I owe many people thanks for their help with the work in this book, but I owe particular thanks to Steven Goldman, who first showed me the rewards of close attention to scripture; to Dennis J. Packard, whose curiosity and insistence got me started thinking about how to help others learn to study scripture closely; and to Mary Mahan, whose editorial skills made this a much better book than it otherwise would have been. I am grateful to the students who have used the materials and made criticisms and suggestions that have helped me make them more useful. Thanks are also due to to Angela D. Clyde and Rebecca S. Isom for their proofreading and to Lesa Shearer for her source checking. Finally, my thanks must include my parents for teaching me to love scripture, and my family, especially my wife, Janice, for their support and love.