Getting the Most Out of Your Gospel Library App
This post contains affiliate links which means I may be paid for products you purchase through my links. See my full disclosure for more.
Digital scriptures are so amazing! You can carry them anywhere, always have a way to mark them up, and easily share thoughts and scriptures with others. However, if you don’t know how to use all the features in the Gospel Library app, you are missing out on many more great study tools. Read on to learn how you can get the most out of your Gospel Library app.
The most important thing to do before you dive into your studies is to make sure you are signed in! Signing into your Church of Jesus Christ account allows you to save all your markings and easily access them elsewhere. I often read on the go so I can mark things using my phone. Later though, I might want to pick up on my desktop. Signing in to your account allows this to happen easily. If you don’t have an account yet, go make one!
Note: Due to the plethora of devices, your screen may look slightly different but the overall instructions should be quite similar. I use an Andriod phone while my brother has an Apple and it’s very similar.
Making Your Own Study Plan
Study plans come in handy especially when you want to ready multiple scriptures throughout the week. For example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday you may want to study General Conference but Tuesday and Saturday you want to read the Book of Mormon and Thursday and Sunday you want to read the New Testament. Study plans make it easy to keep track of what you are supposed to read each day as well as help you set up a time table for getting everything done. Watch my brother’s video above to see how easy it is.
Use Tags, Notes, and Notebooks
There are lots of handy tools you can use when using electronic scriptures. It’s why I use them during Sunday School. It’s easy to add notes about spiritual impressions I receive, link to a General Conference talk, and make a notebook for your year’s studies. Watch my brother’s video to help you understand how to mark, add notes, tags, and create your own notebook as well as access them again later.
Jump Ahead to a Specific Part in the Video:
Marking (highlight and underline)- about 45 seconds
Notes- about 1:50
Tags- about 3:20
Notebooks- about 5:25
While you are in the marking section, also take advantage of the SHARE option. It’s a great way to share scriptures and thoughts on social media, with your ministering families, your spouse, etc. You can even use it to share quotes with those in your church class to read out aloud.
Changing Your Background Color
You’ll notice in the photo above, I use a Sepia theme while my brother uses the Night theme in the videos. I like Sepia because it’s gentler on my eyes but not so dark. You can change the coloring of your Gospel Library app by heading to SETTINGS in the app. I find SETTINGS by clicking on the three dots in the top right corner of the app. It looks like Apple has a gear button in the lower-left corner for SETTINGS instead. You can then click on THEME and find the one that fits your needs.
Downloading Media For on the Go
I love listening to the scriptures in the car, however, it takes up data. We use Google Fi so you only pay for the data you use and I love to keep that low. The great news is you can download content from Gospel Library so you don’t have to worry about connectivity problems or data usage.
When you open the audio feature so you can listen to the talk or scripture, click on the dots in the top right corner and hit the download button (Note: This is also an easy place to select how fast the text is read and what type of voice you want for the scriptures).
Need the space back on your phone? Head to the SETTINGS again and click on DOWNLOADED MEDIA. You can easily delete your downloads here by clicking on the trash can icon.
After you are comfortable using these features, be sure to take a look around the app more yourself. SETTINGS is a good place to start as well as the other features that pop up when you are marking a verse. Don’t be afraid to try something new! The nice thing about marking these types of scriptures is that it can easily be undone too.
