I Recollect the scripture mastery verse “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”( John3:16)
This scripture has influenced many lives in this world of the love of God. I wonder what would have been the condition of people in the world if they did not believe in the Scriptures. The importance and significance of scriptures in the life of many has tremendous influence in converting them to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
My maternal grandfather was a strong follower of Jesus Christ. He was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in a remote village in the state of Andhra Pradesh and my grandmother was a teacher who also was a great missionary in the village. During summer vacation, all of us used to travel to the village and spend time with them. I remember, every evening my grandmother used to make us sing hymns, read scriptures and used to give everyone of us an opportunity to pray. Though we did not know how to read and write our mother tongue, we learnt from every scripture that was read. This has been a great example to all of us, which influenced our lives very much as we grew.
During one of our Stake Conferences, we visited a member’s home. The family included father, mother and a son. The family had scriptures in their hands.. We inquired what they were reading. Their answer was they were reading scriptures to find answers to their questions. They were reading D&C 101:6-8:
6 “Behold, I say unto you, there were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances.
7 They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.
8 In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me.”
Few years ago I saw most of the primary children were asked to carry their own scriptures in the church. I knew that some were so young that they could not read the scriptures for their age was such, but they still carried their scripture bags. I was all praise to their primary teachers who taught them the importance of scriptures at that tender age. The gospel and church is for this generation which is helping them to grow with an attitude that will surely lead them to God.
As the scriptures teaches
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me: John 5:39;
Three years ago, there was a fear in my heart as my son would not able to read English well, especially the scriptures though biblical words were tough to pronounce) then me and my wife decided that we would read scriptures with him each night. To our surprise my son was very comfortable in reading the scriptures within no time.
I still remember the first scripture he memorized:
“….feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ for they will tell you all things what ye should do. 2 Nephi 32:3. The same was presented by him in one of the primary presentations. My daughter had the same difficulty and today I enjoy when they read scriptures during family scripture study.
Stephen R. Covey said
“An effective way to achieve integrity and unity is to prayerfully study the scriptures. It will replace confusion with clarity and exhausting tension with worthy goals.”
“Prayerful study fortifies us against temptation and gives us inward security so we can afford the risks of loving unconditionally, freely, and spontaneously without fearing or demanding response.”
According to 1 Corinthians 2: 10, the scriptures are given by revelation and can only be understood by revelation.
“But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
But when we study the scriptures and ponder, we will be recipients of personal revelations. Prayerful study of scriptures will not only lead to revelations but also to knowing Jesus Christ personally. Knowing Jesus Christ means a lot to many members, as they have a miraculous, memorable and meaningful testimony of HIM. Many members have difficulty in reading scriptures daily, my testimony and of many others is that
“A page a day of Book of Mormon reading will keep the Satan away”.
As advised by many leaders “Do not think that you should start reading the scriptures from the beginning, you can always start from cross references or you may choose to read by topic. If you want to know and love Jesus Christ, do read scriptures.
It might have been ten years ago, when we had a challenge to read the entire Book of Mormon in 30 days, I know many members in the church read the Book of Mormon and testified that it was certainly another testament of Jesus Christ. I remember when I was serving in District presidency, as a first counselor, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, gave us an assignment to write one page on the atonement of Jesus Christ. I took this opportunity to know Jesus Christ personally that he is my Savior and Redeemer. I did not know the purpose behind the assignment but I truly knew after completing it that I have come closer to the SAVIOR.
“Ask it shall be given.. Knock it shall be opened unto you ..” let every man learn this principle of the gospel, let everyone be a true follower of Jesus Christ by applying all the gospel principles. Counsel God in all your doings, so as to be a recipient of heavenly blessings, I pray that every man to learn and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I testify brothers and sisters that as we have taken the name of Jesus Christ upon us and have known him as our Savior and Redeemer, we have a greater responsibility in sharing this gospel of Jesus Christ to many others. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen