Group wall: The Mnemonic Bible Memory Group§↻

I'm really confused by this but I'm glad it works for you, Onfire.

I just realized that I made a fundamental mistake to the previous post. The number 19 is not BG (sigh), but AN (BG is 27). I changed my verse at the last minute (James 1:27), and I forgot to change the example. I really, really, wish we had the ability to edit comments, but sadly, I do not.

So, for Bill Gates, substitute a person with the letters AN. That could be Alfred Noble (dynamite), Anna Nicole Smith (model), Anna Netrebko (opera singer), etc. You can also build the name based upon the way the letters sounds. So, for example, some look at AN and think "Anne." So you could do Anne Hathaway, Anne Frank, Anne of Green Gables, Anne Rice...you get the idea.

Sometimes it is too difficult to come up with unique way to memorize the numbers of the chapters and verses. To help with this, I'm going to talk about to the Dominic System.

(Before reading further, it is helpful to read this post on the mechanics behind the system, which I will only briefly discuss here: https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/dominic-system/)

According to the Dominic System, the following numbers correspond to the following letters:
0 = O (both look the same)
1 = A (A is the first letter of the alphabet)
2 = B (B is the second letter)
3 = C (third)
4 = D (forth)
5 = E (fifth)
6 = S (Six starts with an S sound)
7 = G (G is the seventh letter. They skipped F for more variety)
8 = H (eight)
9 = N (Nine starts with an N sound)

So when ever you see a number, you imagine those letters. So, for example, the number 19 would be BG. Now the second part is to associate those letters with a person. When I see the letters BG, I think of Bill Gates.

So lets take the previous example (Luke 10:19).

Luke = Luke Skywalker
10 (AO) = Annie Oakley
19 (BG) = Bill Gates
Key verse parts: tread, serpent, power

So I imagine Luke Skywalker standing with his hands raised up to the sky, using his force power to keep Annie Oakley and Bill Gates (who are both standing on tires) floating in the sky above his head. Annie is shooting serpents out of her gun at a scorpion target that Bill is holding.

Or you could imagine that the three of them are visiting an old west bar. Annie and Bill drink too much and get into a drunken argument about who is stronger: Yoda or Batman. So the two decide to have a facing off against each other with guns outside the bar. Luke Skywalker is trying to keep them from coming to blows over an argument about which is stronger: Yoda or Batman. As they both draw their guns and shoot each other, Luke Skywalker uses his force powers to turn the bullets into tire treads.

If you are having difficulties understanding these systems, do not feel bad about it. I spent several weeks understanding and practicing the concepts. I promise if you put in the time, you will understand it and it will benefit your Bible (and other) memory.

Luke 10:19 - Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

Luke = Luke Skywalker
10 = a window (i.e., Windows 10)
19 = a suffragette (The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote. So I imagine a woman dressed in early 20th century garb holding a sign saying "Votes for Women" Here is a good image to work with: https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-suffragettes/). You could use Covid-19, but that's hard to imagine and also triggering.

Luke Skywalker and a suffragette are looking in a window at a tire display. The suffragette comments to him that the treads look like a serpent. Luke replies, "Don't worry. They won't hurt you."

James 1:27 - Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

For James, I use James Bond. For 27, I use a zombie musician. Some of you may not know this, but there is a group of very famous musicians who have all died at 27. The most famous examples include: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse. Some call it Club 27 or the Curse of 27.

So for this verse I imagine James Bond trying to tell a zombie rock musician about his religion as the zombie is feeding on a group of orphans and widows. The zombie, who is wearing a stained shirt, looks up at him for a moment, and then continues eating as if Bond is not there. (Gross, I know, but it sticks.)

1 John 5:4 - For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

For 1/2/3 John, I imagine 1/2/3 Toilets. For 54, I imagine a disco dance club (Studio 54).

So for this verse, I picture a little boy seeing a light flash in his grandmother's bathroom. When he goes to investigate, he sees it is coming from the toilet. When he lifts his grandmother's toilet seat, instead of water he sees a nightclub filled with globes dancing to disco music. One of the globes, who seems to be overcome with heat exhaustion from dancing, looks up at him and flashes the boy a peace sign (or victory sign) to let him know he's OK.

Luke 6:38 - give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

For Luke, I use Luke Skywalker. For 38, I imagine a gun (i.e., 38 special). So I imagine Luke Skywalker is facing six guys who are pointing 38 specials at him. Luke causally uses the force to flatten the guns in the hands of the robbers. The robbers look at their pressed down guns, and they run away.

If you want an established memory system for memorizing numbers instead of just "on the fly images", I would recommend either the Major system or the Dominic System.

Major System: https://litemind.com/major-system/

Dominic System: https://artofmemory.com/wiki/Dominic_System/#:~:text=The%20Dominic%20System%20is%20a,Dominic%20O'Brien%5D%5D.&text=The%20Dominic%20system%20is%20a%20system%20for%20memorizing%20long%20sequences,to%20remember%20people%20and%20actions.

By combining one of these two systems into a PAO system, you can come up with some powerful memory images for the chapter and verse numbers.

PAO System: https://artofmemory.com/wiki/Person-Action-Object_(PAO)_System/

I personally like to use the PAO system with Dominic System for the number images.

I know it can seem a bit complicated, but they are pretty easy to figure out once you work with them. I have used the Dominic/PAO system in the past to memorize a deck of cards in order. I've never really adapted it to Bible memorization, but I think I'll spend some more time on it now.

1 Peter 5:7 - casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

For most people, the first thing that comes to mind when someone sees the word Peter is a rock. Personally, I find using rocks as memory devices somewhat difficult. So for Peter I use a petrified tree (2 Peter, two trees). So for this verse, I imagine a Heinz 57 bottle sitting on a broken petrified tree casting into a lake with a fishing rod. He looks very relaxed, without a care in the world.

You could also use a 57 Chevy for the image. In that case, it would be something like a petrified tree driving a 57 Chevy very slowly on the way to an urgent care facility to get his cast removed.

Sorry. I thought I had it open. Feel free to join now.

Would like to join group

To memorize the order of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:10, I use the following mnemonic sentence:

The poor mourn meekly when hungry, and unmercifully pure peacemakers persecute them.

It may seem odd to link disgusting imagery with the Bible, but I promise you these types of images will make the verses stick. In fact, if you have an emotional response to the image, even better. Think back to the things you remember most in your life. They almost always revolved around a strong emotion or an odd situation (or both).

I remember as I was learning the Greek adjectives, and I was having trouble with πρός (pros) which means "to, toward, or with." This is a foundational Greek adjective, so it was imperative that I memorize it. For the life of me, however, it just would not stick. So I started thinking about the word "pros", and for whatever reason, the first word that came to mind was "prostitute." So I imagined a PROStitute riding in a TOW truck WITH her mother as they were going TO church. From that moment forward, whenever I saw the word "pros" that was the image that came to mind. In fact, it has been six years since I studied that word, and that image still sticks with me to this day.

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Timothy was a companion of Paul. When I think of companions, I think of Lord of the Rings. Frodo had three companions: Sam, Merry, and Pippin. Sam was usually with Frodo while Merry and Pippin were often off causing trouble somewhere else. When I think of 1 Timothy, I think of Sam. When I think of 2 Timothy, I think of Merry and Pippin.

So, for this verse, I imagine MERRY giving PIPPIN 2 PRESENTs full of 15 broken off barbie doll RIGHT HANDs. I imagine the look of horror on Pippin's face when he opens the presents, only to see that Merry has destroyed Pippin's precious barbie doll collection.

Actually, my image is much worse, but I'll not post it considering our mixed audience, but you get the idea.

Here is an excellent website that gives descriptive images for each book of the bible: https://yourawesomememory.com/memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/

Colossians 1:13 - He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

If you've ever seen Gladiator, you'll remember the scene where they raise Maximus and his fellow gladiators up from the ground to fight in the Colosseum. Thus, for this Bible verse, I imagine 13 Roman gladiators rising from the ground on 1 small, rickety elevator to the floor of the ancient Roman COLosseum. I imagine them holding on to each other in fear, wondering if they'll survive the trip.