THE LIVING WORD

 

I did some research on why the scriptures are called ‘the living word of God’ and here is what I have found: they are given by revelation and understood by revelation and revelation cannot be dead for as long as God lives; they are given to men by a living God; they possess a dynamic and the transformative power that continues to speak to men from every time and culture to convince, inspire and guide; they possess a power to penetrate to the core of a person’s being to induce personal transformation.

I have a close friend who has told me more than once that if it wasn’t for the Book of Mormon, she would no longer be alive. I assume the Book of Mormon gave her the will to live in her darkest moments. I can relate to this and I can testify of the power of the entire sacred canon of scripture to help us survive the darkness. This is what the living word of God means to me.

There was a time 30 years ago when I thought my life was over. I was in the darkest abyss and wanted to end it. Then I made a decision that liberated me from the most painful situation I have ever been in and I turned to the scriptures to understand how to come to God who could deliver me from the excruciating pain I was in.

In my searching of the scriptures, I found the Christ, of whom they testify, at a much deeper level than ever before (John 5:39; 3 Nephi 23:5). I learnt who He really is as the Saviour of our souls and what power He has to restore us to life. I learnt all about the Atonement and how it can save us from adverse situations in mortality and how through it we can be raised to immortality through the power of the resurrection.  I learnt that my life was not over but that it was just beginning. The scriptures gave me life.

The more I studied, the more I craved the power to live that it gave me. It is a life line I still cannot do without. Not only did it give me a desire to live but it brought me to one person I now cannot live without. In my 30 years of scripture study, I have seen the Saviour on every page. I have seen who He is and what He is like.

In the Old Testament I see the merciful Jehovah; in the New Testament I see the loving Saviour; in the Book of Mormon I see the promised Messiah; in the Doctrine and Covenants I see the powerful God and in the Pearl of Great Price I see the dutiful Son and Redeemer of all mankind. And in all this I see life……given by the living Christ.

 

I stand in awe of Your sacrifice

And Your soul’s pain;

The body freely given

For nothing of You to remain.

 

I ache, I ache,

Knowing the cost;

Then I hear Your living word

And I am comforted

Knowing nothing is lost. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Living Word by Danny Hahlbohm)