A Quicker Start to Memorizing the Bible

Time Posted on March 06, 2012 User Andy

Hi everyone! The start of 2012 sure has gone by quickly. We are now past January, the month of resolutions, and Feburary, the month of fraying resolutions. If 2012 saw you resolving to add to your stockpile of memory verses, now is a good time to renew that resolution!

Many of the changes we've made to Memverse in the first two months would have gone largely unnoticed to those of you who joined before the end of 2011. The start of this year saw us making some changes to simplify the first few minutes of the Memverse experience. We had noticed that 1/4 of the people who signed up never added a single verse. Another 1/4 would complete one memorization session and never come back.

Since we know that you're all hard at work referring people in order to advance in your levels, this state of affairs was tragic. We suspected that over the years complexity had accreted like barnacles on a ship, so we set to work simplifying the startup experience. Only new users will see these changes but we're happy with the early signs. Now, more than 90% of the people who sign up add some verses to their account. Over time, we will be merging some of these changes into the 'Add Verse' page.

If any of you happen to be looking over the shoulder of someone who is brand new to Memverse we would love to get feedback. What confused or puzzled them? What caused them to throw up their hands in despair and stomp out of the room muttering: "Where are my flash cards? Now I know why the Law was delivered on stone tablets and not via a browser!" ?

Second, we have added some more levels for those of you who just can't level up quickly enough. We promise to add more variety over time. Alongside the standard progression system, we will be gradually adding some 'badges'. There will be more to come on this topic but the first ones will probably be awarded for consistency in completed sessions. Most badges will have 3 levels (bronze, silver, gold). We are looking for someone to design some fun badges so if you have an artistic bent we would love to hear from you. We would love to have the badges designed by members of the Memverse community so try your hand at designing a set of 'Consistency' badges. (The badge dimensions should be 120 x 120 pixels and can be either round or square.) If you know someone who is a brilliant graphic designer, please ask them to help out.


Cat New Feature
Tag badges, levels, quick start, getting started

74 responses to A Quicker Start to Memorizing the Bible

7f0b66317a760b0fc6bed10a8296cf9c?d=wavatar
Marisol

Thank you for working so hard on this site. I am a new member and I am so encouraged to have found this site. It is my accountability partner since I am socially challenged. Again, thank you for working so hard and providing us with such a blessing of a tool.

93fcb35bede1ac128cb83b71e8060885?d=wavatar
SavedByGrace

Wow, I just went through an extremely quick startup, just to test the new system--and it was amazingly fast! Great work, everyone who's putting effort into this! I hope Memverse just keeps getting better!

D7d030a7688c291687940a5957ab3ac3?d=wavatar
Victoria M.

Looks really great!

563d64f818c863649c6f43983a7daeca?d=wavatar
Dakota Lynch

I've referred 5 new users in the past week and they've ALL added verses! It looks like one of them even referred a handful of users on their own!

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

There should be a badge for reference recall (Bronze-70%, Silver-90%, and Gold-100%) and accuracy (same scoring system).

0c49d789be9e6f340abc0364fd126286?d=wavatar
InSoloChristo

I actually was recently looking over the shoulder of someone joining Memverse! (It was my brother, Papa's helper.) It was all straightforward easy to follow. He loves it!

I have had the idea for Memverse "badges" for a while, too! For a consistency badge, I'd say it would be gold if you have not missed 90% or more of the days you've been on Memverse. For example, if a user has been on for 100 days, and has completed 90 sessions, that user would receive this "badge". But if the user has only completed 89 sessions, then that user would get a silver medal. For silver, this user should need to complete 70 or more sessions, and for bronze, probably 50 or more sessions.
I think it would be fun to design medals, but I don't have any programs that can design exceptional images.

Ec83071ecb723161182e00621e639d54?d=wavatar
RejoicingAlways(BB)

Badges are a really good idea! Would the badges have words or pictures or something on them?

D7e51a6e027780a48295eb2d73bc059f?d=wavatar
2 Corinthians 5:17

Fun! I tried the new way and it's really fast ! Click here for more graphics and gifs!

D7e51a6e027780a48295eb2d73bc059f?d=wavatar
2 Corinthians 5:17

By the way, my profile picture is of Golgotha! Where Jesus died for us!!! My Dad took this picture when he was in Israel a few weeks ago

A3806e5a47ff9fa527155bd268c37099?d=wavatar
His Servant

Okay, I think I'm missing something (actually, I AM missing something!). Lots of people keep saying "I tried the new way...". So my questions - What's the new way?

Sorry, I'm probably missing something obvious =)

563d64f818c863649c6f43983a7daeca?d=wavatar
Dakota Lynch

Bethany,

Click here to check it out:

http://www.memverse.com/home/quick_start

A3806e5a47ff9fa527155bd268c37099?d=wavatar
His Servant

@Dakota - Thanks for your help.

Thank you, Andy, for all the work you do on this site!

1427299797b6f7a7022f7376b335bf3b?d=wavatar
Leah Jessie

I can't wait to see the badges! Will there be some for amounts of verses memorized and levels reached?

Yesterday, I helped one of my friends start a Memverse account. I love the way it has you add verses right away!

D31c974fe43f1230dbcb183971bfbdec?d=wavatar
Emily H

Wow, yes, this is amazing! I sure hope more people stay active now. The badges sound really interesting, I wish I could help but 1st, I have no idea how I could do that and 2nd, I have absolutely no talent in that area. :)

Rachel- oh that is so cool! It would be so amazing to go to Israel!

A5add584fd0f556712d9e039c68fa698?d=wavatar
Andy

Marisol, we're excited to welcome you as our first member from Bethlehem Baptist Church! We were wondering where you all were hiding out.

I think you will find no shortage of fun people on Memverse who will keep you accountable in your pursuit of memorizing the Bible.

Da387eb43fcabd6d8964e0a76fcc719e?d=wavatar
Nathan

The new system looks great! Recently, a friend of mine joined, but he used "Practice" instead of "Memorize" so he found it really frustrating. Perhaps there is a way to make it clearer from the start what one is supposed to do?

C0928da0dba0ffe38d3cd02cf87a03b5?d=wavatar
BibleBeeJunior14 (~*Lady Ariana*~)

Haha - Bethany, I had the same question! :)

Badges sound GREAT!!!!! :) How can I get past level 5? I can't find anyone to refer. Help!

@Marisol - welcome to Memverse! and the Blog!!!! :) I love Memverse - hope you will too! :)

@Rachel - that is SOOOOOOOOOOO cool!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you get to go?

C0928da0dba0ffe38d3cd02cf87a03b5?d=wavatar
BibleBeeJunior14 (~*Lady Ariana*~)

@God's Maiden of Virtue - how are you doing?

C0928da0dba0ffe38d3cd02cf87a03b5?d=wavatar
BibleBeeJunior14 (~*Lady Ariana*~)

Umm, any memverse administrators, I have someone who set me as their referall but I'm still on level 5 and that was the last thing I had to do! Help!

D7983f1197e2172216bac29a559ec30c?d=wavatar
Ruth (Joy)

@ BBJ12: Is the person who set you as their referral inactive? If so, then that is the problem. If not, then I don't know.

@ JPIA(R): That's so cool! I wish I could go there!

@ Andy: MemVerse Badges would be cool! I am sort of artistic, but I don't have a website that would be able to create anything like that.

E722bfd45297b0c0558ed8ed53593094?d=wavatar
Alex Watt

Nathan - Thanks for the feedback. With the new quick start, people see a button to "start memorizing" after they've added 5 verses; we're hoping that helps. However, as we think about improvements, we will keep in mind that it could be confusing knowing how to start....

BibleBeeJunior12 - Like Mommy's Helper said, it looks like your referral is inactive, so that's why it hasn't moved you up yet....

7dd80386abb09077121e3035a6872af4?d=wavatar
God's Maiden of Virtue

BBJ12- Yes, Mommy's Helper is right, is your referral inactive? I'm still on level 5 because my referral is also inactive. I don't think she really knows what to do, so, I'm going to tell her about it tomorrow (we only see each other every other week). I hope this helps!

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

@Andy - When do you think the first badges will be out???

There should be a badge leaderboard -
Gold for hard badge - 6 points
Silver for hard badge - 5 points
Bronze for hard badge - 4 points
Gold for easy badge - 3 points
Silver for easy badge - 2 points
Bronze for easy badge - 1 point

A5add584fd0f556712d9e039c68fa698?d=wavatar
Andy

I don't think there will be a badge leaderboard but we might display the badges next to people's names and on their user page.

The badges will probably be distributed such that 1% can get a gold badge, 5% a silver badge and 20% a bronze badge.

For instance, in order to get a gold 'Consistency' badge you will probably need to have completed 350+ sessions in the past year. We're still calculating the numbers for the silver and bronze 'Consistency' badges.

We really need someone to design the badges for us so please ask around. That is the limiting factor on when we can get them out.

C0928da0dba0ffe38d3cd02cf87a03b5?d=wavatar
BibleBeeJunior14 (~*Lady Ariana*~)

@Andy - the badges sound AWESOME!!!!! :) I really wish I knew how and had the program to do this. Then I would be very willing to do it. If anyone wants to give me a program or whatever, that's fine! :) JK :)

@Mommy's Helper, GMOV, and Alex - yes, she is inactive - I guess I'll just stay on level 5 forever. *sigh* :)

C0928da0dba0ffe38d3cd02cf87a03b5?d=wavatar
BibleBeeJunior14 (~*Lady Ariana*~)

All right! 130 verses! Only 70 more to go!!!!!!

17264cf7a29b7212adb28fc6aa1a21b6?d=wavatar
Philip Landis

I applaud these improvements. Most people I know who tried to start, but never continued had difficulties related to the confirmation email or logging in the first time. Is that process no longer being used with this new system? I would also add a page/step/field to confirm or enter the person who referred them to MemVerse (with an option to skip in case they can't find the person). I actually think that referrals should not be part of the level requirements, but I'll save that for a different post.

D7e51a6e027780a48295eb2d73bc059f?d=wavatar
2 Corinthians 5:17

BBJ12 - I am having the same problem...but I have TWO inactive referrals Smiley And I don't want to push them to be active again Smiley

Have to go do my Friday chores! Which are ... Smiley (doing laundry), Smiley (washing windows) and a few others that they don't have smilies for :D

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

Once you have a badge, can you lose it???

7dd80386abb09077121e3035a6872af4?d=wavatar
God's Maiden of Virtue

BBJ12 and Rachel- I have one referral and she is inactive, but yesterday I asked her if she was going to be adding any verses soon. And she told me that she was planning to, but she hadn't had the time to do during the week. I think she is going to become active soon!Smiley So you could ask you referral (s) if they are going to be adding any verses soon or you could kindly ask them when they will go on memverse again.

This might not work, but it's worth a try!

Fc381b77e8af006ef20906c8bac9b22d?d=wavatar
Bethany Meckle (inactive)

Me, too. Especially since I have referred several people, but they haven't put me as their referrer. I could ask them to put me as their referrer, but it would be nice to have a page like that.
@Rachel - I like all those smileys! They're cute. BTW, I really like your profile picture!!!

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

Don't give up on those referals! See if there are any other people you can refer!!!

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

@Andy - If I drew up some pictures for the badges, how would I give them to you? Is there a way to post them on the blog?

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

@Andy - Also, is there a certain file type I should use? e.g. png./gif./jpeg.

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

I drew up a gold, silver, and bronze consistency badge. I just need how to give them to you.

D7e51a6e027780a48295eb2d73bc059f?d=wavatar
2 Corinthians 5:17

Thanks Bethany M!

A5add584fd0f556712d9e039c68fa698?d=wavatar
Andy

It's best to use GIF files, Super.

We've had a few submissions but hopefully we'll find a way to incorporate a lot of the ideas ... also, we might keep some of them for future badges but it's great to have everyone contribute.

I'm very excited with some of the designs I've seen already.

Aa3083fed6f9fa74c508dc692bbcc3e2?d=wavatar
Nathan

@ Wretched Man, or anyone else Our church is having a conversation about what predestination means tonight. Since we go to an Arminian church I was wondering If I could get some Reformed resources on it. More Arminian resources are helpful too ! Thanks a lot guys ! Wretched Man was just the first person I thought of :)

171a13c462ce725475c408309a6cc8fb?d=wavatar
Wretched Man

I'm not sure what your time zone is @God'sBondslave, but hopefully you'll get this in time:

1) Of course, the definitive treatise on Predestination would be by John Calvin himself in his multi-volume Institutes on Religion.

2) John Gill is quite a lofty thinker, but he puts things in an understandable manner (though in Old English). I think his book on this is called "Doctrinal and Practical Divinity: A System of Evangelical Truths"

3) The Works of John Owen: Volumes 10 and 12 (I love John Owen!)

These should give the best information from the Reformed perspective.

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

@Andy - I can use GIF files. How do I submit???

563d64f818c863649c6f43983a7daeca?d=wavatar
Dakota Lynch

Super401,

How about using an online image host that gives you a direct link to the file itself? Alternatively, googledocs hosts any file type but makes it somewhat more difficult to share with others.

E722bfd45297b0c0558ed8ed53593094?d=wavatar
Alex Watt

Super401 - We'll send you an email (if Andy hasn't already). Thanks.

E289ced702ad8b545577131b83d2d91d?d=wavatar

I like your smiles Rachel

E289ced702ad8b545577131b83d2d91d?d=wavatar

How do you put them on a comment

E289ced702ad8b545577131b83d2d91d?d=wavatar

oops :) smilies

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

@Alex - Thanks

E289ced702ad8b545577131b83d2d91d?d=wavatar

WOW wretched man you have memorized 800 verses that is awesome

__ __
o o
I
\______/

C0928da0dba0ffe38d3cd02cf87a03b5?d=wavatar
BibleBeeJunior14 (~*Lady Ariana*~)

@God's Maiden of Virtue - 700th verse! Wow - don't forget to contact SMF if you haven't already! :)
@Super401 - can't wait to see them! :) maybe you could put a link up after you send it to Andy or Alex (whoever you're supposed to) and we could all see them! :)

C0928da0dba0ffe38d3cd02cf87a03b5?d=wavatar
BibleBeeJunior14 (~*Lady Ariana*~)

@Hope Harrison - I think you have to download them onto your computer or something. Then you can use them. Just click on one of them and I think that will let you onto their website.

E289ced702ad8b545577131b83d2d91d?d=wavatar

Thanks :)

C0928da0dba0ffe38d3cd02cf87a03b5?d=wavatar
BibleBeeJunior14 (~*Lady Ariana*~)

No problem. I think they're adorable, too, but I would have to get my parents' permission to download them. Do you do Bible Bee? If so, what category are you in? I'm a Junior. (obviously! :))

7dd80386abb09077121e3035a6872af4?d=wavatar
God's Maiden of Virtue

BBJ12- I'm so sorry, but I still haven't contacted SMF!! That's just not one of the top things on my mind. Sorry!

A3806e5a47ff9fa527155bd268c37099?d=wavatar
His Servant

@Alex - Just wondering, but are you planning on doing quizzes again this Bible Bee season?

E722bfd45297b0c0558ed8ed53593094?d=wavatar
Alex Watt

Bethany - Yes :)

A3806e5a47ff9fa527155bd268c37099?d=wavatar
His Servant

Alex - I'll be looking forward to them....as they were very helpful, and fun at the same time :)

E289ced702ad8b545577131b83d2d91d?d=wavatar

Bible bee junoir12
Yes I do Bible bee and I am in primary next year I am in junior :)

F91049e07b162f20644edf966b22ac74?d=wavatar
Matthew Sinclair

Thanks for all the updates! I was wondering though about bible bee. What if you had the person type the reference and then the passage and then type the reference again? I found it hard to remember the reference when I was just practicing the passage.

E722bfd45297b0c0558ed8ed53593094?d=wavatar
Alex Watt

Matthew - We will consider that. Thank you for sharing the idea.

0abf38fc1b9508d27598a279b89a9bbe?d=wavatar
GlorifyGod<3

@BBJ12
I do Bible Bee. So does Hope. This will be Hope's last year in Primary and my second in Junior.

0abf38fc1b9508d27598a279b89a9bbe?d=wavatar
GlorifyGod<3

@GMOV
Have you checked out Virtuous Daughters yet?

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

@Matthew Sinclair - Does the reference recall help? It has helped me.

@Andy - When will the badges probably be out?

379435299ee5f4099f9e2a3fd8352aa7?d=wavatar
Talia "StoryMaker"

I created Gold, Silver, and Bronze Consistency Membadges. Could you tell me where to email them? You can email me at StoryMakerEchidna ~-AT-~ gmail ~-DOT-~ com. (change ~-AT-~ to @ and ~-DOT-~ to . and remove the spaces.) I don't know if mine will be chosen, but it was great fun to make them, and I'll make any improvements you need if you find them lacking. Thanks so much for this opportunity! :D

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

@Talia - I made some badges, and I got an email from admin@memverse.com. You should probably send the badges there.

C0928da0dba0ffe38d3cd02cf87a03b5?d=wavatar
BibleBeeJunior14 (~*Lady Ariana*~)

@matthew Sinclair - I know! It's difficult for me too.
@Super401 - reference recall is not very good when you have long passages.

Efdd1a96a72c57a369deff77d3f2d8a3?d=wavatar
Karen F.

Wow! The changes look really good. :-) I do have a little "over the shoulder" feedback for you (except it was via email :-) ) I just referred a friend to Memverse, about the same time the changes were being made. She signed up right away, but later told me that she quit using it because she "knew pretty much all the verses they wanted her to memorize". I told her that she can enter in any verse in the Bible that she wants on the "add verses" page, but I haven't heard if she has tried it again. I think what probably happened was that when she first signed up, and it took her to the "Step 3: Select 5-10 verses to start memorizing" page, she saw the "Choose from Popular Verses" list, and thought that you can only choose verses from the list of something. Anyway, I hope this feedback is helpful! :-)

F91049e07b162f20644edf966b22ac74?d=wavatar
Matthew Sinclair

@Super401: It does help, but it doesn't always practice the one your not remembering.
@Alex Watt: Thanks

C0928da0dba0ffe38d3cd02cf87a03b5?d=wavatar
BibleBeeJunior14 (~*Lady Ariana*~)

@Karen F. - maybe you can help her choose verses..just a suggestion.

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

@BBJr.12 - It not easy with long passages (e.g. the ones from bible bee in Job last year) but doing ref. recall helps with that. it's like knowing what a house looks like (e.g. a verse) but not knowing it's address (e.g. a reference). It's always better to know the verse and the reference than just the verse. However, it would be nice if you could make a custom quiz for ref. recall (and accuracy tests, for that matter). Perhaps Andy could do something to the website.

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

@ Andy - You said above that 350+ sessions a year would get you a gold badge... What are the numbers for silver and bronze?

A5add584fd0f556712d9e039c68fa698?d=wavatar
Andy

The silver is currently at 325 and the bronze is at 300. We will probably set the badges over time so that about 5% of users get a silver badge and 10% get a bronze badge.

7191653e985bde7e47bd94f041e3802a?d=wavatar
Super401

@ Andy - Thanks. Do you know about any other badge topics, or are they "under wraps"?

5c3d80d9bf04a645711fc934afb54a80?d=wavatar
ZachB

Hmmm...I don't see any badges...am I missing something?

A3806e5a47ff9fa527155bd268c37099?d=wavatar
His Servant

Looks like the badge are out!!! Neat :)

@Andy or Alex -- I have three on my dashboard... "The Sermon on the Mount", "Top Referrer" and "Consiste Memorizer". Could you explain what they all mean? Thanks!

Fc2b647e40ef1cad58fd484418c81fc4?d=wavatar
AK (a scribe)

I especially LOVE the humor in your second last paragraph, Andy!! Great! I have also found numerous other humorous references in various blogs. That really helps to give this ("my") new-found website a warm feeling, and a welcoming feeling. Thank you!! Being only my 4th day here, I am looking forward to the adventure! Keep it up!!


Trans