1
Nephi 19:23
Liken the Scriptures Unto Ourselves
What
23 And
I did read many things unto them which were written in the abooks of
Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the
Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by
the prophet bIsaiah;
for I did cliken all
scriptures unto us, that it might be for our dprofit and
learning.
Nephi read the
scriptures to his people and LIKENED them to themselves.
Why
Nephi and his people
likened the scriptures unto themselves so that they could understand
who they applied to and could help them with their lives. The
scriptures can be applied to our lives as well. The study of each
verse is a study to learn just how each and every verse applies to
our lives in the later days and each person should apply it to
themselves.
Pattern
Ex.
17:14
14
And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a
memorial in a book,
and rehearse it in
the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance
of Amalek from
under heaven.
11 Ne.
5:11
11
And he beheld that they did contain the five books of
Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also
of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents;
Moses
1:41 (40–41)
40
And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this earth
upon which thou standest; and thou shalt writethe
things which I shall speak.
41 And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like unto thee; and they shall be had again among the children of men—among as many as shall believe.
41 And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like unto thee; and they shall be had again among the children of men—among as many as shall believe.
Isa.
1:11
The vision of Isaiah the
son of Amoz, which he saw concerningJudah and
Jerusalem in the days ofUzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, andHezekiah,
kings of Judah.
1 Ne.
15:20
20
And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah,
who spakeconcerning the restoration of
the Jews, or of the house of Israel; and after they were restored
they should no more be confounded, neither should they be scattered
again. And it came to pass that I did speak many words unto my
brethren, that they were pacified and didhumble themselves
before the Lord.
2 Ne.
25:5 (2–6)
2
For I, Nephi, have not taught them many things concerning the manner
of the Jews; for theirworks were
works of darkness, and their doings were doings of abominations.
3 Wherefore, I write unto my people, unto all those that shall receive hereafter these things which I write, that they may know the judgments of God, that they come upon all nations, according to the word which he hath spoken.
4 Wherefore, hearken, O my people, which are of the house of Israel, and give ear unto my words; for because the words of Isaiah are not plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that are filled with thespirit of prophecy. But I give unto you a prophecy, according to the spirit which is in me; wherefore I shall prophesy according to the plainness which hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem with my father; for behold, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, that they may learn.
5 Yea, and my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah, for I came out from Jerusalem, and mine eyes hath beheld the things of the Jews, and I know that the Jews do understand the things of the prophets, and there is none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews like unto them, save it be that they are taught after the manner of the things of the Jews.
6 But behold, I, Nephi, have not taught my children after the manner of the Jews; but behold, I, of myself, have dwelt at Jerusalem, wherefore I know concerning the regions round about; and I have made mention unto my children concerning the judgments of God, which hathcome to pass among the Jews, unto my children, according to all that which Isaiah hath spoken, and I do not write them.
3 Wherefore, I write unto my people, unto all those that shall receive hereafter these things which I write, that they may know the judgments of God, that they come upon all nations, according to the word which he hath spoken.
4 Wherefore, hearken, O my people, which are of the house of Israel, and give ear unto my words; for because the words of Isaiah are not plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that are filled with thespirit of prophecy. But I give unto you a prophecy, according to the spirit which is in me; wherefore I shall prophesy according to the plainness which hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem with my father; for behold, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, that they may learn.
5 Yea, and my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah, for I came out from Jerusalem, and mine eyes hath beheld the things of the Jews, and I know that the Jews do understand the things of the prophets, and there is none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews like unto them, save it be that they are taught after the manner of the things of the Jews.
6 But behold, I, Nephi, have not taught my children after the manner of the Jews; but behold, I, of myself, have dwelt at Jerusalem, wherefore I know concerning the regions round about; and I have made mention unto my children concerning the judgments of God, which hathcome to pass among the Jews, unto my children, according to all that which Isaiah hath spoken, and I do not write them.
3 Ne.
23:1
1
And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these
things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these
things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.
Scriptures,
Value of
- law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.
Matt.
22:29
2 Tim.
3:16
16 All scripture is given
by inspiration of
God, and is
profitable for doctrine,
for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
Mosiah
1:55
I say unto you, my sons, were
it
not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by
the hand of God, that we might read and
understand of his mysteries,
and have his commandments always
before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in
unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the
Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not
believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of
their fathers, which are not correct.
D&C
33:16
16
And the Book of Mormon and the holy scriptures are given of me for
your instruction;
and the power of my Spirit quickeneth all
things.
2 Ne.
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.
Christ-
All
things testify of Christ, especially the scriptures which were
written for this purpose.
Conference
10/16
W. Mark BassettFor
Our Spiritual Development and Learning
Since
the Creation of this earth, our loving Father in Heaven has provided
direction, leadership, and instruction to His children through
prophets. His words have been passed down through these prophets and
are saved as scripture for our development and learning. Nephi
described it this way:
“For
my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them,
and writeth them for the
learning and the profit of my children.
“Behold,
my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth
continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.”2
In
addition, during past dispensations and in this last dispensation of
the fulness of times, worthy members of the Lord’s Church have been
blessed with the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, who aids
in our spiritual development and learning.
...Nephi’s
example of seeking knowledge included (1) a sincere desire,
(2) humility, (3) prayer, (4) trust in the prophet,
and an exercise of (5) faith, (6) diligence, and
(7) obedience. This method of seeking is in great contrast to my
“prying at the plates,” or trying to force an understanding of
things meant to be revealed according to the Lord’s timetable and
through the power of the Holy Ghost.
In
this modern age, we have come to expect that knowledge can and should
be obtained immediately; when information is not easily known or
accessible, it is often dismissed or mistrusted. Because of the
abundance of information, some unwittingly give more credibility to
available sources with an unknown origin rather than relying on the
Lord’s established pattern for receiving personal revelation. Jacob
could have been describing our time when he said: “But behold,
[they] were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of
plainness … and sought for things that they could not understand.
Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by
looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken
away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things
which they cannot understand, because they desired it.”8
“… Alma
30:44...The
scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is
a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of
it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in
their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.”17
Oct.
99 Neal A. Maxwell
Lessons
from Laman and Lemuel
Brothers
and sisters, on very thin pages, thick with meaning, are some almost
hidden scriptures. Hence we are urged to search,
feast, and ponder (see John
5:39; Alma
14:1; Alma
33:2; Moro.
10:3;2
Ne. 9:51).
Especially, however, we should also do more of what Nephi did, namely
“liken all scriptures unto [ourselves]” (1
Ne. 19:23).
Illustratively,
words which we should so “liken” occur twice with regard to Laman
and Lemuel, mistakenly regarded by some as merely “stick figures.”
Consider, therefore, how the applications of these next words go far
beyond those two: “And thus Laman and Lemuel, … did murmur …
because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them”
(1
Ne. 2:12;
see also Mosiah
10:14).
Failing
to understand the “dealings” of the Lord with His
children—meaning His relations with and treatment of His
children—is very fundamental. Murmuring is but one of the symptoms,
and not the only consequence either; in fact, brothers and sisters,
this failure affects everything else!
To
misread something so crucial constitutes a failure to know God, who
then ends up being wrongly seen as unreachable, uninvolved, uncaring,
and unable—a disabled and diminished Deity, really—about whose
seeming limitations, ironically, some then quickly complain.
4/11
Uchtdorf
Your
Potential, Your Privilege
The
words written in the scriptures and spoken in general conference are
for us to “liken them unto [ourselves],”7 not
for reading or hearing only.8 Too
often we attend meetings and nod our heads; we might even smile
knowingly and agree. We jot down some action points, and we may say
to ourselves, “That is something I will do.” But somewhere
between the hearing, the writing of a reminder on our smartphone, and
the actual doing, our “do it” switch gets rotated to the “later”
position. Brethren, let’s make sure to set our “do it” switch
always to the “now” position!
As
you read the scriptures and listen to the words of the prophets with
all your heart and mind, the Lord will tell you how to live up to
your priesthood privileges. Don’t let a day go by without doing
something to act on the promptings of the Spirit.
Revelation
and testimony do not always come with overwhelming force. For many, a
testimony comes slowly—a piece at a time. Sometimes it comes so
gradually that it is hard to recall the exact moment we actually knew
the gospel was true. The Lord gives us “line upon line, precept
upon precept, here a little and there a little.”10
In
some ways, our testimony is like a snowball that grows larger with
every turn. We start out with a small amount of light—even if it is
only a desire to believe. Gradually, “light cleaveth unto
light,”11 and
“he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more
light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect
day,”12when
“in due time [we] receive of his fulness.”13
Think
of what a glorious thing it is to reach beyond our earthly
limitations, to have the eyes of our understanding opened and receive
light and knowledge from celestial sources! It is our privilege and
opportunity as bearers of the priesthood to seek personal revelation
and to learn how to know the truth for ourselves through the sure
witness of the Holy Spirit.
Apply
Let
us earnestly seek the light of personal inspiration. Let us plead
with the Lord to endow our mind and soul with the spark of faith that
will enable us to receive and recognize the divine ministering of the
Holy Spirit for our specific life situations and for our challenges
and priesthood duties.It
helps if we can imagine ourselves right there at the time the
scripture is being written or the time that this experience is
happening. Ask “In what way does my life resemble that of Lehi? Or
whomever the scripture is about.
As
we read each verse of scripture, we can ask ourselves “how does
this apply to me now in my life? Then prayerfully ask the Father and
he will help us to see exactly how this scripture verse or story or
doctirne applies to us, now in these latter days.
He
will show you how it applies to you in your personal life in a very
personal way because he knows you and all the details of your life
and he loves you. The scriptures were written for this very purpose,
they are beautiful and inspiring.
Hymns
279-
Thy Holy Word
Children
109-
Search Ponder and Pray
2
Nephi 4:15 And
upon athese I bwrite the
things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon
the plates of brass. For my soul cdelighteth in
the scriptures, and my heart dpondereth them,
and writeth them for the elearning and
the profit of my children.
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