DearScriptures.com

I’m always looking for better ways of accessing, searching, and reading the scriptures.  They are truly the words of eternal life.  Whenever I hear of a new way of encountering the scriptures, I check it out.  DearScriptures.com is an online version of the scriptures that now allows you to text message (SMS) or instant message (IM) scripture references to it, or search for scriptures, and it will reply with the references and/or text of the scripture(s). It includes other great features as well, such as searching hymns and retrieving hymn lyrics.  And it’s all free!

DearScriptures.com is an online scripture database that allows you to “read, study, listen, annotate, take notes, search, look up a word’s dictionary definition in multiple online dictionaries, and look up the Greek or Hebrew translation of nearly any word in the Old Testament or New Testament using Strong’s Concordance”.

The thing that really interests me is the new powerful ability to interface with the scriptures (and hymns) through text messaging and instant messaging.  Sometimes I just need to look up a scripture quickly, I don’t have my physical scriptures with me, and if I’m by a computer, I don’t want to take the time to open up LDS.org or a scripture program or the scriptures on my iPhone.  Sometimes I just need a scripture really fast, such as when I’m emailing, or in a conversation with someone.  That’s where DearScriptures.com new features come into play.

Features

You can send a number of different commands to the service (via either text or IM), and it will respond almost instantly:

• scripture reference — by simply sending the scripture reference, the service will respond with the verse(s) requested. Examples, “Amos 3:7″ or “Amos 3:7,10″ or “Amos 3:4–7″
• chapter reference — sending any scripture chapter, with no verse, will return all verses in the chapter. Example, “Amos 3″
• s[earch] text — this basically searches all the scriptures for the text following the “s”, and returns all scripture references it finds. Example, “s revealeth his secret” returns the following “Amos 3:7″
• d[efine] text — this searches for the word following the “d” in a number of different dictionaries, and returns the definitions.  Dictionaries include The Collaborative International Dictionary of English, WordNet, Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary. Example, “d prophet”
• r[ead] text — this searches similarly to the “s” search command above, except that it returns the references and the text of the scriptures it finds. Example, “r revealeth his secret”
• m[astery] text — this command searches only the scripture mastery scriptures for the text after the “m”, and returns the references and text of the scriptures. Example, “m prophet”
• h[ymn] text — you can use this a couple different ways.  Put in some text after the “h” and it will return the numbers and titles of all hymns with that text in their titles or lyrics.  Put in a number after the “h” and it will respond with all the lyrics of that hymn number.  Examples, “h prophet” returns 30 hymns with prophet in the title or lyrics, “h 19″ returns the lyrics to the hymn “We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet.”
  
• b[ug] text — this command will send a bug notice or enhancement request to the developer, so he can fix the problem or enhance the service.
  
• h[elp] — this will respond with a shortened version of these commands, so you don’t have to remember them.  It will also include any new commands when they are added.
  

I’ve tested sending these commands via text message and instant message, and the service works great at replying with the request in just a couple seconds.  This is certainly the fastest way I’ve ever seen to access the scriptures. No more excuses for not having a hymn book too!

One limitation with the SMS texting side of the service is the length of text message allowed.  Usually the length of a text message is limited to something like 170 characters, depending on the service used.  Any references/scriptures that are returned that are longer than this will be cut off.  The developer is planning on adding a feature to send only the top results, and allowing the user to request “more” by sending such a text back.  Google Talk seems to have the longest character limit.

Set up Instant Messaging

To set up the instant messaging, you have to be using Google Talk (or Gmail chat), MSN Messenger, AIM, Yahoo, or Jabber.  Just add the respective address below to your account:

• Google Talk, add the user dearscriptures@gmail.com as a friend.
• MSN Messenger, add the user im@dearscriptures.com as a friend.
• AIM, add the user dearscriptures@aim.com as a friend.
• Yahoo, add the user dearscriptures@yahoo.com as a friend.
• Jabber, add the user dearscriptures@bot.im as a friend.

Then all you have to do is send a chat message to that user, using any of the commands above, and it will reply almost instantly.

Set up Text Messaging

(Update 5/9/11: The text messaging service is no longer functioning.)

To use the service through text messaging, just send a text of any commands listed above to the phone number 206-552-8927.  It will reply with a text message in seconds.  That simple.

This is a great new service, that I think will get lots of usage.  If you like it, try out the website version too at DearScriptures.com.

What are your thoughts about the ability to look up scriptures quickly by IM or text?  Any situations you can think of in which this would be really handy?  Please share with us in the comments.

Access the Scriptures via SMS Text or Instant Message

What does the temple mean to you?  Why do you go to the temple?  Do you have a short experience you’d like to share?  Do you have a testimony of the temple you think others could benefit hearing?  Does the temple have an important place in your life?  What have you learned about the temple that you’d like to teach others about?  Is the temple a blessing to you?  How has the temple changed your life?  What is it that makes the temple different from the rest of ordinary life?  Have you been privileged to do temple work for your ancestors?  What was it like?  Are you grateful for the temple?  Why?  Has the temple brought you closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ?

Here is an excellent example from a convert who has been a member of the Church for 11 years, and who has a genuinely powerful testimony of the temple.  Press the play button below:

Thank you, brother, for sharing with us your witness and testimony of the temple and the Holy Ghost.  You’ve blessed my life today.

What could you share with us about the temple?

The method is the same.  Just click the “Call Me” button below, enter in your name (or “anonymous”), your phone number, select “keep number private,” and then click “Connect.”  You will receive a phone call and be connected straight to the TempleStudy.com voicemail where you can share with us your message (3 minute limit). In a few days I’ll select some to share with everyone.

Feel free to be a missionary today and share what the temple means to you.  It’s easy and you could make a positive difference in someone’s life by something you share.

Mormon Thoughts on the Temple – Round #2

The way we’re going to do this is using a brand-new service called Google Voice.  I love new technology, and especially when I can find new ways to use new technology to further the work of the kingdom of God.  In this case, I’ve found a way that I can use Google Voice to collect voicemail from you, sort through them, and then embed those messages into a future post on TempleStudy.com for all to hear.  Here is how it’ll work:

1. Click on the “Call Me” button below.
2. Enter your name (or just type “anonymous”), your phone number, and please select the checkbox to “keep number private.”
3. Click the “Connect” button.
4. Google Voice will call your phone and connect you directly with my TempleStudy.com voicemail.  (It might take a couple minutes for the call to come through after clicking “Connect”)
5. You’ll hear a short recorded message from me, and then you’ll have the opportunity to share your message.  (You can share your name if you want, or keep it completely anonymous).
6. You have a limit of 3 minutes, so you might want to keep your eye on the time.
7. Once you are done, you just hang up.
8. I will receive your voicemail, and a transcription of your message.
9. I will sort through all the messages, and in a couple days I will post some of them on TempleStudy.com for all our readers to hear.

It’s as simple as that.  Easy!  This should be a fun experiment, and will give you an opportunity to share your insights and feelings about the temple, and how the temple has made a difference in your life.

You don’t have to be a member of the LDS Church to share your thoughts about the temple either.  If you attended an open house of a temple in your area, or have other experiences with Mormons and LDS temples, please share them.  Of course, please keep comments positive; I will not publish derogatory messages.

So this is a great way to literally make your voice be heard using “New Media,” just as Elder M. Russell Ballard has encouraged:

This is your world, the world of the future, with inventions undreamed of that will come in your lifetime as they have in mine. How will you use these marvelous inventions? More to the point, how will you use them to further the work of the Lord?…

Words create conversations, and conversations create understanding… In many cases, it is with words that you will accomplish the great things that you will now set out to do.  And it’s principally about ways to share those words that I want to talk to you today…

The Lord over the centuries has had a hand in inspiring people to invent tools that facilitate the spreading of the gospel. The Church has adopted and embraced those tools, including print, broadcast media, and now the Internet…

Today we have a modern equivalent of the printing press in the Internet and all that it means. The Internet allows everyone to be a publisher, to have their voice heard, and it is revolutionizing society.  Before the Internet, there were great barriers to printing. It took money, power, or influence and a great amount of time to publish. But today, because of the emergence of what some call New Media, made possible by the Internet, many of those barriers have been removed. New Media consists of tools on the Internet that make it possible for nearly anyone to publish or broadcast to either a large or a niche audience… The emergence of New Media is facilitating a world-wide conversation on almost every subject including religion, and nearly everyone can participate. This modern equivalent of the printing press is not reserved only for the elite…

Again, readers or viewers are free to add their comments and join in what becomes an ongoing, worldwide conversation…

That word conversation is important. There are conversations going on about the Church constantly. Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches. While some conversations have audiences in the thousands or even millions, most are much, much smaller.  But all conversations have an impact on those who participate in them. Perceptions of the Church are established one conversation at a time…

Now all of you know that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are constantly reminded and encouraged to share the gospel with others. The Church is always looking for the most effective ways to declare our message…

Now, … may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the New Media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple, clear terms the message of the Restoration [including the temple].  Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can … begin sharing what you know to be true…

We are living in a world saturated with all kinds of voices. Perhaps now, more than ever, we have a major responsibility as Latter-day Saints to define ourselves, instead of letting others define us…

Others have recorded and posted their testimonies of the Restoration, the teachings of the Book of Mormon, and other gospel subjects [like the temple] on popular video-sharing sites.  You, too, can tell your story to nonmembers in this way.  Use stories and words that they will understand. Talk honestly and sincerely about the impact the gospel [and temple] has had in your life, how has it helped you overcome weaknesses or challenges, and helped define your values. The audiences for these and other New Media tools may often be small, but the cumulative effect of thousands of such stories can be great.  The combined effort is certainly worth the outcome if but a few are influenced by your words of faith and love of God and His son Jesus Christ…

Do not be afraid to share with others your story, your experiences as a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We all have interesting stories that have influenced our identity.  Sharing those stories is a non-threatening way to talk to others. Telling those stories can help demystify the Church. We’ve recently been made aware that the reason many people believe we are secretive is because they think our worship services held in 18,000 plus chapels that we have around the world are closed on Sunday’s to nonmembers. Most think they can only attend if someone invites them. They’ve gained some of that perception from stories in the media about the requirements for entering one of our 126 dedicated temples.  They confuse our temple worship with our Sunday worship. You could help overcome this and other misconceptions through your own sphere of influence, which ought to include the Internet…

Let us all stand firmly and speak with faith in sharing our message with the world.  Many of you are returned missionaries and can carry on meaningful conversation in the language you learned on your mission.  Your outreach can be international…

Our position is solid; the Church is true. We simply need to have a conversation, as friends in the same room would have, always guided by the promptings of the Spirit and constantly remembering the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ which reminds us of how precious are the children of our Father in Heaven…

Let your voice be heard in this great cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is taking Elder Ballard’s admonition and counsel one step further and allowing you to literally let your voice be heard about the temple.  And you can even keep it completely anonymous if you like.  But most of all, as Elder Ballard said, don’t be afraid to share with others your story, your experience, and your testimony.  It could change lives.

Mormon Thoughts About the Temple Using Google Voice

1. Sign up for a free account with Jott.
2. Walk through the simple steps of adding an RSS feed to your Jott Feeds.
3. Call the Jott number from your phone – 1-866-JOTT-123.
4. When it asks “Who do you want to Jott?”  Say, “Jott Feeds.”
5. When it asks “Which feed?” say the name of the feed that you assigned in step #2 (i.e. “Book of Mormon,” or “Temple Study”).
6. In just a few seconds you will have the feed read to you over the phone by an excellent text-to-speech engine.
7. To advance to the next post in the feed press 3.  To go back press 1.  To select another feed press 0.

I have added a TempleStudy.com Jott Feed badge in the right-hand sidebar for easily adding a Jott Feed of this site to your Jott account.  Now wherever you are at you can listen to TempleStudy.com with just your phone.  It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good.

The excellent thing about this service is that it works with any RSS feed.  This means that you could listen to any of the following from your phone from wherever you might be:

• The Book of Mormon – courtesy of Daily Lit (see http://www.dailylit.com/books/book-of-mormon)
• LDS Newsroom – http://feeds.lds.org/LDSNewsRoomTop15
• LDS Latest News – http://feeds.lds.org/ldsInTheNews
• Deseret News LDS Newsline – http://deseretnews.com/dn/lds/index.rss
• Your favorite Bloggernacle blogs – Times & Seasons, By Common Consent, Millennial Star, Mormon Matters, etc.
• Other religious books – http://www.dailylit.com/tags/Religion
• Any of a number of books, including many classics, from Daily Lit
• Or even your email

This works best with feeds that have full content, otherwise it will just read a summary.  Also, make sure you have plenty of minutes on your phone plan if you plan on using this very much, or use it during your unlimited off-peak hours.

Listen to The Book of Mormon (and other books or blogs) from your Phone