Sharing scriptures

As I read the scripture, or as our family reads, from time to time a verse will come up that I have questions about. I like the printed books, but there are scriptures published on the web or as apps (for Android or Apple iOS). I read the Bible and the Book of Mormon together, since they're God's word as revealed to several geographically-separated tribes. The "Study Helps" published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has several different kinds of helps, all focused around the scriptures:

• the Guide to the Scriptures has short articles explaining many different topics, all with references to the scriptures to back them up;
• the Topical Guide, where each entry is a term or concept and a list of scriptures that use that term;
• the Bible Dictionary, where each entry is a person, place, or thing, and a brief explanation of what that means. There seems to be a lot of overlap between the Guide to the Scriptures and the Bible Dictionary. I think the Bible Dictionary aims to be more scholarly and the Guide is newer and tries to be simpler.

However you pick the verse (or verses), read them through, then read the verses leading up to it. Read out loud if you can. The King James version of the Bible was specifically written to be read aloud. Reading the scriptures a couple of times will give you some idea of what is going on and why someone might have said or written what you just read. This can be done beforehand, so you don't have to spend awkward moments scrambling through a book or thumbing through a phone. You can even jot down the scripture and its context for later use.

In one or two sentences, tell who is speaking and why. This gives a background and framework for the verses, which are shared next.

If you skip the background and just start reciting verses, your listeners may or may not come up to speed. The more easily-distractable among them may well be already thinking of something completely different. If you give them some of the back-story, it will likely answer some questions ahead of time, give them a story to think about, and help them imagine themselves in the situation.

Read aloud (or if you're really practiced, recite) the word of God. There is power in the words from the scriptures. Everyone present will have the chance to hear and think about verses read aloud, and that opens the way for the Spirit of God to touch their hearts.

In just a few sentences, tell why you picked this scripture, how it makes you feel, what you learned. Not much, because often fewer words are more effective and more words will dilute the effect of reading the verses.

The more you share a scripture, the better you'll get at it. It will become more natural to think of a scripture to share, relate it to your current discussion, share the word of God, and say your own feelings. These are guidelines: there are as many ways to share the Lord's word as there are situations and people. But when in doubt, I've found these steps to be a great help.