Color: Form or Function?

Did you ever have a seminary teacher who was obsessed with color coding the scriptures? My daughter’s teacher last year was constantly telling them to use this color or that one as they highlighted. I remember just highlighting in different colors to make it look prettier when I was younger, but the colors didn’t mean anything. A few years ago, I discovered how useful the colors can truly be. I started out with just a few colors and have expanded it over time. And thanks to my digital scriptures, I have even been able to change my codes as I have refined my study skills.

Two of my favorite highlight colors are pink and purple. Yes, they are two of my favorite colors, but I chose these colors for some of my most powerful highlights. Anytime I see anything that I should do in my life, I highlight it with pink. This helps me to “liken all scriptures unto” me, like Nephi counseled. Purple goes hand-in-hand with pink. I highlight all blessings the scriptures describe in purple. I love being able to scroll through any chapter and see at a glance the things I should do and the blessings I will receive if I do them. I use gray as the flipside – the things I shouldn’t do and the consequences if I do.

One of my most helpful colors, especially for the Bible, is green. I went through all of the footnotes and if there is a Joseph Smith Translation, I highlighted it green. I also use this if there are other helpful footnotes that I want to pay attention to, like clarifying a Greek translation or a scripture that is especially enlightening.

To highlight on the Gospel Library app:

• Tap and hold on one word, then drag little arrows to select text
• Tap Style to change colors/styles
• Tap anywhere off highlight to deselect
• Select previously highlighted text by tapping it

Here is my current color code. Give it a try and tweak it to fit your style and study preferences.

• Yellow- History
• Red- Prophecies given or fulfilled
• Dark Blue- Miracles
• Pink- Things I need to do
• Purple- Blessings
• Grey- Warnings/Consequences
• Turquoise- Gospel principles
• Brown- Godhead
• Orange- Names for Christ/God
• Green- Check footnotes, especially for JST

Highlighting with a purpose has truly changed the way I focus on the scriptures in a dramatic way. My ability to pay attention to what the scriptures are saying has increased, and I find myself studying more deeply just by categorizing what I’m reading. I have a LOT of color, and it now has so much more meaning for me than just making it cute. Don’t get me wrong – I like things to be cute, but to be cute and useful is even better.