This study asked two questions. First, to what extent can metacognitive strategies instruction increase metacognitive awareness in released-time seminary students? Second, if metacognitive awareness is increased, is this increase correlated with changes in released-time seminary students' attitudes towards scripture study, their scripture study behavior, how they perceive the quality of their study, and how much they enjoy studying the scriptures? A control group and two experimental groups were used for this study. Experimental group 1 was taught basic scripture reading strategies without metacognition. Experimental group 2 was taught metacognitive strategies related to scripture study. Students in each experimental group used these strategies for 10 consecutive class sessions. Pre- and post-survey data was collected for comparison. Statistically significant gains in metacognitive awareness were found when comparing the pre- and post-survey scores of experimental group 2. When comparing experimental group 2 to experimental group 1 and the control group, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) demonstrated that these gains in metacognitive awareness were not significant by comparison. Students in experimental groups 1 and 2 were asked to rate themselves in the post-survey on the effort they expended utilizing the strategies presented. When students in experimental group 2 who rated themselves high for effort were isolated, an analysis of covariance yielded statistically significant gains for metacognitive awareness in comparison with the other two groups. The same analyses were performed on measures related to scripture study. While experimental group 2 showed statistically significant gains from pre-survey to post-survey, when analyzed against experimental group 1 and the control group, no significant changes were observed. This was also the case for students who rated themselves high for effort in implementing the strategies presented. The results from this study suggest that metacognitive strategies can increase metacognitive awareness in released-time seminary students when they put forth the required effort to learn them. Further research in metacognitive application to scripture study is warranted. Qualitative studies with small focus groups could be a valuable avenue of exploration in future studies.

The call of Church leaders to "raise the bar" placed direct attention on the preparation of future missionaries. Also, the new Preach My Gospel missionary guide emphasized effective personal scripture study in order for missionaries to fulfill their purposes of teaching by the Spirit and inviting others to come unto Christ. Thus, "raising the bar" and Preach My Gospel together created an important focus on the personal scripture study of prospective missionaries. However, available social research offered little indication of the state of scripture study among future missionaries. Consequently, this study maintained an exploratory design and utilized qualitative research methods to discover the nature of personal scripture study among prospective missionaries. The aim of this study was to find descriptive data that would be useful to parents, trainers, leaders, and future researchers in helping prospective missionaries to improve their personal scripture study. From February to April 2006, six respondents participated in repeated interviews and eleven others informed two focus groups. This study reported results and conclusions with rich description—involving ample use of evidence and quotations from the narrative data. Findings of this study include the following: They all knew scripture study was the right thing to do. None of them studied well while in high school. They all had improved their scripture study during the year prior to their mission. Their upcoming missions served as a prime motive for wanting to improve their scripture study. They all had experienced blessings from scripture study. Reading the scriptures out of obligation or for an extrinsic reward is less-effective scripture study. Particular methods and factors produced meaningful results. Primarily, this research found that personal agency, a structured routine, and knowledge of why and how to study the scriptures were vital to effective scripture study.

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