Upon reading the title, I asked myself, "Why would anyone want to remember everything in the Old Testament?" I've studied the Hebrew Scriptures for years, and I think I have a pretty good idea what they have to say, but I've never had the desire to remember every name, every place, etc.

Larsen makes a case for such a goal, a case (at least tentatively) supported by scripture, ancient and modern, and statements of General Authorities. I do wonder, however, if what Larsen has produced is what they had in mind.

The author begins with a cursory study of the physiological makeup of the memory process. He then goes on, a la Covey, to outline the "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Leaders." He uses an acrostic to help the reader remember these habits: A RECORD -- Attention, Relate, Envision, Concrete, Organize, Repeat and Deliver -- each expanded upon with guidance as to how to put each into action.

I suppose such methods are helpful for some people, offering ways to assimilate information in an intuitive and recallable manner. As for me, I have two problems with the whole enterprise: 1) I just don't have any desire to remember everything in the Old Testament; and 2) offering me ways to remember everything just adds to what I have to remember, and some of the methods offered in the book are a bit recondite for my taste.

Mr. Larsen's intentions are good, and he's done a lot of study in putting together this book. It simply isn't something I find useful. Rather than remembering people and dates, I much prefer understanding concepts, and these need no tricks or techniques tools to remember. Principles become part of your life, everyday experience being all we need to bring them to mind.

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Jeff Needle
January 23, 2006