I mentioned my history professor in my post
yesterday who told us to be careful how we judge history because the times past
are not within our realm of experience. As an Admin for an LDS Facebook Group I
have to approve or decline submitted posts by the Group members. I had to
decline a post today which I could scripturally prove was doctrinally incorrect
. It was about the story of Sarah and Hagar.
The post I declined was incredibly subjective
and viewed totally through the lense of the 21st century. It’s only
normal I guess, because this is the century we live in and what we know here
and now is all that is within our frame of reference.
These are the three challenges I see when
studying the scriptures: 1. Written history is not subjective; 1. Written history
is incomplete; 3. Written history is at
the mercy of translators.
Firstly, history only deals with facts. It does
not delve into people’s emotions, their reactions to the times they lived in or
their mental and emotional capacities when dealing with life. History only
reports what can be seen by the naked eye. It is written by men from men’s
perspective.
Secondly, history is at best just a summary of
events. For instance, “the Gospels are not biographies of Jesus; they are a
collection of faith-promoting accounts from the Saviour’s ministry that, if
believed, will induce receptive souls to come unto Christ and partake of His
goodness.” (Bruce R., “Mortal Messiah Book 1”, p 371). Apostle John himself
attested to this when he wrote that the world itself could not contain all the
books that could be written about the Saviour’s life (John 21:25).
We just have to look at the length of the
scriptures we hold in our hands. The 28 short chapters of Genesis we just
finished studying covers the history of 2,000 years.
Thirdly, Joseph has said that certain errors
had crept into the Bible through ‘ignorant translators, careless transcribers,
or designing and corrupt priests’ (“Teachings of Joseph Smith” p 327). Some
verses in the Bible actually don’t make sense. Sometimes it is just a matter of
a word that was dropped out or one word has changed meaning over the centuries
of time. I am sometimes amazed at this when I consult the Joseph Smith Inspired
Version.
Consider the magnitude of this correction. In 2
Timothy 3:16 we are told “all scripture is given by inspiration of God” but the
JST reads: “And all scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable..” Just
the misplacement of the word “IS” totally altars the meaning.
So what then is the answer to the challenge of
understanding what we read? This very question is the very answer. We are not
to read the scriptures but we are to study and search them. This is the
direction of the Church we should take seriously:
“The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805-44) encouraged
the Saints to search the scriptures in order to receive an independent witness
of the truth and to obtain direct instructions from God: “Search the scriptures….and
ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ to manifest the
truth unto you…You will not then be dependent on man for the knowledge of God;
nor will there be any room for speculation. No, for when men receive their
instruction from Him that made them, they know how He will save them.” (“History
of the Church”, 1:282).
And one last tip: “FEAST upon the words of Christ, for behold the words
of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3).
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: And He Opened His Mouth and Taught Them by Michael Malm)
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