Friday, June 23, 2017

1 Nephi 19:24 -- On Seeing Ourselves in the Scriptures

"Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off; hear ye the words of the prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off; for after this manner has the prophet written."
1 Nephi 19:24


I like the idea here of likening the scriptures unto us.  I think sometimes the stories in the scriptures seem distant or impossible because they are set in a very different setting than we are used to, and this idea can help bring the meaning and the impact that we need to really appreciate and learn from God's word.  When Jonah gets swallowed by the whale, it's like us, despairing because we made a wrong choice, and praying for another chance.  Lehi's dream is all of us, lost, trying to make our way to God, and all the distractions and the pleading and the hope of watching others make bad choices and wanting to help them.  And every story is like that.  The scriptures are for our lives now, not just for a few individuals a long time ago.

Today, let's take Nephi's advice and liken the scriptures to us.  Let's imagine how all these things work in our lives, and listen as though every verse was directed to us.  Let's work to hear not just what God had to say back then, but what God is sayng now, in our own lives.  It is there, in the scriptures, if we listen for it, and as we pray and study and learn to see ourselves in the scriptures, we'll understand more what God wants us to do in our lives.


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