Audience: Culpeper Ward
Location: Culpeper, Virginia, United States of America
Date: 24 July 2022
Introduce Myself and the Topic
Good morning. For those of you that don’t know me, my name is David Mitchell. I am here on assignment as a Stake High Councilor. Allow me to briefly introduce myself. I live in the Massaponax Ward with my wife, Rachael, and with 5 of our 6 children. I have 5 sons from the age of 23 to 9. And our daughter is 4. My wife and I grew up in northern Virginia and met in middle school. Since being married, we have lived in West Virginia and Alabama, and 10 years ago moved back to Virginia and have lived in the Massaponax Ward since.
The topic Bishop Bowler asked me to speak on was How “Come Follow Me” Has Blessed My Family. I will eventually get to that, but while pondering the topic I had all sorts of other questions I felt prompted to ask each of you.
- What is the purpose of personal scripture study? Phrased slightly differently, why do you do it? What do you hope to get out of it?
- And what is the purpose of family scripture study? What do we hope to get out of that?
- And finally, what can we all do to make both our personal and family scripture study more enriching? How can we better fulfill their purposes?
My talk today doesn’t provide a lot of direct answers to those questions. But I will share some principles and some personal experiences. I think it is possible, and actually likely, that our Why’s and How’s of scripture study may differ. My prayer and hope is something I say may give room for the Spirit to help answer those questions for you personally.
And before I begin, I want to be absolutely clear that I am far from perfect when it comes to scripture study. With church talks, the person that needs to hear the message the most is sometimes the one giving the talk. Even though I may have had some good stretches through the years and some important personal experiences, I have plenty of room for improvement, especially when it comes to Family scripture study.
Principles From Howard W. Hunter
I was in Georgia this last Friday visiting my sister. I came across a billboard with several quotes about scripture study from Howard W. Hunter. Although I had most of the ideas for this talk pretty set, as I read the quotes I suddenly found the structure I was until then lacking. I had to do some digging, but I found they were excerpts from a talk Elder Hunter gave in the October 1979 General Conference.
Concentrated Study
Reading habits vary widely. There are rapid readers and slow readers, some who read only small snatches at a time and others who persist without stopping until the book is finished. Those who delve into the scriptural library, however, find that to understand requires more than casual reading or perusal—there must be concentrated study.
My own way of summarizing this: reading the scriptures is less like reading a novel and more like reading a text book. We are to be students as we read, searching for the truth, searching for the lessons the Spirit wants to teach us.
I did not first truly study the scriptures until my mission. I had read The Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price. I was somewhat familiar with The New Testament, but only vaguely aware with the Old Testament. I served my mission in the panhandle of Florida and in southeast Alabama. Squarely in the Bible belt.
A phrase I often heard others say to us was, “In The Bible, God says…” I knew that wasn’t exactly right. I knew the Bible wasn’t a bunch of direct quotes from God. I knew he spoke through prophets. I also had some sense that the Old Testament was a collection of things with various authors. But, I didn’t really know. I didn’t know enough to really reply when somebody led off with the “In The Bible, God says…” line.
It didn’t take long before I realized I needed to read The Bible from cover to cover. But not only read it, I wanted to know who wrote each book. I wanted context. I wanted to know who was speaking to who and why. It took several months, but I grew in confidence that I knew The Bible as well as anyone I would encounter. But more important than the academic knowledge I had gained, I grew to love the Old Testament. There are heroes who are almost never mentioned. There are incredibly prescient lessons for our day. I learned the power of becoming a student, fully studying, rather than just reading.
Consistency
It is certain that one who studies the scriptures every day accomplishes far more than one who devotes considerable time one day and then lets days go by before continuing. Not only should we study each day, but there should be a regular time set aside when we can concentrate without interference.
Scripture study needs to be consistent. I have discovered that when I am consistent, that the principle of learning line upon line, and precept upon precept, comes into effect. Daily study allows the Spirit each day to broaden your mind and your understanding just a bit more each day.
My personal experience also has shown me the opposite is true. If there are lapses in my scripture study I feel like not only is there no more growth, but there is an ever slight diminishing.
There was a period of a few years where I read from The Book of Mormon nearly every day. And on days I drove into work, I always listened to at least one General Conference talk. And during the week I’d always make sure to listen to the chapters for the coming weeks Gospel Doctrine class.
Since Covid, and since I have worked from home since, I fully admit my consistency in doing that has fallen. Giving this talk though has given me the opportunity to reflect on that and repent and strive to re-gain that consistency.
But during those years, I know it had a profound effect on me. I found sharing the Gospel with co-workers and friends became second nature. Gospel lessons were always on my mind, and where appropriate I’d share things I learned, even if shared more as a philosophy than as something my church teaches. My commutes were filled with pondering and deep contemplation. Not just filling my mind with truths, but doing it consistently gave room for the Spirit to work on me, teach me, drive me to be better.
Asking
There is nothing more helpful than prayer to open our understanding of the scriptures. Through prayer we can attune our minds to seek the answers to our searchings. The Lord said: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Luke 11:9). Herein is Christ’s reassurance that if we will ask, seek, and knock, the Holy Spirit will guide our understanding if we are ready and eager to receive.
Studying the scriptures should be accompanied by prayer. And as we pray for answers, our searching of the scriptures often provide us our answers. In my personal experience, it is not usually the turning to the perfect verse that I needed to read, but more often, it is the simple act of reading the scriptures that invites the Holy Ghost.
Journaling
This was not in Elder Hunter’s talk, but another principle I have found incredibly useful is to have a scripture journal. I have found when I have kept a journal that I see connections and insights I would have otherwise missed. The process of writing my feelings about a passage set those impressions more firmly in my mind. It helped me not just feel the scriptures are true as I read them, but I had seen witness after witness after witness I had received from the Holy Ghost that they are true.
Come Follow Me and Families
Some prefer to study alone, but companions can study together profitably. Families are greatly blessed when wise fathers and mothers bring their children about them, read from the pages of the scriptural library together, and then discuss freely the beautiful stories and thoughts according to the understanding of all. Often youth and little ones have amazing insight into and appreciation for the basic literature of religion.
As I had already said, when it comes to family study, I have lots more room for improvement. BUT, we do it sometimes, just not as consistently as we should. Here, “Come Follow Me” serves an incredibly practical purpose. Instead of trying to figure out where we last were, or starting in 1 Nephi, chapter 1, AGAIN, we now know exactly where to pick it back up. For me, it makes the repenting to do better this week easier. We don’t have to feel overwhelmed with being the perfect scripture studying family, but we can start again with this week.
For our family, I’ve found “Come Follow Me” provides just the right amount of structure. It’s not just reading some verses, having a prayer, and going to bed. It opens up the space for there to be a discussion. Beyond just reading, “Come Follow Me”, points out principles we can focus on. For me, it is when my kids are engaged and asking their own questions, that I most feel the Spirit with family scripture study. That’s when I know the Spirit is teaching my kids the lessons they each as an individual need to learn. As a father, I can point out they are feeling the Spirit too. And I can ask what they feel they are learning right now. I can help them recognize what and how they are being taught.
Josiah and Lessons For Today
One of my favorite people from The Old Testament is one we just read about in “Come Follow Me.” Even though many of you have just studied about him, let me share a bit about him, and a couple of lessons that I feel apply directly to our day.
At 8 years old Josiah was anointed as king. The scriptures say from the 8th year of his reign, at age 16, he “began to seek after the God of David”. And at age 20 he began to purge Judah of idolatrous worship. At around 26 he ordered a restoration of the temple. And for me, this is where things get interesting.
While Hilkiah, the High Priest, was clearing the treasure room of the Temple he discovered a scroll described in 2 Kings as “the book of the Law”, and in 2 Chronicles as “the book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses”. The phrase “sefer ha-torah” in 2 Kings 22:8 is identical to the phrase used in Joshua 1:8 and 8:34 to describe the sacred writings that Joshua had received from Moses. For Bible historians, this is where many point to, that it was during Josiah’s reign, by the hand of Jeremiah, that the ancient scriptures began to be found, gathered, and more formally written down.
Hilkiah made Josiah aware of what they found, and Hilkiah’s scribe, Shaphan, read it aloud to King Josiah. Upon hearing the scroll read aloud King Josiah rent his clothes, lamenting the fate of his people, because the consequences for not following the LORD were made clear.
Now even more interesting, there were a few prophets that were contemporaries of Josiah. Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and also the prophetess Huldah. Out of all of these, Josiah sends Hilkiah and his servants to ask the prophetess Huldah about the accuracy of the prophecies.
There are only a handful of verses that speak about Huldah, but from them we can learn a bit about her. Her reply to Josiah’s servants began, “Tell ye the man that sent you to me”. We can infer that she saw Josiah as just another man. But for certain, she had authority to speak plainly to the king, and she had authority to attest that the scroll was indeed scripture. Other Rabbinic traditions about her include that she was related to Jeremiah, that she was a teacher, and that while Jeremiah mainly ministered to men, Huldah mainly ministered to women. It is also said the Josiah preferred asking Huldah for the will of the Lord because she was kinder to him. Of the Rabbinic traditions, there is nothing to verify them, but we do know she was and is held in very high regard.
Her reply to Josiah was that the people of Judah were too far gone and their destruction was certain and imminent. BUT, because of Josiah’s faithfulness, that he would die in peace and the curses of the prophecy would be fulfilled after his death. He died around 610 or 609 BC. And as you know, the accounts of the Book of Mormon begin in 600 BC.
So, what lessons can we take from this? We live in a time where many of the calamities foretold in prophecies are happening right now. But we also have assurances that we can have peace in this life among the tumult.
But the real lesson for me is what Josiah does next. Even though he knows his people are a lost cause, he re-doubles his efforts. He calls together the elders of Judah and Jerusalem and has the scroll read to them. He extorts them to exclusively worship Jehovah. He re-institutes the Passover and returns the Ark of the Covenant to the temple. He carries his reforms to cities of the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and Naphtali; all areas outside the kingdom of Judah. He sends Jeremiah abroad as well. And the question is why? If his people’s demise is certain, then why bother?
I think the answer is because, although a nation might be lost, individuals are not. The worth of a soul is great in the sight of the Lord. So, even though we may sometimes lose hope in the world around us; our family, our friends, and even strangers we meet along the way, are worth reaching out to. Worth helping. Worth sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with. Josiah taught us that we can follow the Lord, even if the world, and even if our own people don’t. We can still be a voice and a force for good.
In my latest go round of studying Josiah, I realized something else, something that we should all be thankful for. In his time, they went from apparently having no written scriptures, where that when Hilkiah found them in the temple they weren’t 100% sure what they were. They went from that around the year 623 BC, to about 23 years later in 600 BC, that there were Brass Plates for Nephi to go get. I don’t think those Brass Plates would have existed without Josiah. It is very possible there would be no Book of Mormon without Josiah. The actions of one righteous person in a world ripened for destruction can change that world in monumental ways.
Testimony
I know studying the scriptures will have a powerful impact in your life. I know as we are able to read, study, and discuss the scriptures as families, that our families and our homes will have the Spirit. The most important lessons our families will learn will be as we study the Gospel and feel the Spirit together.
I say these things….