Scripture Memorization - How I do it

Mara Wildflower asked me last week how I go about memorizing my Scripture texts. I actually use the same flashcard program that I use for my Japanese studies. It took me awhile to realize that the program would work great for memorizing Scripture because I'm not used to thinking outside the box. HA!

Anki is a free program that is used as a substitute for physical flashcards. The program uses SRS, a Spaced Repetition System. This is a fancy way of saying the algorithm determines when you are about ready to forget the information on the card. As soon as you've almost forgotten, the program tells you it's time to review again. Studies have shown that this is the best method for inserting information into long term memory.


Joshua 1:9 flashcard - front
(Ignore that the card was due in three days. I didn't have any current cards and wanted to get this post up tonight.) This card is testing the section in blue that displays as [...]. When I think I know what part of the text is missing, I click "Show Answer." I have created one flashcard for each line in the Scripture, plus another flashcard testing the book, chapter, and verse where the text is found.


Joshua 1:9 flashcard - front and back
Now the answer is displayed in blue on the bottom card. Here I can choose several options - again (fail), hard, good, easy. I choose how difficult it was to recall the answer on the flashcard. Then, Anki uses the SRS algorithm to determine when I should study that card again.


My Anki decks
I'm done with my flashcards today. First thing in the morning, though, this page shows how many flashcards are due in each deck. As you can see, almost all of my decks are for learning Japanese and then there is one deck for memorizing Scripture. The "Due Today" column is how many cards are due that day. The "New Today" column shows how many cards I have not yet studied for the first time.

There are a lot more options within Anki but this is a basic overview of my study methods. Reviewing the Scripture deck only takes a couple minutes each day and I quickly become familiar with each verse that I've entered into the program. It takes longer to completely memorize a text but the program tells me when I need to review. Then each week I add a new verse to the cards and start learning the new text.

Hopefully this helps someone! It's free, it's convenient, and it's easy to use. It's a great way to memorize God's word!