SWK #6: Discovering the Scriptures for Ourselves, Part I

Today's lesson was prepared by Tammy Stafford, but she wasn't feeling well, and so her mother, Lea, presented it to us. It was chapter 6 in the Spencer W. Kimball manual: Discovering the Scriptures for Ourselves. The lesson was divided into two main parts: 1) how scripture study helps individuals progress and 2) how the growth of individual members helps the church as a whole progress. The first part of the lesson covered five reasons that God wants us to read the scriptures, with quotes to back up each:

1) To get answers to prayer or personal revelation: "The years have taught me that if we will energetically pursue this worthy personal goal [to study the scriptures] in a determined and conscientious manner, we shall indeed find answers to our problems and peace in our hearts" (SWK 66).

2) To increase our knowledge and peace: "[When we read the scriptures] we shall experience the Holy Ghost broadening our understanding, find new insights, witness an unfolding pattern of all scripture; and the doctrines of the Lord shall come to have more meaning to us than we ever thought possible. As a consequence, we shall have greater wisdom with which to guide ourselves and our families" (SWK 66). "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee" (Hosea 4:6)

3) To keep our connection to God: "I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns...the scriptures are available to nearly every soul, and, through them, men can become intimately acquainted with their Heavenly Father, his Son Jesus Christ" (SWK 67).

4) To gain power against temptation and adversity: Matthew 4:1-11, especially note how the Savior himself used/ quoted scripture when tempted.

5) To strengthen our faith and testimony: "I find that all I need to do to increase my love for my Maker and the gospel and the Church and my brethren is to read the scriptures. I have spent many hours in the scriptures...I cannot see how anyone can read the scriptures and not develop a testimony of their divinity and of the divinity of the work of the Lord, who is the spokesman in the scriptures" (SWK 67).

When Lea asked us to share additional ideas on why God wants us to read the scriptures, here are some of the things that were said. Someone (I can't remember who) said that according to Elder Packer, if we want to talk to God, we pray. If we want God to talk to us, we read the scriptures. A. said that reading the scriptures helps her gain confidence in her standing before God. R. said that we learn in the first book of Nephi how important scriptures are in preventing us from dwindling in unbelief. E. said that she'd heard that even with a living prophet we would dwindle in unbelief without scriptures. T. said that by reading the scriptures, we can see things that we want to imitate or avoid in the lives recorded there, without having to learn those things from personal experience.

This is the end of part one of the lesson. I'll post part two soon.