For Starters
Hello! My purpose in speaking today is to share about my personal scripture study experiences and testify of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know through the power of the Holy Ghost we can understand how we might individually improve in our families. I’m Brooklyn Tanner. We moved into this marvelous ward a few months ago, thank you for making us feel so welcome. I’m Brooklyn, and I am married to Jon Tanner, because I like him. And we have a son Simon who is three months old. He doesn’t say much, but he has a great smile. We so look forward to continuing to get to know you. My husband Jon is so smart, he has really studied the scriptures well through his life, and teaches me great stories and truths he learns in them.
Know (What is the Doctrine?)
Here's the promise we have as members of the church:
"You will benefit greatly by [studying the scriptures]. Daily, meaningful scripture study helps you be receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. It builds your faith, fortifies you against temptation, and helps you draw near to your Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son."
Those are wonderful blessings, I think that is the most important part and the main purpose of scripture study, to get to know Jesus Christ so we can understand His love for us and how to follow Him. True to the Faith continues with instructions for success:
"Develop a plan for your personal study of the scriptures. Consider setting aside a certain amount of time each day to study the scriptures. During that time, read carefully, being attentive to the promptings of the Spirit. Ask your Heavenly Father to help you know what He would have you learn and do."
(True to the Faith)
This is a great goal to strive toward. We are consistently encouraged to feast upon the words of Christ by our general and local leaders. This cute Lil pamphlets makes suggestions about how as a stake we can work towards the area goals. The very first one is to study the scriptures for 30 minutes daily.
As we work to make time for the scriptures every day, the Holy Ghost will help us find what habits work the best for us individually.
In this season, What works for me is reading the scriptures on my Gospel Library app while I’m feeding my baby, then to journal my thoughts and questions on Sunday before or after church. Certainly I am not perfect in my efforts, and I have a long way to go to meet my scripture-study goals. From the times that I have studied and pondered, I can testify that not only does the commandment to study come from God, but it is a way to directly receive his love.
We know the scriptures provide answers to our prayers. Sometimes we find just the answer we are looking for in the actual words of the scriptures.
I wasn’t feeling if God loved me, or anyone. Doctrine always points back to how much God loves us. Nephi didn't know the condescension of God, but he knew He loves us. We can understand by pondering and seeking.
16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?
17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
1 Nephi 11
Sometimes the scriptures provide us with the spirit we need to receive revelation. When I was a missionary, we had two hours for required scripture study in the morning (we were usually awake the whole time). One day after studying, I felt like we should visit an investigator who liked to meet with us but was very busy, and you couldn’t catch her without an appointment. But when I thought of her, it felt really right. So we visited her, so not only was she there, but it was her birthday! She was so pleased someone came to celebrate. For me, that experience was so impactful in realizing the magical things that happen when we follow the Spirit. I felt so close to Jesus Christ and his mission in giving love to all of God’s children.
These are some of the ways we find answers and blessings in the scriptures.
Do (How?)
Let’s take a moment and realize how blessed we are to be Latter-Day Saints in August 2019. Recently I read about the incredible amount of advancements we have had in technology in the past 100 years, which really is astounding. We have seen inventions like the radio, television, commercial airplane, computer, internet, cell phone, smart phone, tablets, and even microwave ovens! Nearly all of these inventions have increased our ability to communicate with one another, very quickly and thoroughly. Since Adam and Eve, we have been able to communicate with God, praying to individually and receiving his messages through revelation and the SCRIPTURES.
Without a doubt, Heavenly Father has orchestrated these great leaps in technology. We are His latter-day saints. He gives us every opportunity to accept Jesus Christ’s invitation, Come Follow Me. We are invited to open our scriptures and read them every day. Now, there are so many ways to open the scriptures, study them, and learn from the testimonies recorded in and around them.
Scriptures are available as one big book, individual books, as an app on a smart phone, where you can read the scriptures, listen to the scriptures, and even watch great videos depicting scripture stories.
But wait! There’s more! Monthly, we can read church magazines geared to our age. In the past year, each of the apostles and members of the first presidency have made an official Instagram account where they share testimonies and experiences. You can literally, follow the prophet! There are some wonderful podcasts about the Gospel, we have rediscovered the joy of studying with the Come Follow Me curriculum, we can learn scriptural doctrine through the hymns. We have wonderful classes for discussing the scriptures like seminary and institute, the Church even has a great YouTube channel with videos explaining doctrines we learn in the scriptures.
In addition to our daily study, the scriptures can be a part of our lives in so many ways. We can learn doctrine as we're making dinner! Read the words of God in a waiting room! ! Be converted on our commute!
Become (What are we promised?)
There are so many options for everyone to study the scriptures and be enlightened. The commandment from God is the same to all his children: feast upon the words of Christ, daily. We have been encouraged to plan for scripture study and find a way that works for us.
In our most recent general conference, President Nelson was very direct. He obviously loves and cares for our families so much, and he passionately invited us to have more spiritual experiences:
"If you are not sure you even believe in God, start there. Understand that in the absence of experiences with God, one can doubt the existence of God. So, put yourself in a position to begin having experiences with Him. Humble yourself. Pray to have eyes to see God’s hand in your life and in the world around you. Ask Him to tell you if He is really there—if He knows you. Ask Him how He feels about you. And then listen.”
President Nelson: "Come, Follow Me" 2019
I can testify that Heavenly Father will bless you in your efforts to make time to study His Gospel.
Thanks to the scriptures and the witness of the Holy Ghost, I know God loves you!
