As I start to write this message, I
am reminded of a thought that was once shared with me by a friend and
colleague, and someone that many of us know, President Greg Bishop. He once told me something like this:
Sometimes when we go to church, we are taught by the Spirit something that we
didn’t know. Other times, the Spirit
reminds of us something that we already knew.
As you read this, I hope one of those two things happen: You learn
something new by the Spirit or you are reminded of something by the Spirit.
Whenever
we talk about the restoration of the Gospel, I always find it worthwhile to
consider the “Order of events” of the restoration. After the First Vision, the next thing that
takes place is the introduction of the Book of Mormon. It is several years before the Book of Mormon
is published, but it its place in the restoration is obvious by the fact that
it is brought forth so quickly. President
Ezra Taft Benson said “A … powerful testimony to the importance of the Book of
Mormon is to note where the Lord placed its coming forth in the timetable of
the unfolding Restoration. The only thing that preceded it was the First
Vision. In that marvelous manifestation, the Prophet Joseph Smith learned the
true nature of God and that God had a work for him to do. The coming forth of
the Book of Mormon was the next thing to follow.” It is clear how important the Book of Mormon
is to not only the restoration, but to our understanding of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. We have all heard the following
quote from Joseph Smith, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the
most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man
would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, then by any other book.”
This is a statement of Doctrine,
given to us by a prophet. Every time I
talk about doctrine, I am reminded of another quote that we have all heard
before from President Boyd K. Packer:
True doctrine, changes attitudes and
behavior. The study of the doctrines of
the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve
behavior.
This is a quote that gets shared
frequently, but I have a little confession to make. I did alter, slightly, the quote from
President Packer. Here is what he really
said:
True doctrine, UNDERSTOOD, changes
attitudes and behavior. The study of the
doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior
will improve behavior.
It would seem like there are two
parts to this quote: 1) knowing the doctrine and 2) understanding the
doctrine. I have often thought that the
“understand” portion is more important, but I think they both play equal parts. We must put forth the effort to first know the
doctrine. We cannot understand what we
do not know. Once we know the doctrine,
then we must understand it.
With
that thought in mind, let’s talk about why we should read the scriptures and
more in particular, why we should read the Book of Mormon. I have some scriptures that teach us the
doctrine as to “why” we read the scriptures and the Book of Mormon. As you read the following scriptures consider
this question, “what is the doctrine this scripture is teaching me about why I
read the scriptures.”
·
2
Nephi 32:3 Angels
speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of
Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of
Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all
things what ye should do.
·
1
Nephi 19:23 And
I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of
Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their
Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the
prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it
might be for our profit and learning.
·
D&C
1:37 Search these commandments,
for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which
are in them shall all be fulfilled.
·
2
Timothy 3:15 And
that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are
able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which
is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given
by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
·
John
5:39 ¶Search the
scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they
which testify of me.
We should remember that along with
ancient scripture, we also have modern scripture. Here is some modern scripture that teaches us
doctrine.
·
President Boyd K. Packer: If you are acquainted with the
scriptures there is no question-personal or social or political or
occupational - that need go unanswered.
Therein is contained the fullness of the everlasting gospel. Therein we find principles of truth that will
resolve every confusion and every problem and every dilemma that will face the
human family or any individual in it.
If we were to make a list from
those scriptures of the doctrines taught and what the reading the scriptures
does, it would be a powerful list:
·
have
the Holy Ghost
·
tell
us all things we should do
·
Answers
all questions
·
Profitable
for reproof, correction
·
Teach
us of Christ
And the list could go on and on.
And the list could go on and on.
Now that we know the doctrine, we
must understand it. I believe that one
of the easiest ways to really understand the doctrine is to live it, to apply
it, and let it influence your life. For
a blog post it may be hard to live it, so I thought I would share some stories
of others who had lived the doctrine, who have read the scriptures and
experienced some of the promises listed above.
The
Story of Parley P. Pratt
In
1830, then 23, Parley felt a call to abandon his farm and preach the gospel,
believing that God would provide financially for him and his wife Thankful.
After selling their property at “great sacrifice,” the young couple, with $10
in their pockets, took a boat from Cleveland, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York. At Buffalo they took passage on the Erie
Canal, headed for Albany. But Parley followed a prompting to disembark
prematurely at Newark.
As a result, Parley was introduced
to the Book of Mormon. He later recalled: “I read all day; eating was a burden,
I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when the night came, for I
preferred reading to sleep.” Feeling the confirmation of the Holy Ghost, Parley
wrote: “I knew and comprehended that the book was true. … My joy was now full.”
The
Story of Laura Swenson (Taken from “Finding Answers in the Book of Mormon”
Ensign, Jan 2012)
Laura Swenson from Idaho, USA, came
home one day frustrated and in tears. She was not married, and her plans for
college and the career she had dreamed of were falling apart. “I wondered if I
was even going anywhere,” she wrote.
“I was prompted to turn to the Book
of Mormon. In the first four verses of 1 Nephi 18, I found an answer to my concerns.
These verses describe the ship that Nephi built to carry his family to the promised land. It was
‘of curious workmanship’ and not built ‘after the manner of men’; rather, it
was built ‘after the manner which the Lord had shown’ (verses 1–2). Nephi consulted with the Lord
often while building the ship. When the ship was finished, ‘it was good, and …
the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine’ (verse 4).
“I realized that my own journey was
of ‘curious workmanship.’ It didn’t fit the patterns of men but would get me
where I needed to go if I sought the Lord’s guidance. These verses were a
beacon of light in a dark moment. My problems didn’t end overnight, but I found
the perspective that I needed. I am now in a rewarding career for which I had
never planned.”
The
Story of Scott Kneeland
Yes, my own personal story. When I was 17 years old I had a girlfriend
who, although a member of the church, wasn’t a huge fan of me going on a
mission. Neither was her family (the
mother was also a member, but the father wasn’t at the time). I also began to question whether or not I
wanted to spend two years teaching the gospel, when I could further my
education and get into a career quicker.
This would make it a lot easier for my girlfriend and I to get married. At the time, this was one thing I really
wanted to happen. As I wondered about
going on a mission, I thought I would give reading the Book of Mormon a try and
see if that would help. Of course it
did! It didn’t take me long to get to 1
Nephi 7:12 which reads: Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord
is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it
so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him.” I felt as if this verse perfectly fit
me. I had forgotten a lot of things, but
mostly that the Lord is able to do all things.
It was my job to be faithful and submit myself to His will. This scripture helped me understand what I
needed to do: I knew I needed to serve a mission. I am eternally grateful that I was able to
know and understand “His will” for me and my future family.
I am sure that several of us can
share similar stories of how reading the scriptures and the Book of Mormon has
changed our lives. I am even more sure
that several of us have a similar testimony of the Book of Mormon. So, the real question now is, why do we
struggle to read as often as we should?
To wrap this up, I want to share
one quick thought with you and one last story that have helped me when I think about
reading the scriptures. Here is my first
thought: Imagine that I gave you $1,440.00 just because I wanted to. Here’s the catch, you have to give me $10.00
back. That’s it! How many of you would do that? We all would!
Here where this helps with reading the scriptures. There are 1,440 minutes in a day. Is it really that hard to find 10 to read the
scriptures. The answer to the question
is “it depends on where reading the
scriptures is on your list of priorities.” If it is first, then it is super easy, but if
it’s last, then it is a lot harder. In
what turned out to be Elder Richard G. Scott’s last conference address he said
the following:
Scott_Oct 2014_Read the scriptures from Scott Kneeland on Vimeo.
Scott_Oct 2014_Read the scriptures from Scott Kneeland on Vimeo.
I chose to use the video because I
wanted us to all see how animated he is when he talks about the scriptures. If
we read Elder Scott’s quote carefully, it seems like there is nothing more
important we can do, so basically the idea is “wherever scripture reading is on
your list of priorities, move it up!”
One
last story. When I was teaching seminary
I, like most seminary teachers, struggled to get my students to read the
scriptures. So one day I decided to
start “The One Wimpy Verse Club.” The Diary
of a wimpy kid books were big at the time and so that is where the word Wimpy
came from. I am not calling the scriptures
wimpy, I only wanted something catchy to get the students excited. The whole idea was for each student to commit
to reading one verse a day. That’s it,
nothing more, just one verse. They all
agreed to read one verse each day. A
couple weeks later, a young man came into class and said “I’m onto you Bro
Kneeland. I know what you’re trying to
do.” I then asked, “What are you talking
about?” He then said “The one wimpy
verse club. I was only going to read one
verse every day, but after a couple days, I got interested in the story, so I
read more. Last night I read for about
half an hour.”
If
we can commit to read the scriptures and stick with that commitment, even if it
is only one verse, the Spirit will touch us and we will be strengthened,
blessed, or any of the things we talked about earlier, we just need to make the
commitment.
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