Memorize the Bible! The Comprehensive Guide to Memorizing Bible Verses, Facts and More!

By Blair Kasfeldt

"I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding...than memorizing Scripture..."
— Chuck Swindoll

Have you tried memorizing Bible verses in the past but failed? This book will help you succeed!

The fact is, if you cannot memorize anything you want from the Bible you do not have a poor memory — only a poorly trained memory!

After over 10 years of studying, researching and applying memory techniques I have compiled a comprehensive guide to memorizing anything you want from the Bible!

Using powerful memory techniques taken from the ancient "art of memory" and modern memory experts,
You will Easily Learn How to :
*Memorize Bible Verses
*Memorize Bible Facts
*Memorize Bible Lists
*And More!

This book will teach you the methods used by today's memory experts and world memory champions to memorize anything you want from the Bible!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blair Kasfeldt
• Release date: Apr 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301718153

Blair Kasfeldt

Helping you with all your memory needs!I hold a M.A. in Theology from Concorida Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN. I also hold a B.A. in Theology and Biblical Languages.I have served a number of years in the parish as a Lutheran pastor. I am a full-time freelance writer and lecturer on mnemonics, or memory aids.

Book preview

It’s easy to memorize, or learn by heart, anything in the Bible. From Scripture verses (or chapters), to Bible facts and trivia, to lists and even the 66 books of the Bible — in and out of order, forwards and backwards! The problem is, you’ve been trying to learn or teach them through rote memory. This book does not rely on the method of rote memory, because rote memorization is a mechanical process.

While there are valid analogies to the human mind being similar to a computer, the mind is not a machine. So why do we expect to learn, or have our students memorize, using mechanical processes such as rote memory drilling? Besides being ineffective, learning by rote isn’t fun. And who wants to continue doing anything long term that isn’t enjoyable? Any discipline, including memorizing the Bible, is near impossible if you don’t enjoy the process.

The goal of this book is to help the reader enjoy the process of learning the Bible by heart. It does so by introducing the reader to time proven memory techniques from the ancient art of memory called mnemonics. These memory techniques are not based on rote memory drilling, but engage the reader’s imagination and therefore improve their attention and memory retention.

One of the greatest benefits of learning the art of memory is that these techniques make memorizing the Bible fun! And if you enjoy learning the Bible by heart, you will continue to build your own memory treasure house of Scripture (Matthew 13:52).

It is my hope that this book helps you meditate upon God’s word in your heart (that is, to know it by heart). It is His word that sanctifies us and gives us a pure heart. (Matthew 5:8).

Book Organization

This book is divided into two parts. The first part of this book contains all the mnemonic techniques employed in learning Scripture. Think of these mnemonics as your memory tools.

I suggest reading through the first section before jumping to any chapter dealing with specific memorization areas, such a memorizing Bible passages. Learning these techniques are the foundation of your memorization efforts. It is essential to build this foundation before proceeding to memorizing portions of Scripture.

The second part of this book deals with specific areas of memorization within the Bible, such as memorizing Scripture passages, learning Bible lists and so forth.

After learning the techniques of memorization, you may turn to any section that interests you. In other words, the second half of the book does not need to be read in order.

It is important to work through the exercises provided in each section of this book. Working through the exercises clarifies the process of how to use the described mnemonic techniques.

For additional help, a Glossary of Terms and Frequently Asked Questions may be accessed in the Appendix of this book to assist students in learning.

Memory Helps or Mnemonics

Mnemonics are memory helps that range from simple rhymes and acrostics to more advanced memory systems. All the mnemonic systems presented in this book are easy to learn and use, but are powerful tools for memorization.

The fundamental principle of any mnemonic technique is that it forces your attention. If you are not paying attention to what you are memorizing, as is often the case with rote memory drilling, you will not remember!

While it is not necessary to learn all the mnemonic systems right away, read through the Link System to understand how to apply this system for your Biblical memorization goals. The Link is a powerful method to lock-in information from the Bible to your memory. Additionally, it is easy and quick to learn.

If you would like to memorize any list of Biblical subjects in and out of order by numerical sequence (such as the books of the Bible), you will need to learn the Phonetic Alphabet and the Peg System.

So let’s get started — you’re going to learn how to memorize anything in the Bible quickly and easily!

Melody, Rhymes and Acrostics

Think back to how you learned you’re A-B-Cs. You likely leaned them with the help of a song. Putting the alphabet to a melody helped you memorize the alphabet — it served as a mnemonic. Anything that can be put to a melody or rhymed is more easily remembered.

To introduce another simple mnemonic: what is ROY G BIV? You may have learned this acrostic to learn the colors of the rainbow. An acrostic is a string of words (or letters, such as ROY G BIV) where the first letter of the acrostic denotes the first letter of the item to be remembered.

For example, to remember the planets in our solar system remember: My very energetic mother just served us nine pizzas. This denotes the first letter of each planet: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

A variety of acrostics will be given in this book. Acrostics and rhymes are a great way to help children remember any string of information.

The weakness of acrostics is that they are generally one shot mnemonics — particularly if multiple acrostics are to be remembered in any one subject. After they are learned and used, they tend to be forgotten quickly (unless reviewed).

In addition, a long acrostic can be difficult to remember.

Know Your Location

The beginnings of mnemonics can be traced back to the 4th century B.C. with a document called the Dialexesis which taught basic principles of memory and memorization.

Prior to Harry Lorayne popularizing the Link System (or method) in the 1950s, mnemonic systems were based primarily on loci (Latin for locations).

Mnemonics were primarily used by ancient orators who would first memorize a set journey of differentiated locations and then associate the main ideas of their speech to the locations of their memorized journey.

This so-called Loci Method is the strongest mnemonic system, but is also the most advanced and time consuming. For those interested, the Loci Method will be taught after the Link System.

Lorayne's Link System

What Harry Lorayne noticed, and popularized, was that there was no need for loci in order to remember items. Just as one link in a chain leads to the next, each memory item could be linked (or associated) to one another without the use of loci.

Each item to be remembered was its own locus (place) or link connected to the next item to be remembered by associating them in some absurd manner.

The process of linking items in your memory is similar to creating a chain — starting with a single link, you attach one link at a time to form a chain of desired length.

With this method in place, there was no longer a need to pre-memorize a set journey. This is the first benefit of the Link System. An indefinite number of items can be linked together without having to come up with a set of locations.

A second advantage of this system is its ease of application. With the Link System, you can begin to improve your memory immediately.

The disadvantage of the Link System follows the same analogy of links that make up a complete chain — if one link is broken (forgotten), the chain is severed. The chain of links can only extend as far as there are unbroken links. In other words, the Link System works as long as none of the previous links are forgotten.

If you have linked ten items, but forget what the seventh link it, you will only be able to recall the first six items. The remaining four items are the portion of the broken chain which are unattached (not able to be recalled to memory).

Visualization

Visualization is a primary element in mnemonics and key to encoding information in your memory.

Here is how to link items together so you can easily remember them: First, visualize the item you want to remember.

Turn Abstracts Into Concrete Visualizations

Turn abstract words (e.g. justice) into concrete, visual ideas or icons (e.g. imagine a gavel or courtroom for justice to prompt your memory).

Another method of turning abstracts into visual