, but this is the thing that got me excited. No doubt that it can enhance my preparation for talks and lessons, but it can also deepen and broaden my scripture study.
• The app can be found on the Apple App Store – just search for “LDS Citation Index.”
• It is also available on Android on Google Play.
• Here is the developer’s website http://scriptures.byu.edu/sci/
Thanks to Steve Liddle and his cohorts who developed this app for the good of mankind. Oh, and by the way – it’s FREE, and BonaFide.
(Come to think of it, it might be nice to leave a kind review where you download the app.)
We just downloaded this and love it. Where has it been all my life? Definitely BonaFide!
Thank you, I didn’t know about it either. I appreciate finding new ways to search the scriptures.
Please inform as soon as converting to iOS 7 is not required. Every person I have asked including Apple retailers says that iOS 7 is an abomination.
It took some getting used, to, but I don’t mind it at all.
Ok..people don’t attack me because I am a dinosaur when it comes to technology..but I unbelievably don’t have a fancy phone(I still own one of the few flip phones probably left in existence) and am not even entirely sure what downloading an app is( I am assuming that stands for application,and must be a program you load into your phone?)..but my question is..is this something also available on computer? Seems like something I would love to use,but am not going to buy a new phone to do it.Thanks!
Here is the web-based version: http://scriptures.byu.edu
It is a little harder to follow than the apps, but it can still do the job.
I need it for Windows phone
Pancho and Lefty say thanks for sharing this great app!
I love this app and have had it for a long time but it has fallen off my radar recently, so thanks for the reminder! I was especially thrilled and amazed at the access to the awesome resource that is the Journal of Discourses! I believe I read that it isn’t considered official Church doctrine, though. Do you know? Maybe because someone recorded the talks in some sort of shorthand and they aren’t sure of the accuracy of the transcription? Just curious, as I always seek confirmation from the Spirit as I read anyway. Keep up the great work MMM!
I’m so glad you found this app! It has been my favorite way to study the scriptures lately. I read a chapter, then look up the verses in the app that stood out to me and read the talks that cite that scripture. It’s amazing what you find.
Saweeeet! Thanks.
I just downloaded the app and tried it out. Very cool 🙂 Thanks
Cool app. Thanks for sharing. Can’t think of a single snarky or smart aleck thing to say in response.
I met Steve Liddle while at BYU. The man is a brainiac when it comes to data and IT.
TY!!! I’m uploading it as I type this comment. I look forward to using it!