Making gospel concepts 'easier'

For David J. Ridges, gospel concepts just keep getting "easier."

And it all started with Isaiah.

Ridges, a retired-teacher-turned-writer who spent 35 years in the Church Educational System, has found his place on the LDS bookshelf by presenting Mormon scriptures and doctrine in simplified formats. Since 2002, he has published 16 volumes under the "Made Easier" heading. Ridges says the purpose of his work is not to oversimplify the gospel, but rather accomplish what he tried to do in the classroom — get students entrenched in the scriptures, where they can learn for themselves.

"I don't claim to be a real scholar," Ridges said. "I just claim to be a teacher."

Ironically, the "Made Easier" series is the product of an area of study Ridges considered anything but easy — Isaiah. Like so many others, Ridges found the writings difficult to understand.

"I was always in good company," he said.

His perception changed when he attended a class in the early 1980s taught by Brigham Young University religion professor Ellis Rasmussen, who according to Ridges started reading from Isaiah, chapter 53, which begins, "Who hath believed our report?"

The instructor paused, looked up and said, "and in other words, 'who believes us prophets anyway?' "

"Then I was hooked," Ridges said. "It dawned on me at that point that Isaiah could be understood."

Ridges immersed himself in the writings of Isaiah, spending 10 years making tiny notes next to each verse and supplementing his study with the works of scholars like Monte Nyman and Victor Ludlow. Ridges, who served a mission in Austria, also used the German Bible as a reference point.

"Isaiah came alive," he said.

After a decade of study, Ridges turned his research into a BYU Education Week course called "Isaiah Made Easier." Students soon began requesting copies of his notes, which were confined to his personal volumes of scripture. So Ridges transcribed the notes and self-published them as a spiral booklet. He eventually used the same format for his research on the Book of Revelation.

"I had no intention of being (a writer)," said Ridges, who is just completing his 20th book. "It was the farthest thing from my mind."

But eight years after he self-published a combined version of his Isaiah/Revelation notes, Ridges was approached by an editor about writing opportunities, and later that year, "Isaiah Made Easier" was published by Cedar Fort.