Some things I've learned from the Book of Revelation

I'm still working on my book about the Book of Revelation. I finished a draft about two weeks ago (yay!), and yesterday I got feedback about my Introduction in which I try to explain why that book is so important to understand. This test reader found my explanation needed some work. (Doh!)

So of course I went to work trying to improve it.  Eventually I realized I had a tangle of half-articulated reasons.  Which means I had to un-tangle and fully articulate.

 But it just wouldn't come. There was just so many ways that I realized the Book of Revelation can help us.  And as I worked away at it, adding here, moving there, over and over... I discovered a lot of the reasons interlocked with each other and led to more reasons. That made it really hard to tell how to organize my paragraphs.

So I gave up on the writing part for a while and decided to mind-map it out.  I hoped that I could at least begin to see the relationships better than I did before.

Here's what I have so far.  Hopefully you can click on this thing and read my tiny print. :-)

Naturally, not every single bubble will find its way into the particular section I'm working on. But at least I'll be able to see relationships better.

Nifty New Resource: The Scriptures, Mapped

If you’re having troubles getting an idea of where the stories happen in the Old and New Testaments, have a look at this new online resource called The Scriptures, Mapped.

Suppose you’re reading in Acts 20 and aren’t sure where Troas or Philippi are in verses 5-6. You can go to this resource, find Acts 20, and click on the highlighted names and it will show you on the map where they are.  In fact, when you open Acts 20, you can see on the map all the locations that are named in that chapter.

So. Cool.

The Suffering Alleviated by the Scriptures

Here King Mosiah teaches his sons about the sacred record on the brass plates:

And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God. (Mosiah 1:3)

That bit about how we must have suffered in ignorance struck me recently. It made me think about how I’ve made so many good choices in my life because of what I’ve learned from the scriptures. I’ve been able to resist many temptations and keep out of trouble because of what I’ve learned from the scriptures. If I hadn’t had the scriptures or the influence of the church in my life I really would have suffered so much because of all the mistakes I would have made in ignorance. There have been many pivot points when a scriptural principle I’ve learned has come back to me, and acting on instead of giving in to temptation or taking a lower way has brought blessings and safety to me.

I can’t deny I’ve also had some suffering arise out of following good scriptural principles, but it has been sanctified suffering, and knowing from the scriptures that I was right helped me persevere.

One major way we would suffer in ignorance from not knowing the mysteries of God is suffering the load of accumulated guilt for sin. Because no matter how the world will try to deny it, guilt is there. It piles up and you can’t get out from it without Christ and without repenting. The scriptures tell us about how we can escape guilt and sin and lay hold on salvation through Christ.

What a mystery of God repentance and faith is! That a God would become man and suffer for everyone’s sins to give us a chance to repent! That our belief in this God and efforts to change and prayers for forgiveness are efficacious! To a tangibly focused, material-evidence-oriented mind that would seem beyond belief.  But it’s real!

Unfolding the Scriptures

And they shall give heed to that which is written, and pretend to no other revelation; and they shall pray always that I may unfold the same to their understanding. (D&C 32:4)

This was part of a section given to Parley P. Pratt and Ziba Peterson along with directions to go on a mission to preach to the Lamanites.

I really love what this verse says to them with reference to the scriptures. In another place in the D&C we are directed to “pray always that ye may come off conqueror, yea, that ye may conquer Satan,” and here it says “pray always that I may unfold the same [scriptures] to [your] understanding.”  So, that tells us that not only is constant prayer vital for resisting temptation, but also for receiving understanding about the scriptures. I have found that whenever I pray prior to reading, the Lord opens my eyes that I see and notice something I hadn’t before.

I also love that the Lord uses that imagery of “unfolding” to describe increased understanding. When something is folded, it’s very compact and looks simple. But when it is unfolded, it gets bigger and there is more to it. It begins to become complex, like discovering a new wing to a building.

And here’s the thing—we don’t know how many times things can be unfolded further. Just because a principle has been unfolded once doesn’t mean there isn’t more to be unfolded. I’ve noticed I’ve commented on some scripture passages multiple times because I keep getting more out of it over time.

Yay for scriptures, and yay for personal revelation through prayer!

My Blogging Year in Review: The Small Plates of Michaela for 2015

We have come to the end of yet another year! Amazing!  I remain ever grateful for the many insights the Lord has given me about the scriptures this year and the opportunity to share them with all those on the interet who are interested. 

Through the grace of God, I hope to continue to learn and share for another year.  Thank you too, for your comments.

Some posts on my blog are like flecks of gold, while others are like large nuggets, and the following are a list of my personal favorite posts from this year that I would put in the Small Plates of Michaela. They represent to me the equivalent of gold bricks.

Old Testament

Re-examining Job's Friends' Views of Who is Wicked

What the creation tells us about the atonement

Isaiah on the consequences of persecuting others

New lessons from Isaiah’s words about a book that is sealed

Jeremiah on the difference between trusting men and trusting God

New Testament

Re-examining Jesus’s appearance on the road to Emmaus

Examining events of the sixth seal in Revelation 6-7

When the seventh seal opens: Revelation 8

New perspective on the prodigal son Luke 15:11-18

John chastises the Pharisees and Sadducees

How Christ learned obedience

Lessons from how the JST illuminates the parable of the laborers in the vineyard

Thoughts on Mary and Zacharias’s experience with Gabriel

Jesus on children of prophet-killers

Jesus on Divorce Causing Adultery

Book of Mormon

Looking at Jacob’s quotations of Isaiah

Results of Nehor’s doctrine of preacher popularity

Nephites fight across the river to stop the Amlicites

Zeezrom’s questioning of Amulek and Amulek’s responses

Alma shares extra info about Melchizedek

Thoughts on the varied Lamanite responses to prostrate individuals during Ammon’s mission

Religious freedom or religious privilege among the Lamanites?

Characteristics of the Zoramite errors

Sources of humility

Neat principles in what Alma quotes Zenos about prayer

The Cause of Christians

Lies and fraud in Ammoron’s letter to Captain Moroni

Doctrine and Covenants

David Whitmer’s problem

The plague of flies in the last days

Pearl of Great Price

The breakdown of family in ancient Egypt

Topical

The Sin of Boasting

Warning Principles about Boasting

Some Latter-day Saint Flavors of Boasting

Boasting in Future Plans and some Patterns of Punishment

Examples of NOT Boasting

More Principles for Avoiding Boasting

The Societal Trend of Shaming

Taking Reproof and Repenting like an Astronaut

“How can I keep my covenant to always remember the Savior?”: Insights on the Youth Sunday school lesson

Experience

Reflections on a trip to Malaysia

 Happy New Year's Eve! 

True doctrine can end religious strife

22 And also they had peace in the seventy and eighth year, save it were a few contentions concerning the points of doctrine which had been laid down by the prophets.

23 And in the seventy and ninth year there began to be much strife. But it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi, and many of their brethren who knew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many revelations daily, therefore they did preach unto the people, insomuch that they did put an end to their strife in that same year. (Helaman 11:22-23)

There are several neat things in these verses. First, true doctrine preached puts an end to religious strife. We’ve seen elsewhere that it has more effect on the minds of the people than the sword or anything else. It dispels doubt and ignorance and can become a shield against deceptions of the devil. (Of course, when people are more determined to carry their point than to learn the truth, it is another story.)

Another neat thing is that Nephi and Lehi and many others who knew the true points of doctrine still had many revelations daily. Their strong foundational knowledge did not prevent them from learning more, and they were able to perform a great service with their knowledge by helping end strife over doctrine. I also suppose some of their revelations helped them settle the strife as well.

So a good question for us is, when there is religious controversy do we remember important applicable points of doctrine that can help us settle it? Can we think of verses of scripture on the topic? Can we find applicable scriptures? Are there words of the modern-day prophets on the matter? I suspect that if we haven’t consulted the scriptures or the prophets on the question then we haven’t yet done all we can do, whether we have questions or whether we’re trying to help someone else with questions.

How to add to your patriarchal blessing

If you’re like me, you have had your patriarchal blessing for a long time and have phrases of it that come to your mind at various times that give you important perspective as you think about your challenges and opportunities. 

Or sometimes you may realize that the phrase you thought meant one thing turns out to mean something even more.   This has been my experience.  I got my patriarchal blessing around age 14 and there was a good portion of my blessing that I didn’t understand until more than 15 years later.  I thought particular phrases meant one thing and then later a different meaning was revealed by life circumstances and challenges.  Often the meaning of blessings promised is so much more expansive than I previously imagined.  Other times, the warnings turn out to be incredibly targeted.

If you are like me, you may have some short, pithy phrases of instruction in your patriarchal blessing.  You may become extra-sensitized to mentions of those phrases in talks or conference.  I have noticed occasionally conference talks use phrases from my blessing. When that happens, I immediately sit up and take notice because it is as if the Lord is speaking directly to me, giving me additional instruction pertaining to my patriarchal blessing.  It is almost as if the Lord is explaining my blessing to me or even promising me additional blessings for following the instructions in my blessing.

This happened recently at a regional conference and I was so excited I wrote as much as I could about what I’d heard so I could save it.   Then I hit upon the idea to study other phrases from my blessing using the scriptures or LDS.org to see what I could find that would expand my understanding of the instructions or the blessings.   So far I’ve been searching one particular phrase and I’m learning a lot, so I wanted to challenge you to try the same thing. 

Our patriarchal blessings are scripture personal to us as individuals, and they deserve study just like the standard works and conference.  And it stands to reason that scripture and conference talks will give us more perspective on our blessings, since they came from the same source—Heavenly Father.

This isn’t a short-term project, so it is going to take a while.  There are all kinds of different ways we can approach it, but I think the best way to start is always to focus on parts that are most interesting to us right now.

Possible Approaches

·      Add footnotes.

·      Write a sentence-by-sentence commentary in your own words.  Include dictionary definitions of major words, even words you think you know.

·      Compile a personal commentary using applicable scriptures.

·      Compile a personal commentary using only conference talks.

·      Create an exhaustive commentary on your blessing with all the resources you have gathered so far.

 If you have tried this kind of thing before, will you share how that experience helped you?

How to put on the armor of God every day?

We know about the armor of God which Paul wrote of in Ephesians 6:14-17. The Sunday School manual asks a very good question—“How do we put it on every day?”

HOW do we put on truth, righteousness, preparations of the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit?

I think we know exactly what to do.

Spiritual Protection	How to put it on
Truth	Study the gospel in the scriptures every day
Righteousness	Practice choosing the right in all cases
Preparation of the gospel of peace	Consistent good choices and preparing for our responsibilities
Faith	Trust in God and using our agency to take positive action
Salvation	Repent every day
Spirit	Pray to have the Spirit, keep the commandments, and remember Christ always

Each one of those things can be done every. single. day.  

It’s so simple and beautiful. I think I just forget the simplicity and effectiveness of it, and I have to be reminded. I think Paul’s metaphor of armor is very helpful in illustrating how important and powerful those simple daily practices are.

25 Signs You Might Be a Scripture Nerd

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You might be a scripture nerd if:

1. You have highlighters, pens, colored pencils, and pencils to mark your scriptures with and you still want MORE!
2. You get excited when you find a new way to mark your scriptures.
3. Your scriptures are a rainbow of color on just about every page and have margins full of tiny notes (or oodles of sticky notes full of insights).*
4. You consider a scripture journal essential to your study.
5. You’re on your nth scripture journal.
6. You love scripture chasing to a particular reference that is cited by a speaker.
7. You dream of playing Scripture Golf ** with the stake high counsel
8. You have played Scripture Golf with the stake high counsel.
9. Someone gives a scripture reference and you automatically know what it says without having to look it up.
10. You read scripture commentaries for fun and relaxation.
11. You read a scripture commentary and you get a little miffed they didn’t include some insights you consider extra important.
12. You have written a scripture commentary.
13. You have applied for a job that would involve teaching from the scriptures.
14. You get excited whenever the Isaiah chapters come up in Sunday school.
15. You get excited anytime someone quotes Isaiah and gives a good insight about it.
16. You can’t imagine not spending time in the scriptures every day.
17. Someone says something about trying to get into a habit of reading the scriptures every day and you find yourself thinking, “Why would anyone skip scripture study?”
18. You catch all the scriptural allusions in classical literature. 
19. Along with catching the scriptural allusions, you know where they are quoting from.
20. You enjoy searching the internet to see what everybody else has said about various scriptural passages.
21. You own other versions of the Bible besides the King James Version or have consulted them online.
22. You own an exhaustive concordance or have consulted one online.
23. You find yourself doing translation and word studies even though you don’t actually understand ancient languages.
24. You consider the Topical Guide to be somewhat limited in scope and dream of making your own index.
25. You have studied ancient languages specifically so that you can understand your scriptures better.

Postscript – Some of the above are not true for me or are only partially true, so I am not the complete scripture nerd.  Also, some, like playing scripture golf with the stake high council are tongue-in-cheek.

* Alternatively, your scriptures may not be a rainbow of color and full of marginal notes, but that’s just because you’ve recently gotten a new set of scriptures again and you prefer to mark them organically rather than just transferring all your markings.

** Scripture golf – a competition in which one person reads a verse from anywhere in scripture and others try to guess the correct book and chapter that it came from.  Extra points are awarded if the correct verse number is given.

New Scripture Mastery scriptures

I did not realize that the scripture mastery verses in the Book of Mormon had been changed a few years ago!  Eight of them were “retired” and eight new ones put in their place. 

New Scripture Mastery Scriptures

23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do….

26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. (2 Nephi 25:23, 26)

This scripture emphasizes our focus on Christ and why we labor diligently to bring others to Christ.  It also tells us that while we keep the commandments, ultimately we depend upon the grace of God for our salvation. 

19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. (2 Nephi 31:19-20)

These verses emphasize the importance of pressing forward while relying on Christ.  The ordinances aren’t the only things about living a good life. Pressing forward takes agency and being anxiously engaged in good causes, seeking to improve oneself and become better.  This is good message for a rising generation that needs to learn to work and self-motivate in the middle of an apathetic culture.

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me. (Alma 7:11-13)

This one seems to emphasize that Christ didn’t just suffer for our sins but also for our pains and sickness and infirmities.  I think greater awareness of this scripture will encourage the youth (and us) to apply the Atonement more widely in life.

Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but cross yourself in all these things; for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Oh, remember, and take it upon you, and cross yourself in these things. (Alma 39:9)

This is a fantastic reminder for this age when pornography is so widespread.

Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect. (3 Nephi 12:48)

I think this is a reminder of our ultimate goal and also our potential.  This isn’t about perfectionism, but about development into a whole and finished person with divine attributes.

15 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him….

20 And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.

21 Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed. (3 Nephi 18:15, 20-21)

I think this one is a good one because it encourages more prayer.  With all the temptations around us, we need prayer so that we can obtain power to resist.  I also like that it reminds us to pray for our families too.

And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise. (Moroni 7:41)

I think hope is an important principle for all of us to learn. I read somewhere that people are suffering from a lack of hope, and the Lord doesn’t want the youth to suffer from that. But in order to have hope, we need to know where we can find it.

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things….

47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen. ( Moroni 7:45, 47-48 (last two verses added)

I think the two last verses are needed because they tell us how important charity is for us to gain, and they tell us how we can gain it—by prayer and following Christ.

Scripture Mastery scriptures that are no longer SM

And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but 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)

I think we’ve pretty well gotten the message to liken the scriptures to ourselves. Also, the new scripture mastery about preaching and prophesying of Christ more strongly captures the principle “that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer.”

18 But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.

19 And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted. (Jacob 2:18-19)

I think this one is nicely covered by the new scripture mastery about gaining charity, though the new one is more general.

32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

 33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

 34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. (Alma 34:32-34)

While the message to not procrastinate the day of repentance is a good one, I think it the new scripture mastery about pressing forward in Christ approaches the issue in a more positive way. 

6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls. (Alma 37:6-7)

This is a nice thing to learn, but I don’t know how helpful this has been, since it is always so difficult to recognize what small and simple things are going to turn out to make a difference in bringing others to Christ. 

For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. (3 Nephi 11:29)

I think the message of avoiding contention has been well-absorbed in the church.

And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am. (3 Nephi 27:27)

I think the new scripture mastery of “be perfect even as I” captures this better, with less of an emphasis on the necessity of being judges of others.

16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. (Moroni 7:16-17)

This scripture is more about discerning good from evil.  But it’s kind of easy to discern what’s evil when it is getting so blatant, so this doesn’t need so much emphasis.

It seems to me that the new verses chosen for emphasis in scripture mastery are just what are needed this day and age.  I suppose that means I should put some energy into learning and memorizing them myself.

How the scriptures build our faith

I ran across these verses that I think perfectly capture the process by which reading the scriptures regularly builds our faith and testimony.

6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.

7 Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things. (Jacob 4:6-7)

So first, we read the scriptures and search the prophecies in them.  In the process of doing that day after day, the Holy Ghost gives us daily revelation and even prophecies of Christ (testimonies of Christ).

Those revelations and prophecy join with the scriptures to become a cloud of witness to us, certifying that those things are true. Then we obtain a hope of a future day that we will be rewarded if we diligently obey God’s commandments as written in the scriptures.  We also hope for something better than the present.

With this hope, we act with faith and over the process of time our faith becomes unshaken through our diligence.

And with unshaken faith, anything becomes possible, even (according to Jacob) commanding the elements that they obey.  Verrrrrrrry intriguing.

And yet, our reading (and revelation) shows us also our weaknesses and we realize that we still have so much to learn. We see that none of these things is possible without the power of Christ.

It is neat to see this process all laid out for us in black and white.  Without it, we have a hard time articulating exactly what the blessings of studying the scriptures are. And in fact, we can see that there is much more to be gained than simply a knowledge of the gospel or a testimony.  We see hope, faith, and even power over the elements through the grace of God.  Those are blessings to look for and strive for.

What is the role of a scripture commentary?

Historically, scripture commentaries are like the red-headed stepchildren among texts in the church.  Elder Bruce R. McConkie has written that on a scale of one to ten, (with ten being “most useful”), scripture commentaries rate about a one or two. (1)

Still, it is worth noting that he included the use of commentaries and dictionaries as part of a list of twelve keys for understanding the Bible.  This shows that even though he rated their value low, he did use them.

Let me quote the part of his talk that relates to commentaries:

Anything to be said under this heading [of commentaries and dictionaries] is more of a warning than an endorsement. On historical and geographical matters, these uninspired writings rate as one or two; on doctrinal matters they drop off the scale to a minus ten, a minus one hundred, a minus one thousand, depending on the doctrine.

The wise and the learned know so infinitesimally little about doctrine that it is almost a waste of time to read them. All their creeds are an abomination in the Lord’s sight. They teach for doctrines the commandments of men. They twist and pervert the scriptures to conform to their traditions; and if they get anything right, it is an accident.

One says Jesus did not walk on the water, for that is impossible; rather, he waded in the surf.

Another says He did not feed the five thousand by multiplying loaves and fishes, for that is contrary to all nature; rather, many in the congregation carried food in their knapsacks but were afraid to take it out lest they would have to share it with others. Jesus merely taught them to share.

Yet another says we need not look for the Second Coming in the literal sense, for surely Christ is no longer a man who can dwell again among men; rather the Second Coming takes place wherever Christ dwells in the heart of a man.

What can the commentaries of the world teach us about the personal nature of God; about the premortal existence, the war in heaven, and the eternal plan of salvation; abut the fall of man with its temporal and spiritual death; about the paradisiacal creation that is to be restored during the Millennium; about the Melchizedek Priesthood and its various offices; about the literal gathering of Israel and the restoration of the ten tribes upon the mountains of Israel; about the preaching to the spirits in prison and the doctrine of salvation for the dead; about temples and celestial marriage and the continuation of the family unit in eternity; about gifts and signs and miracles; about a universal apostasy, a glorious day of restoration, and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon; about the atonement of Christ, which makes salvation available on conditions of obedience; about the three degrees of glory; about exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world where men will be joint heirs with Christ; about almost every basic doctrine of salvation?

My fellow teachers, all these things, and ten thousand more, have come from God in heaven to us in this final dispensation of grace by direct revelation. They are the truths that make salvation available, and they are not to be found in the tomes of the scholars of the world. (ibid, pp127-128)

It may seem like McConkie completely discourages use of commentaries, but actually if we carefully parse what he says, it becomes clear that he gives a qualified endorsement.  If he discouraged them, he would not include them in the list of keys at all.  

What he is disgusted with is those sectarian commentaries that try to give naturalistic explanations of miracles and that deny the future Second Coming of Christ.   He gives those as the most blatant examples of what an uninspired commentary does, so that we can be warned not to swallow those views, or others that are dismissive of important principles, miracles, or prophecies.   McConkie called them "almost a waste time," which means that they weren't completely a waste of time, but they were close because their doctrine was off. 

While he asks, “What can the commentaries of the world teach us about [big list of LDS doctrines]?” this implies that good commentaries (which would necessarily have to be LDS or LDS-friendly) would be ones that throw additional light on those doctrines or reveal them in the Bible where they were not noticed before.

Also, it is worth noting that he appreciates the historical and geographical matters that are explained in commentaries, even if he rated them low.

Since scripture commentaries can be well-done or badly-done, the church understandably prefers to privilege study of the scriptures far over study of derivative works.   This is about going to the source, rather than going downstream for water.

However, we must also think about what resources exist for enabling people to learn more about the scriptures.  Everyone has access to the same spiritual resort of prayer and fasting to learn more.  (“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God”)  

There are more ways of learning than just this, though.  Let’s not forget the great potential for good teachers to influence and mold our perceptions of scripture texts, to draw out meaning for us to see and to help us find personal application.  (“Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you”) Books help us gain access to good teachers when we can’t be personally with them. ("Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom")

Sometimes we don’t understand a text because we don’t know how to understand it.  We need guidance.  In this situation, commentaries can become very helpful because they create a frame of reference from which to interpret the text.  Of course, they can’t be considered unbiased—all frames of reference have some sort of bias—but they can be considered at least a starting point for acquiring a better understanding.

There are some texts that are traditionally difficult for us as members to get our minds around.  (Cough.  Isaiah.  Cough.) Part of the difficulty is that our formal discussions of them are hurried because of time constraints in Sunday school classes.   When there isn’t much discussion, it is easy to think that there must not be anything important there if the topic isn’t given much time or space to be covered.

When I first started reading commentaries, I started with the seminary and institute manuals and I considered them to be authoritative and complete.  I thought everything that I might ever need to know would be in them.  I also thought that anything that disagreed with them had to be automatically wrong.

As I continued to study the scriptures and deepen my understanding, I began to have questions about parts of the texts, and when I went to the seminary and institute manuals I couldn’t find anything.  That’s when I discovered they were not as complete as I had initially thought.

Also, I began to see things in the scriptures that I hadn’t seen before and which I hadn’t seen any hints of in scripture commentaries.  I started to look in other commentaries to see if I could find anyone who had written something that noticed what I saw and came to the same conclusions.  (I was seeking validation, you see.) I couldn’t find one who had.  Sometimes I felt they got close, but not close enough.  This meant one of two things—either no one had written about the things I learned because they were wrong and I was totally off base, or no one had written them because they hadn’t thought of them.  (And now I know there was a third possibility too—that what I wrote perhaps was too speculative to be put in a commentary or had too narrow of an application.)  

Well, I chose to believe that the things I found hadn’t been written because no one had thought of them.  So I started writing them, hoping I could make a contribution to interpretive thought about the scriptures.  (I learned in time that people may have had the same thoughts, but they hadn’t written them down, or they hadn’t published them.)

Another thing I noticed was that outside of LDS thought, the sectarian Christian world had oodles and oodles of commentaries about the Bible and that they had quite a variety of thoughts on the same things.  (Not much has changed since Joseph Smith’s day that different religionists understand the same passages of scriptures very differently almost to the point of destroying confidence in settling question or debate with the Bible.)  There was contradiction.  There was sloppy interpretation.  There was denial of restored principles.  But there was also little flecks of gold.  At first this puzzled me, but it didn’t bother me.  Eventually I learned that even the wild variety could actually help me refine my thoughts, much like one is challenged to perform one’s best in order to make up for a bad job someone else has done.  The mind exposed to moral error tends to recoil, and often it recoils toward the truth. (This may have been how McConkie derived benefit as well.)

What is the LDS mind to do when it has questions about the scriptures? First, I believe we should pray to have our eyes opened.  Second, I think we should seek out the words of the prophets.  Then seek out trustworthy commentaries by LDS scholars.   And then.. maybe read other outside commentaries.

We are instructed to seek learning by study and also by faith.  If we are to seek learning by study, then there must be sources to study, and we are told to seek learning out of the best books words of wisdom.  For this to happen, words of wisdom must be made accessible for study.  And of course, it is hoped that members of the church will be able to write some of those best books.

Just keep in mind that in order for there to be books for us to study, there must be people willing to buy them, in order to make it worthwhile for LDS-market publishers to sell them.  (Books of scripture commentary are notoriously low-profit enterprises.)

When I first started reading commentaries I would dream about this ideal book that would be THE COMMENTARY TO END ALL COMMENTARIES, which would have everything in it that could ever possibly be said about a particular passage. 

Eventually I realized that simply isn’t possible because it would have to be endlessly large and incorporate every possible perspective in it.  That would be prohibitively expensive to print and to own.  Instead, a commentary takes a particular perspective or approach and uses that to interpret the scriptures.  And even though it might attempt to be exhaustive, it never will be.

There are also different types of commentaries, each of which have their function.

--Restatements or summaries the scriptures in modern language to make meaning more accessible.

--Presentations of historical background of cultural practices.  This helps us understand how people in those days would have made meaning out of the events as they happened.

--Translations of words and descriptions of their range of meanings.  This helps us get beyond the current connotations of the words themselves and what they mean today so that we can better see what meaning was intended by the writer.

--And of course there are a range of commentaries that use all or some of the above or incorporate the author’s personal experiences, or similar scriptural incidents to compare and contrast. 

The main value I find in commentaries right now is as a jump-start for new avenues of thought about passages I have read often.  A phrase I have passed over may be invested with new significance I never considered.  An alternate meaning might be suggested that opens new dimensions suggesting new applications. 

Do you use commentaries?  Do you have a particular favorite scripture commentary that you like to use?  What does it do that helps you?   In what ways have you found commentaries to be limiting or expanding to your thought about the scriptures?

Notes

(1) “The Bible, A Sealed Book”, address by Bruce R. McConkie, from A Symposium on the New Testament in 1984, as quoted by “Teaching Seminary: Preservice Readings”, Church Educational System, pp123-132.