Only a short thought this morning. Maybe something better tomorrow.
Of course you need the Spirit when you read the scriptures. You should pray for understanding; you should listen for whisperings; you should record impressions. Don’t misinterpret me as saying that you don’t need the Spirit when you read the scriptures.
But if you’re not at least sometimes also using your mind, at least reading your Bible dictionary, weak as it is, and chasing through cross references, obscure as they are; if you’re not at least sometimes reading what scholars of ancient languages and ancient history have to say; if you’re not consulting recent LDS works on how the scriptures work as literature and history, and why this or that word should be read with an antique meaning over the modern meaning you assume is the only one; if you’re not questioning the scriptures, and questioning your assumptions, and questioning the traditions you have received –
– then you are doing what Oliver Cowdery had been doing before the Lord taught him a better way: You have not understood; you have supposed that the Spirit would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask. You must study it out in your mind; then, not before, you must ask the Lord if it be right. Then you’ll feel the “burning bosom” or the “stupor of thought.”
And if you’re unwilling or unable to do your part, at the very least you can refrain from condemning others who do more.
Back in April 1989 General Conference, President Hinckley read us President Benson’s masterful sermon on pride. One of the lines from that sermon comes to mind when I read your thoughts.
Anti-intellectualism is a powerful force in our society and in the Church. The first year one of my children attended seminary, the local leaders led an introductory meeting and told us that they didn’t care if our kids learned a single thing in seminary; they just cared that they felt the spirit. I was beyond dismayed.
Without study and learning a person is open to every emotionally manipulative feel-good wind of doctrine. There is a reason the iron rod represents the word of God, and we stray from learning and studying the word of God at our own peril, and that of our children, and others under our stewardship.
People who preach anti-intellectualism, who either imply or state that study and learning and questioning are inferior to ignorance, very much need to question whether they are suffering from “pride from the bottom looking up.”
“something better tomorrow”? This is something pretty important and great today. Do you have a few basic recommendations?
Excellent comment, Amy, and thank you for this post, Ardis.
In my experience, seminary (and EFY, and everything else for the youth) seems to want to be entertaining and engaging first and foremost. Intellectually stimulating probably wouldn’t even come in on the list. When I hear they’re putting feeling the Spirit first, I think that’s a huge step up from memorizing obnoxiously catchy scripture mastery songs, repeating inspiring yet apocryphal stories, and watching cheesy videos. Hopefully, learning will be the next great innovation in church education.
Thank you for the post Ardis, it’s a good reminder of the importance of study by faith.
Yes, Ardis’s and Amy’s comments should be shared far and wide.
Thank you, Ardis. I completely agree.
And thank you, Amy, for your spot-on comment as well.
Excellent. I have often related this to Captain Moroni’s wartime comments-
Alma 60:11, 21 “could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you? Behold, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain…. do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver us, while we sit upon our thrones and do not make use of the means which the Lord has provided for us?”
We’ve got “means” that God has provided: all kinds of tools, resources, commentaries, etc. Do you think God will just reveal stuff to you while you ignore those means God has already provided?
I read very little supplementary texts to the scriptures. As a child, I pored over the Topical Guide and the Bible Dictionary during sacrament meeting.
But other than that, while I don’t shut down supplementary stuff if I happen to hear it, I find it best to ponder within myself and ask God. I am no scholar, not even a little bit. But I use personal observation and experience with the scriptures to gain understanding.
So I guess I agree with half of what you say.
I may be guilty of “condemning others who do,” but I find that many of those who immerse themselves in scriptural scholarship gradually replace the scripture and the Lord’s voice with that scholarship. This is a trap I’m willing to avoid.
I think, like with many things, there is a balance that must be struck.
Amen, Ardis.
Not wanting to use scholarly resources as a tool for understanding scripture seems like not using weights as a tool for exercise. Sure, you can accomplish a fair amount without tools, but you limit yourself tremendously. Fears of becoming musclebound or apostate overnight are unfounded — if you notice an undesirable change, you can always change what you’re doing. If you start with the Spirit, and care about keeping it, then I expect you have the sensitivity to notice if it leaves.
One has to be careful, i think, about assuming that someone who does something (e.g., studying the scriptures) differently is doing it wrong, rather than simply doing it differently.