This week I have 2 observations from my personal study.

1.)

I was reading in 3 Ne 26 this week and came  upon v9-10 and I have read it before, and this is one of those verses that (if my memory is correct) that people use to say that if we read the Book of Mormon and cherish it that the unsealed portion of the Book of Mormon will be given to us.  I saw it with new eyes this week.  It says that if we have have faith and believe these things, which I take to mean we live by the principles taught within its pages that the Spirit will direct us to greater knowledge and that through the Church we will go to places to receive greater light and knowledge. 

As I have read the Book of Mormon it only teaches the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. Faith, repentance, being baptised by proper authority,  receive the spirit, and endure to the end.  Well from modern revelation we also need to accept Melchizedek priesthood covenants and receive more knowledge that will help us on our quest back to the Celestial Kingdom.  These things are not taught in the pages of the Book of Mormon.  It is my belief though that because we use the BofM as a missionary tool that it might be too overwhelming for nonmembers to grasp everything in the beginning.  So line upon line and precept upon precept they will learn.  So as a new member joins the church lives by the precepts of the BofM then they will be taught about the temple and prepared for it. 

2.)

As I study the scriptures I write down the verses that I find pertinent to my study and those that the Spirit impresses upon me.  I recently had to find a scripture that I had studied not too long ago to help teach a principle in a lesson.  When I found the scripture in my study journal, I turned to the scripture and what I had remembered I had written down, and written down were different to what was written in the verse. 

My thought for the reason why this had happened was that the Spirit was teaching me, which I appreciate, and that going back to the verse I was in a different frame of mind and thus the inspiration and level of the spirit that I was feeling was different and that is why I did not perceive the same kind of insight from the scripture when I went back to it. 

It also made me think about all those times that I had read a footnote to a verse and it did not make sense to me, or if I read a talk and they had scripture reference, and when I read the reference it seemed like they were completely different concepts.  I hope that this experience teaches me that when this happens again when reading someone elses works that I seek for Spirit that it will teach me what I am to learn from author intended to portray.

Tags: Book Mormon

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