Scriptures (Lesson 10)

As I taught this lesson this afternoon, I began by quoting from Elder D. Todd Christofferson's conference talk from April 2010 which gave an outline of the last day of the life of William Tyndale.  It is amazing to me to think of a man being strangled and having his body burned at the stake for the "crime" of translating the Bible into English, but this is what happened to him.  Back in the 80s (and probably in the years previous) it seemed fashionable to bash the monks who transcribed the Bible as the culprits who removed the "plain and most precious" (1 Nephi 13:26) parts of the Bible from the original text--I freely admit to doing so myself.  The change in my attitude over this particular scenario came when I read an Ensign article by Stephen E. Robinson titled "Warring against the Saints of God" which describes in great detail the identity of the "great and abominable church" who removed the "plain and most precious" parts of the Biblical record (ibid).  In his article, Brother Robinson states: "The notion of shifty-eyed medieval monks rewriting the scriptures is unfair and bigoted. We owe those monks a debt of gratitude that anything was saved at all" (Ensign, Jan. 1988, 38 ).

The Eighth Article of Faith states: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly".  William Tyndale's contribution to this work of translation was of such high quality that, according to Elder Christofferson, it "became the foundation for almost all future English translations of the Bible, most notably the King James Version."  He concludes: "William Tyndale was not the first, nor the last, of those who in many countries and languages have sacrificed, even to the point of death, to bring the word of God out of obscurity. We owe them all a great debt of gratitude" (Ensign, May 2010, 32).  Sound familiar?  I am grateful for Brother Robinson's contribution to changing my attitude concerning those who worked so hard--and in certain cases sacrificed their very lives--to give me the opportunity to have the Bible in this day.

I didn't mention it in my last "lesson" post, but the reason why I posted for Lesson 9 was because I was asked to substitute in Gospel Doctrine the week I was to teach Lesson 8.  Jennifer switched with me, allowing me to teach her week while she took mine.  The lesson for Gospel Doctrine that day was about Joseph, Jacob's son who was sold into slavery in Egypt.   I found myself focusing mostly on Joseph's time in prison and the fact that he remained there longer than he expected because the butler forgot to mention his kind act of interpreting his dream for two years.

I asked the class to think about Joseph's situation and "liken [the scriptures] unto [themselves]" (1 Nephi 19:24).  How would they have handled such a predicament?  It would have been very easy to get angry at Heavenly Father and lash out at Him.  Joseph had done nothing to deserve prison--he'd run away from Potiphar's wife (see Genesis 39:7-13).  Some people in similar circumstances would have blamed God for their lot.  Being human, I feel it's reasonable to believe that some of these thoughts haunted Joseph's mind, but the scriptural record shows us that he did not allow those possible thoughts to take hold and destroy his relationship with Heavenly Father.  Instead, we read that Joseph made the most of his situation.  From the moment his brothers sold him into slavery, I believe Joseph gained a deeper understanding that God was with him and would not desert him.  Even through this setback with Potiphar, Joseph so impressed the keeper of the prison that he "committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it" (Genesis 39:22).  It appears Joseph followed the advice of Elder Joseph B. Wirthin's mother: "come what may, and love it."

One of the unique aspects of the scriptures when it comes to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fact that we believe in more scripture than just the Bible.  The concluding line of the Eighth Article of Faith is "we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God."  Not only do we believe the Book of Mormon to be scripture, we also include the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.  All four of these scriptural records form the basis of our doctrine, serving to strengthen our relationship with our Father in Heaven and our Elder Brother Jesus Christ.  In my post concerning prophets, I mentioned if we are to believe that God is the same yesterday, today and in the future, it shouldn't be difficult to believe He would not give us prophets today since He did so in former times.  The same holds true for the scriptures.  Just as the prophetic lines have been reinstated, the scriptural record hasn't been severed in our day either.  Speaking through Nephi, the Lord declared: "I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because . . . I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another" (2 Nephi 29:9, emphasis added).  That seems pretty straightforward to me.  Who are we to put a muzzle on God and imagine to ourselves a completion of His words with the last page of the Bible?

A blessing we children receive through the scriptures is an understanding of how to deal with life's triumphs or setbacks.  The scriptural records do this by showing us how the earlier Saints dealt with similar situations.  To my mind, this is why Nephi counseled his people to "liken" the scriptural stories to themselves.  While the general context might have been different, the accounts given by the scriptures can easily be taken and applied to our present day situations.  As long as we don't "wrest" the scriptural stories to gratify our own pride or vain ambition, they can be "updated" into our modern day setting to teach us precious truths we might otherwise miss.  As Elder D. Todd Christofferson has taught, the scriptures "enlarge our memory by helping us always to remember the Lord and our relationship to Him and the Father" and they also help "us not forget what we and earlier generations have learned" (Ensign, May 2010, 33).

There are two definitions of the scriptures that I have heard over the years that I have liked.  The first was to consider the scriptures like "letters from home."  For years I tried to remember where I heard that phrase, but had no luck.  I may have heard it in a talk given in Sacrament meeting or from another Seminary teacher during the time I also taught Seminary.  Wondering if its origin came from a Conference talk, I ran the phrase through the lds.org search engine and got a "hit."  I found that the origin of the phrase came from an 1985 address given by Ardeth G. Kapp, former Young Women General President.  Speaking about the scriptures, she taught: "The holy scriptures are like letters from home telling us how we can draw near to our Father in Heaven" (Ensign, Nov. 1985, 94).  I suppose now, nearly 30 years later, we might be more inclined to think of them as text messages from home, but no matter how they are described, the idea of "home" is what resonates for me.  For many people, no matter their age, the concept of home is one that has a positive connotation.  Phone calls, notes, letters, emails, text messages, no matter the specific medium, the idea of a message from someone who knows us and cares deeply about us has a comforting, soothing feeling.  Our Heavenly Father has sent us here to earth to be tested in the exercise of our moral agency.  While He cannot superimpose His choices upon us, He still "speaks" to us through the scriptures, encouraging, cheering, warning, counseling with us.  I find a great amount of comfort in that concept.

The other definition of the scriptures comes from Elder Richard G. Scott from his October 2011 conference address.  In his talk, Elder Scott likened the scriptures to "packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high."  He also called them "stalwart friends that are not limited by geography or calendar. They are always available when needed. Their use provides a foundation of truth that can be awakened by the Holy Ghost " (Ensign, Nov. 2011, 6).  I like this definition because it reinforces what the Lord declared to Joseph Smith: "For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ " (D&C 84:45).

Letters from home, stalwart friends, packets of light; I think all of these metaphors do a wonderful job of defining what the scriptures can mean to anyone who makes a daily habit of reading them.  I am grateful that Jennifer wanted daily scripture reading to be a part of our family from the day we were married.  After we left the reception, we stopped at a hotel for the night; it was late and we wouldn't begin our 3 day honeymoon in Santa Barbara until the next day.  Imagine my surprise as I finished bringing our things into the room found my wife sitting on the bed with her scriptures open, asking that we begin a habit of reading from that moment.  I can honestly say, since that night, I can count the number of times we have missed our family appointment with the scriptures on one hand.  We may read only a verse or two and there have been times when all of us have been so tired we may not remember what we read, but the spirit and the enlightenment the scriptures bring into our home has been very helpful throughout the years.  Personally, many of my profound spiritual experiences have come because I was reading from the scriptures.  I am very grateful to hear Father's voice on a daily basis.