David A. Bednar: Living Water
This is a talk that I watched a couple of weeks ago. It's long (45 minutes), but it's good. I would seriously recommend this talk; however, this analysis may still be read and understood by those who have not watched this talk.
The
main thing that I took away from this talk was a new strategy to study
scriptures. Scriptures really should be the center of our lives, because all
they do is testify of Christ. If we are consistently studying the scriptures,
we will soon learn a lot. Those who study the scriptures will also become more
in tune with the Spirit and closer to Christ. That is the significance of daily
scripture study. In the dark ages, common people didn’t have scriptures. This
led to a lot of misunderstanding of doctrine and confusion in the church.
People sacrificed their lives so that we could have scripture. The scriptures,
just like Christ and just like water, will bring life and light into each of
our lives. We must study the scriptures.
Elder
Bednar introduced three ways to study the scriptures in his talk, and the first
of these is reading the scriptures all the way through. Reading the scriptures
will spark an interest in us as we read the stories and learn lessons from
them. Reading the scriptures will have a similar effect on us as reading
classics will. If we can look for principles in the scripture stories, we can
learn a lot, just like we learn principles in books like Robinson Crusoe, 1776,
and Pilgrims Progress. Of course, though,
the most important thing that we can do after reading the stories is applying
the principles to our lives. Otherwise, there really isn’t any point in reading
the scripture stories. For example, look at the story of Samuel the Lamanite in
the Book of Mormon. In this story, God asks Samuel to do something. Samuel
preaches to the people on top of a wall, and the people begin to shoot arrows
at him. However, even though these archers are superb, God protects Samuel.[1] We
can learn from this story to put our trust in God and not to be afraid when we
are doing the Lord’s work. If we can’t learn lessons from the stories and apply
them, then the only reason for reading the scriptures is to entertain
ourselves, and this has virtually no significance.
The
second strategy that Elder Bednar pointed out was searching out the scriptures
for pre-chosen topics. This perhaps has a more significant effect than the
first strategy, because this time we are searching for specific principles, not
just looking generally for principles. For example, if I wanted to learn about
the Godhead, then I would look for specific scriptures that talk about the
Godhead. This way, I would learn because I was searching for something
specific, not just anything generally. Say that you wanted to read a book, so
you went down to your bookshelf or to your library to look for a good book to
read. Chances are this could take awhile. However, if you had a specific book
in mind when you went to the library or to the bookshelf, then you would find
knowledge and learn a lot faster than the first scenario suggests. Looking for
specific topics certainly helps principles to come quicker and more
efficiently.
The
third strategy is looking for repeated phrases or topics in the scriptures.
Seeing something more than once has a greater effect on a person that seeing
something only once. 2 Corinthians 13:1 even says this: “In the mouth of two or
three witnesses shall every word be established.” Repeated phrases have a power
in the scriptures and in life. If you experience something twice or even three
times, that thing confirms to you what is true. Perhaps that is why the angel Moroni
appeared to Joseph Smith three times in one night instead of just once.[2]
Elder
Bednar promises that using these three strategies while studying the scriptures
in our lives will bring power into our lives. I know that this is true because
I’ve experienced it in my own life. Studying the scriptures certainly has
power. That is what I learned from this talk; and that is why studying the
scriptures is so important.
David A. Bednar: Living Water
Reviewed by IJ Pack
on
8:43 PM
Rating:
Reviewed by IJ Pack
on
8:43 PM
Rating:
Wonderful! What a great article to read before going to read my own scriptures this morning!
ReplyDeleteI testify that what you have written is good and powerful. There are many times that I have read the scriptures just in general search for principles, as I read them like a book. They become the voices of friends in my head, as Elder Scott puts it, and have brought so much light into my life.
As I seek for specific principles, like in word studies, I find that the second and third steps you mention come into play, although it is interesting to consider how they are different. In the second step, you have a "connection" or "theme" (say, "light of Christ") and you go seeking for ways to make those connections...typically based upon the research of others and the links that they give you. In the third step, you become the bridge builder, the one making the connections between themes, as you do the first step, and have the purpose of the third step in mind. Interesting!
In my patriarchal blessing, it states that if I do not seek to regularly immerse myself in the scriptures I WILL be led astray by the philosophies of men. In a world where we are bombarded with these philosophies, I know that it is only through a daily exposure to light and truth as a measure and standard of comparison that we can distinguish between the light and dark of the philosophies we hear and read.
You are an amazing youth, and I am privileged to know you!