Word Tree "Testimony" from October 2014 General Conference

Word trees are an interesting way to look at a text. This word tree tool lets you paste in a text and then select a word you want to analyze. You can then look at the tree backwards and forwards.

During October 2014 General Conference, the word "testimony" was used in multiple contexts. Notable repeated phrases include "testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith" and "testimony of the Savior" and "testimony of the gospel."

Although there are many phrases that talk about what a testimony is, I like the two phrases about what a testimony is not. It is "not a task of a minute, an hour, or a day," and it is "not done--any more than the work of growing a redwood tree is done when the first tiny sprout pokes out of the ground."

What do you notice from these texts?

You can play around with the text on your own using this link.

Word Cloud from October 2014 General Conference

The word cloud above was created at worditout.com. The text was taken from all of the talks in the October 2014 General Conference. I suppose the results aren't that surprising, but it's nice to see that "God," "Jesus," "Christ," and "Church" are central words in all the talks.

About Visual Scriptures

The purpose of this blog is to provide a new way to look at the scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not only will this blog look at the canonized scriptures (Holy Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price), but also the talks and writings of the General Authorities of the Church, for "whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture" [D&C 68:4]

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught about three ways to study the scriptures:

(1) reading the scriptures from beginning to end

(2) studying the scriptures by topic

(3) searching the scriptures for connections, patterns, and themes

I am creating this blog to help with items #2 and #3. Using various visualization software that is available free on the internet, I will be visualizing connections, topics, themes, and word patterns found in the scriptures.

As I share some news ways to search and ponder the scriptures, I hope you will find these methods enlightening and interesting. Most importantly, I hope it will help you consider the scriptures in a manner that invites the Holy Ghost to teach you the truth.