The Purpose of Scriptures
What
3 And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates; and that the things which were written should be kept for the instruction of my people, who should possess the land, and also for otherwise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord.
1-Nephi commanded to write the ministry and prophecies on these plates
2-for the instruction of his people
3-for purposes which are known unto the Lord.
Why
Sacred records are important. They become scriptures that shape the lives of the people who embrace them. They give us knowledge, examples and teachings that help us understand our purpose in life, or per-existence and why we are here, what we should do while we are here and where we will go in the next life depending on what we do here. They tell us of our Eternal Father in Heaven and the plan of happiness.
These records would bless all the descendants of Lehi who would accept them. They would be preserved and brought for in our day to bless us and not only us but to bless our ancestors as we do their temple work vicariously.
The Book of Mormon is a testament of Jesus Christ who is Our redeemer and exemplar. It is another testament of the New Testament and the Old Testament. What a wonderful blessing we have to be able to study from these scriptures along with the modern day revelation in the Doctrine & Covenants and the teachings of our modern day apostles given us in our general conferences in these latter days.
The Lord knew what would happen in our days and that Satan would try to destroy the work. When a part of the translation Joseph Smith made was lost he received this counsel.
D&C 10:
8 And because you have delivered the writings into his hands, behold, wicked men have taken them from you.
9 Therefore, you have delivered them up, yea, that which was sacred, unto wickedness.
10 And, behold, Satan hath put it into their hearts to alter the words which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated, which have gone out of your hands.
11 And behold, I say unto you, that because they have altered the words, they read contrary from that which you translated and caused to be written;
12 And, on this wise, the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan, that he may destroy this work;
13 For he hath put into their hearts to do this, that by lying they may say they have caught you in the words which you have pretended to translate.
14 Verily, I say unto you, that I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his evil design in this thing.
15 For behold, he has put it into their hearts to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God, in asking to translate it over again.....
38 And now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things that you have written, which have gone out of your hands, is engraven upon the plates of Nephi;
39 Yea, and you remember it was said in those writings that a more particular account was given of these things upon the plates of Nephi.
40 And now, because the account which is engraven upon the plates of Nephi is more particular concerning the things which, in my wisdom, I would bring to the knowledge of the people in this account—
41 Therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on the plates of Nephi, down even till you come to the reign of king Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained;
42 And behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those who have altered my words.
43 I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil.
44 Behold, they have only got a part, or an abridgment of the account of Nephi.
45 Behold, there are many things engraven upon the plates of Nephi which do throw greater views upon my gospel; therefore, it is wisdom in me that you should translate this first part of the engravings of Nephi, and send forth in this work.
Pattern
Exodus 32:16
16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
3 Nephi 23:13
13 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded.
3 Nephi 27:25
25 For behold, out of the books which have been written, and which shall be written, shall this people be judged, for by them shall their works be known unto men.
1 Nephi 14:28
28 And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw.
3 Nephi 27:26
26 And behold, all things are written by the Father; therefore out of the books which shall be written shall the world be judged.
Doctrine and Covenants 18:30
30 And you have that which is written before you; wherefore, you must perform it according to the words which are written.
Doctrine and Covenants 128:7
7 You will discover in this quotation that the books were opened; and another book was opened, which was the book of life; but the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works; consequently, the books spoken of must be the books which contained the record of their works, and refer to the records which are kept on the earth. And the book which was the book of life is the record which is kept in heaven; the principle agreeing precisely with the doctrine which is commanded you in the revelation contained in the letter which I wrote to you previous to my leaving my place—that in all your recordings it may be recorded in heaven.
Doctrine and Covenants 69:3
3 And also that he shall continue in writing and making a history of all the important things which he shall observe and know concerning my church;
Doctrine and Covenants 76:113
113 This is the end of the vision which we saw, which we were commanded to write while we were yet in the Spirit.
Conference
10/06 Hales
Holy Scriptures : the Power Of God Unto Salvation
The fate of these civilizations, as recorded in scripture, is a testimony to all the world: if we don’t have the word of God or don’t cling to and heed the word of God, we will wander off in strange paths and be lost as individuals, as families, and as nations.
As with voices from the dust, the prophets of the Lord cry out to us on earth today: take hold of the scriptures! Cling to them, walk by them, live by them, rejoice in them, feast on them. Don’t nibble. They are “the power of God unto salvation”3 that lead us back to our Savior Jesus Christ.
If the Savior were among us in the flesh today, He would teach us from the scriptures as He taught when He walked upon the earth. In the synagogue at Nazareth, “there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. … And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”4 Later when the Sadducees and Pharisees posed a difficult question, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”5 And after His
...The fate of these civilizations, as recorded in scripture, is a testimony to all the world: if we don’t have the word of God or don’t cling to and heed the word of God, we will wander off in strange paths and be lost as individuals, as families, and as nations.
As with voices from the dust, the prophets of the Lord cry out to us on earth today: take hold of the scriptures! Cling to them, walk by them, live by them, rejoice in them, feast on them. Don’t nibble. They are “the power of God unto salvation”3 that lead us back to our Savior Jesus Christ.
If the Savior were among us in the flesh today, He would teach us from the scriptures as He taught when He walked upon the earth. In the synagogue at Nazareth, “there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. … And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”4 Later when the Sadducees and Pharisees posed a difficult question, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”5 And after His
Brothers and sisters, I testify that the scriptures have been “kept and preserved [for us] by the hand of the Lord … for a wise purpose in him.”9Lehi prophesied, “These plates of brass should never perish; neither should they be dimmed any more by time.”10 The Lord covenanted with Enos to preserve and bring forth the scriptures “in his … due time.”11 Of the Book of Mormon, the prophet Moroni recorded, it was “written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed.”12The scriptures which we have give prophecies and promises, and they have been fulfilled in our day.
What a glorious blessing! For when we want to speak to God, we pray. And when we want Him to speak to us, we search the scriptures; for His words are spoken through His prophets. He will then teach us as we listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
If you have not heard His voice speaking to you lately, return with new eyes and new ears to the scriptures. They are our spiritual lifeline. Behind the darkness of the Iron Curtain, the Saints survived because they heard His voice through the scriptures. In other parts of the world, when members couldn’t attend Church for a time, they continued to worship God because they heard His voice through the scriptures. Throughout all the wars of the past century and the conflicts that rage today, Latter-day Saints survive because they hear His voice through the scriptures. For the Lord has said, “The scriptures shall be given … to the salvation of mine own elect; for they will hear my voice, and shall see me, and shall not be asleep, and shall abide the day of my coming; for they shall be purified,even as I am pure.”13
Over two millennia ago, Isaiah wrote of the word of God, “Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.”14 That time is now. This world needs the scriptures today. Before the coming of the Savior, it was necessary that all God’s children be tutored in the preparatory law of Moses, which allowed“an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.”15 Many in this world still live by that fearsome code, and the evidence of it is around us.
“And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”21
We are living in the latter days, brothers and sisters, in the fulness of times. We must remember that we have control over who we are no matter how difficult the world becomes. Like those in 1 Nephi, the true and faithful will be able to withstand the fiery darts of the adversary when he is loosed upon this earth.22Despite all the turmoil in the world, when the Savior comes to His temple, as He did in the Book of Mormon, those who are true and faithful will be there. May we be among them, I so pray,in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Apply
I can only mirror the words of Elder Hales “If you have not heard His voice speaking to you lately, return with new eyes and new ears to the scriptures. They are our spiritual lifeline”
Hymns
277- As I Search The Holy scriptures
Children-
109-Search Ponder and Pray
2 Nephi 4:15
15 And upon these I write the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass. For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children.
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