"That I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer, I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning." (1 Nephi 19:23)
Prophets in ancient days and in latter days have advised us that we can use the scriptures most effectively in our lives by applying them to our own situations. Sometimes this is really easy -- Nephi had a problem and he prayed and got an answer. If I have a problem, I can pray and get an answer too -- and sometimes it can be a little more obscure.
Sometimes it helps to think of these stories as metaphors: what are the "Goliaths" in your life? what "wilderness" must you cross? Stuff like that. Sometimes you can insert your name into a scripture to make it seem more personal, like "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto Jessica Grosland save He shall prepare a way for her, that she may accomplish the thing which He commandeth her." (1 Nephi 3:7)
Sometimes when we're in a difficult situation, the words can seem to jump off the page as if they were written just for us, just at that time. I remember one night after having a huge falling out with my best friends, I was worried we'd never be able to recover from it and that I had lost their friendship forever. Reading the scriptures that night, I came across the words "Many waters cannot quench love; neither can the floods drown it." (Song of Solomon 8:7) And I realized that we'd always care about each other. It was true, too. In fact, one of those friends is the handsome Elder I had a picture of a few weeks ago.
There are an infinite number of ways you can apply the scriptures to your life. It's really like the Mormon Ads say:
2 comments:
When I was a new convert I seriously thought that the type point was bigger in The Book of Mormon. It was so much easier to read, in a literal sense. I was surprised to find out I was wrong about it.
ps An old friend listened to our Ma Cherie Amor on Friday and dug it. (digged it?)
Beautiful post. You are very wise.
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