In the talk, Elder M. Russell Ballard shares a few more reasons that the Holy Bible is a miracle. He said:
It is a miracle that the Bible’s 4,000 years of sacred and secular history were recorded and preserved by the prophets, apostles, and inspired churchmen.During the Dark Ages, the Bible was mostly kept from the common people and reserved for clergy. Many brave men worked hard despite intense opposition in order to translate the Bible into common languages, and many of those men were martyred for their inspired work.
It is a miracle that we have the Bible’s powerful doctrine, principles, poetry, and stories. But most of all, it is a wonderful miracle that we have the account of the life, ministry, and words of Jesus, which was protected through the Dark Ages and through the conflicts of countless generations so that we may have it today.
Yet, as Mormons, we sometimes ignore the Bible, or at least I usually do. The Book of Mormon is so much more familiar to me. I grew up reading it. I know the stories better, and even the language of the Book of Mormon is easier for me to read than the Bible is. I know that the Bible, particularly the New Testament, is incredibly valuable for its stories and teachings, but I seldom tap into that resource.
Much later in his talk, Elder Ballard said, "We tend to love the scriptures that we spend time with. We may need to balance our study in order to love and understand all scripture."
I agree. When I took a few moments to read an Old Testament story a few days ago, I gained a wonderful insight, and I started to see the Bible in a new light. I now keep a copy of the Bible by my bed, and I even read from it occasionally. The other night, I read about David and Goliath.
I need to follow Elder Ballard's counsel and balance out my scripture study, so I can increase my testimony in the miracle of the Bible. People died so I could have it. I had darn well better read it.
1 comment:
It is true that we do not always give the Bible the attention it deserves. I have released that we have far more copies of the Book of Mormon in the house than copies of the Bible. (Although we do have more than one set for each person in house.) When we look up scriptures in Sunday School class, we often have to tell students which book of scripture contains a particular reference.
The Bible is full of rich stories and lessons containing the commandments and teachings of God and examples of how and how not to live. I admit however, parts of it I just don't really get.
Growing up, I was enchanted with the story of Ruth. I rather enjoyed the prophet Elijah being fed by ravens. Not so crazy about references to horses always involving war. And I am so glad not to live in the day of animal sacrifice! The four Gospels are probably my favorite books of scripture, especially Luke. The Acts of the Apostles is (are?) (it's one book) really interesting.
I am grateful to the brave men of faith who preserved the Bible and worked so hard to make it available to everyone.
And grateful to you for reminding us of the importance of these scriptures.
Post a Comment