(July 18, 2014)
Likening
the scriptures unto ourselves is not an idle pursuit – in fact, one of the
great testimonies of the Book of Mormon is that this phrase is included
within. There is the desire among all of
us to use the scriptures as either a rule book (occasionally for ourselves, but
probably more often for others), or a proof-text to support whatever
intellectual theory that we might happen to endorse. In both cases, what we are truly doing is
following the philosophies of men, and mingling them with scripture.
For the
longest time, that was the way that I read scripture. I would turn to scripture the way that I
turned to case law – arguing a point and pulling text that supported my
position (even when I was just reading for myself). But as the years have gone on, and I have
abandoned proof-texting, I have seen the scriptures open up to me in ways that
I couldn’t have imagined.
No
matter what is going on in my life, I find that the scriptures are there as a
source of comfort and a source of answers. I see how Nephi or Lehi or Alma dealt with
their challenges, and I find myself recognizing how my challenges are really
not so different from their difficulties. I find the Lord answering me in the same way
that He answered them.
When I
go to the scriptures looking for what the Lord wants to tell me in my life at
that point (rather than what I want to find, or tease out through reason), I
discover an entire world of inspiration opening up to me. Truly reading the scriptures has been one of
the greatest joys that I have experienced – especially these past three weeks
or so.
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