Transcripts: Enjoy Life Forever!

Transcript: Improve Your Personal Study
[A finger carefully scans each line in an open Bible. Turning his hands in a circular motion, a brother explains]
Brother 1: The more you study, the more you understand Jehovah. The more you understand Jehovah, the more you love him.
[On a tablet]
Sister 1: Jehovah clearly tells us: My thoughts are not your thoughts. So, if we want to understand Jehovah’s thinking better, we need to dig deep in our study, and then we share those thoughts with others.
[Teaching a Bible student]
Sister 2: Personal study is like fuel that keeps you going.
[She jots notes during Bible reading]
Brother 2: Personally, I’m not a good student, but I really learned how to study the Bible. The Bible came alive during Gilead.
[He reads outside]
Sister 2: Self-discipline is involved, very much.
Sister 3: I overcome the tiredness aspect of Bible study by not doing it at a time of day when I know I’m going to be tired. I can be tired for other things later on, but not for that.
[Sitting on a sofa, she reads]
Brother 1: Each session of my Bible study begins with a prayer, ‘Please help me recognize it is counsel for me, and then give me the strength to work on it.’
[Colored tabs]
Sister 4: I have a color-coded system, so I know what certain things stand for.
Brother 1: I have a particular color for Jehovah’s good hand in people’s lives; I have another color for warning examples; I have another for fine examples to imitate.
[He highlights digitally]
Brother 3: Study and meditation work together. Study helps us to acquire information. And meditation empowers us to put that information into practice.
[He shows a scripture to a store clerk]
Brother 2: You have to get behind the information, not just focus on one verse or one chapter. See who’s involved, the time, the conditions, how many people are there, and then you’ll get the true meaning of the verse.
[Surrounded by study aids, he reads]
Sister 3: John 1:1, who is the Word?
[She taps around on her tablet]
We can go to verse 18. Begotten meant he had a beginning, a time when he started, when he began, in heaven with his Father. That’s where he was.
Sister 4: Philippians 4:6, 7 is a scripture that I’ve read many times over. The peace of God that excels all thought. OK, how do you get that?
[She meditates]
It’s from having a good relationship with Jehovah. How is it that God’s peace ‘guards your heart’? By means of Christ Jesus our Lord. And I said: Why by Jesus? Because Jesus paid the ransom; that ransom is what makes possible a relationship with Jehovah. So, it almost goes full circle.
[She writes notes at a desk]
Brother 3: During my personal study, I tried to identify principles. To do this, I tried to look behind the commandment. For instance, at Matthew 28:19, 20, Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples. Behind this commandment, I find this principle of loving our neighbor. Using this principle helped me to preach to all sorts of people, regardless of their gender, race, or nationality.
[Preaching to an African woman.]
Brother 4: I attended a School for Congregation Elders that had Gilead graduates as instructors.
[In a classroom, Gilead students raised their hands]
One of the methods is to analyse a certain Bible account from different perspectives. We can’t see the whole picture from one angle.
Sister 3: I share my research results with Bible students, and that helps them to know Jehovah better, and it helps them to see that what they’re studying is of practical value.
[She explains to a student]
Brother 1: I had studied up on Jacob; he wrestled all night with an angel. And I wanted to share it with some of my friends.
[Painting of Jacob]
One of the brothers that happened to sit around when this discussion was going on came back to me, and he said to me: ‘I had concluded my arrangements to quit full-time service. But after listening to that discussion, I’ve decided that I’m no longer stopping.’
[The brother confides in him]
And that was such a wonderful moment for me.
[With a wide smile]
I thanked Jehovah.
Sister 4: When I learned that I was going to become a mom, I said, Jehovah, if this little one could love you, then I’ll get to keep him forever. Then I began to teach everything I was learning to him.
[Studies with her young son]
Sister 2: So, it’s a matter of keeping my faith strong, and there’s no shortcut.
Preaching to two men]
Brother 1: Every session of study that is properly done with good meditation adds a new pillar to the strength of our faith.
[Contemplating, he looks up]
Sister 4: I look forward to those times when I can, you know, run upstairs by myself, and just shut everything off, and it’s just me and Jehovah.
[The sister prays in her room]
Sister 1: Life today is very unpredictable, but I’ve come to see that as long as I keep a tight grip on God’s Word, nothing can separate [me] from God’s love.
[The sister walks with two women in an African village]
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2018 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania)