Post
# 78 – How God
Speaks to Me Through the Scriptures
Dear Family and Friends
I have been thinking, since we are studying the
scriptures together, I thought it might be good to share some insight as to ways
to get the most out of our scripture study. I have been doing some searching to
find some information that would be helpful for my study of the scriptures and
of course I wanted to share my findings with you. I have done some underlining😊 again,
I hope it doesn’t distract you too much in your reading.
The scriptures are the word of God, written by prophecy
and preserved throughout the generations so that we would have them in our hands—in
our own language. The Lord prepared The Book of Mormon as a companion and a
compliment to the Bible. I have found so much clarification of the teachings found
in the Bible within the pages of the Book of Mormon and its companions – the Doctrine
and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. If you have not read these
priceless volumes of scripture you really ought to do so. It will change your
life and it may also change the way you study the scriptures. You will find
that they all kind of fit together like a priceless puzzle, 😊
President Henry B. Eyring shares his thoughts on how God
speaks to him through the scriptures. I am still working on my listening skills
so I was looking up ways to improve how I can hear the Lord through the
scriptures. I am trying to be better at making my scripture study more a
priority in my life. I love reading and studying the scriptures but I am
easily distracted or get side-tracked easily😊 so I
am always working on doing better. Since I had my strokes years ago, I have
struggled with this remembering thing.
I will walk into a room to do something or to get
something but when I get there, I do not know why it was that I even went
there. I might see something out of place in the room, hum… like a dish towel
for example, so I take it to the kitchen to put it away. When I get to the kitchen,
I see that the dishes need done, so I figure I brought the towel to the kitchen
to do my dishes. Then I may see that there is something in the kitchen that needs
putting away in another room, let’s say …. A toy, so I take the toy to the toy
box and see that it needs cleaned. And yes, you guessed it, I start cleaning
the toy box! Completely forgetting where I was going or what I was doing in the
first place.
Now I have dishes half done, a dish towel sitting on the
table – which still needs wiping, and a toy box that I had begun to clean only
to hear the dryer buzzer go off and away I go again, down to the washroom. I get
the laundry out of the dryer and start folding it when the phone rings… or just
the other day I was at work and my granddaughter test me to ask me for my
potato salad recipe because she didn’t want to mess it up. She was making it
for dinner that night. I thought I would
text it to her during my lunch. I had just begun the text when one of my
students had an upset…
Well, needless to say, I never finished the text to her
and I didn’t even think about the fact that she had needed the recipe that day,
for that dinner… the one that has past and I didn’t even remember until I purchased
some potatoes tonight for our supper☹ am I
a mess or what?? All residual effects from having had multiple strokes and now
having my chemo brain. I am always beginning again. Cleaning a room and making
a mess of the whole house to get the one room cleaned. There must be a better
way. Right? Welcome to my crazy life! And now you don’t have to wonder why I ramble😊
How God Speaks to Me Through the Scriptures
President Henry B. Eyring
February 6, 2019
When I was a little boy I was given a
small Bible. If I remember correctly, it was only the New Testament. As I read
I was drawn to 1 Corinthians 13, which is about charity, and, even as a child,
I knew that for me that chapter was about the family I would someday have.
Years later, before I was married, I received a patriarchal blessing. In that
blessing the patriarch described the feeling that would someday be in my home.
He described exactly what I had felt years before when I read 1 Corinthians 13,
and I knew that the scriptures were a way that God speaks to me.
I don’t
believe that our family ever read the scriptures together or apart. I don’t
even remember ever having seen a Bible in our home as I was growing up. I think
when I purchased my first Bible when I was in college. I was single and pregnant,
and I needed and wanted to know God. I remember reading the Bible to my unborn
child every night before I went to bed. So I had a later beginning in my scripture
study than President Eyring. Though I know that the Bible and the Book of
Mormon are the word of God and He wants us to use them together so that we can
regain all of His truths and gospel teachings. I believe that our Heavenly Father wants each
one of us to have His gospel, to have His truths, He especially wants us to learn
and apply the Atonement.
Since my needs have changed over my
lifetime, God has communicated to me different things at different times. He has
used the scriptures to counsel me about my needs, my situation, and my life. But I learned
that I must go to the scriptures in order to find that counsel. We each
must go to the scriptures in order to find the counsel that Heavenly Father has
there personally for each one of us. Heavenly Father knows each one of us individually.
He wants what is best for us, the very best – He wants us to be the best that
we can be. He knows our potential. He loves each one of us, we are His children!
Sometimes I go to the scriptures for
doctrine. Sometimes I go to the scriptures for instruction. I often go
to the scriptures with the questions “What would God have me do?” or “What
would He have me feel?” Invariably I find new ideas and thoughts I have never
had before, and I receive inspiration, instruction, and answers to my questions
that benefit me personally. One of the reasons we go to the scriptures is
for counsel, another is to find His doctrine and for answers to our prayers. We
go to the scriptures for instruction. Whenever I read the scriptures, I often
find things that I am sure that I did not see there before, but it was just
what I needed at that time.
Here are some of the things I have
learned about effective scripture study and the ways scripture study can benefit
you personally.
Make scripture study a
priority.
The only way I can be sure that my busy
schedule doesn’t crowd out scripture study is to use a regular time to study
the scriptures. I have found that the beginning and the end of the day work
well for me. Those are times I can usually control. I established that pattern
when I was a boy, and it allowed me to read the Book of Mormon many
times before I was 18.
When I am in situations where I break out
of that pattern, it’s hard on me. I’m so used to regular scripture study that I
miss it if I find I can’t fit it in my day. It’s like food—I have to have it! I
usually don’t miss a regular meal, and I don’t miss regular scripture study
The scriptures can
teach what to do.
When I became an Apostle, Elder Richard
G. Scott suggested I buy an inexpensive set of scriptures and mark the
insights and revelations gained in my new calling. So I did, but I also
went further. I asked Heavenly Father what He would
have me do as an Apostle. I wrote down what I felt His answers were. I
typed, color coded, and pasted those answers in the front of my scriptures. For
example, the first one was “I am to be a witness that Christ is the Son of
God.” Then I read my scriptures looking for ideas that taught me how to witness
that Christ is the Son of God. Every time I came to something, I marked it in
blue. Soon I developed my own topical guide around what I thought the Lord
wanted me to do. I developed a clear understanding of what God wanted me to do
as His Apostle.
Going to the scriptures to learn what to
do can make all the difference. When I
have come to a crisis in my life, I have gone to the scriptures looking for
specific help. The Lord seemed to anticipate all of my problems and needs,
and He put help in the scriptures for me—if only I seek it.
Through the Book of Mormon, the Lord has
taught me about serving those around me, particularly my family. This
book reveals the will of the Lord for family life in a way that the other scriptures
don’t even approach. I believe that is largely because of its interesting
structure. It’s about families; it’s about people’s relationships. It
starts with families, it ends with families, and as I have studied the Book of
Mormon, I have come to love those families.
It has been meaningful for me to study
the scriptures with my family. When my children were little, gathering them
around and reading the scriptures together was easy. As they got a little
older, it could sometimes be harder to do. I realized early on that our family
scripture study worked better when my wife and I were able to show our children
how much we love the scriptures. My wife was essential in helping our family
build a relationship with the scriptures. She absolutely loves the scriptures.
If I ask her, “What would you like to do?” she says, “Oh, read me the
scriptures.” As we gathered as a family to study the scriptures, I think our
children saw that it wasn’t a duty for us to read the scriptures—it was a
pleasure.
The scriptures can
bring peace into our lives.
I’ve taught deacons. I’ve been an
assistant Scoutmaster. I found that when the boys began to get restless, I
would, just for a moment, read a scripture or two and we
would feel the peaceful influence of the word of God. The words of the
scriptures themselves bring the Holy Ghost, and even energetic boys can
feel the difference. So, when I am in a situation where I feel unrest, I find a
way to read a scripture. It has a calming effect on me because it invites
the Spirit.
The Holy Ghost confirms to me the word of God when I read it. That
confirmation, repeated often, has strengthened my faith. And it is by
faith that I have found the ability to overcome obstacles and resist
temptation, which has brought peace into my life.
I have learned that over a lifetime the scriptures can become a part
of me. I remember listening to Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–1985) of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and wondering to myself, “Now is he quoting the
scriptures, or are those his own words?” I have the dream of someday having
the word of God be so much a part of me that the Lord can draw upon it and I
can learn to think as He does. And in the process, I will have come unto Him.
So, tell
me what you learned from President Eyring’s teachings? He has shared ways he has
found for effective scripture study and the ways scripture study can benefit
you personally. I have underlined things that jumped out to me like 1. Make
scripture study a priority. use a regular time to study the scriptures. don’t
miss regular scripture study. Be sure not to miss your regular scripture study.
If you miss it once it is easier to let it slide another night, and another,
and pretty soon you are out of the habit… as for me it is always again, and
again, that I fall out of the habit… I am so human some days😊
2. The
scriptures can teach what to do. We must go to the scriptures to find counsel
from the Lord. We should mark the insights and revelations gained through our study. We must ask
Heavenly Father what He would have each of us do. Going to the scriptures to
learn what to do can make all the difference in the world. We should go to the
scriptures with the questions “What would God have me do?” or “What would He
have me feel?” and might I add – Who would He have me pray for today? Whom would
He have me serve today?
3. The
scriptures teach the importance of family.
Especially throughout the Book of Mormon. It begins with family and ends
with family. It is through these families that the Lord teaches us to serve those
around us but especially those within our own family. The Book of Mormon “reveals
the will of the Lord for family life in a way that the other scriptures don’t
even approach. It’s about families; it’s about people’s relationships.” We can benefit
greatly from studying the scriptures with our family. I love it when I can read
the scriptures and share the stories within those wonderful books with my
grandchildren.
When my
children were small, we would read the scripture readers together as well as
reading the scriptures. I don’t believe that we were able to read together on a
regular basis, but we did try. My husband wasn’t very active in the Church, and
the things that he associated with church – so we did struggle quite a bit. My children
would always prefer to spend their time with their dad, which I thought was important
as well. I have learned since that time that if you put the Lord first in your
life all other things will either fall into place.
Or
they will fall out of your life – those things that are truly needful and
important will remain with you, all of the other things that you maybe thought
were needed or important in your life seem to fall by the wayside as not so
important or needful any longer😊 It is amazing that even very young children can learn from the
scriptures if you as parents put for the effort. I read directly from the Bible
to my students who range in age sometimes from 3-5 years of age. I love it when
I hear them retelling the stories that we have learned from the scriptures.
4. The scriptures can bring
peace into our lives. I have found that reading from the scriptures, especially
the Book of Mormon just for a short time – even for a few minutes will bring peace
into each of your lives. I have to agree with President Eyring – reading the
scriptures when you feel unsettled has a wonderful calming effect on your whole
being. Even if you can’t exactly read them, if you know a verse or two that you
can recite in your mind during this unsettled or upset time can still give you
a peaceful feeling of having the Lord’s arms around you for just a moment. Prayer
can work wonders as well to bring you peace in a stressful, upsetting, or unsettling
time in your life.
Remember
– “The words of the scriptures themselves bring the Holy
Ghost” and reading the scriptures, will
have a calming effect on you because doing so will incite the Spirit into your
life. “The
Holy Ghost confirms to me the word of God when I read it. That confirmation,
repeated often, has strengthened my faith. And it is by faith that I have found
the ability to overcome obstacles and resist temptation, which has brought
peace into my life. I have learned that over a lifetime the scriptures can
become a part of me.”
I would
also like to “the dream of someday having the
word of God be so much a part of me that the Lord can
draw upon it and I can learn to think as He does. And in the process, I will
have come unto Him.” wouldn’t that be simply amazing
to be able to know the scriptures so well, to have the words of the scriptures
become so much a part of you
“that the Lord can draw upon
it and I can learn to think as He does. And in the process, I will have come
unto Him.” I am
sure that President Eyring is much closer to his dream than I am, but I will
keep working on it!
Well,
dear Family and Friends, I hope that each one of you will also ‘keep working on
it.’ Don’t ever give up! If you get off track – or out of the habit of reading
your scriptures every day. Or saying your prayers morning and night and having
a prayer in your heart all day long. Having family home evening or family night
once a week. Don’t give up. Keep trying to do as the Lord would have you do.
Ask Him
for help to be better at praying, reading and studying the scriptures alone and
with your family, and holding family home evening weekly, and He will help you
to accomplish your goal😊 I have learned this a little
too late for my family, but you do not have to repeat my mistakes, try again,
and again! Until my next post, please make it a spectacular week and for those
of you who may be ‘under the weather’ my prayer is for you to all get well soon😊
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