Interpretations and Applications

As we read the scriptures tonight, we found that they were so lacking in detail as to leave many key ideas and circumstances up to interpretation, but frankly, I think that suits me just fine. While it may be interesting to learn the exact details of what happened in these Bible stories, it's far more important to determine what lessons we can learn from these stories. It could be that Cain's offering of "the fruit of the ground" was rejected because it was a fruit sacrifice rather than an animal sacrifice, or it could have been rejected because the fruit was taken from off the ground and was therefore of lower quality. There are different lessons we could learn from either interpretation, which may be partly why it was left up to interpretation in the first place. Some people will come away from this story with a lesson on God's exacting standards and the importance of keeping His commandments to the letter. Other people will come away from the story with the assurance that God will accept (only) the best that we can offer Him, whatever that happens to be. Both are important lessons and valid applications of vital, eternal truths.

Naturally, these are only two possible interpretations and applications of this particular story. The scriptures are full of countless stories that can be interpreted in an immeasurable number of ways and with a myriad of possible applications. Perhaps that's partly how the scriptures (and each General Conference, for that matter) are bound to have a lesson for everyone. These stories and lessons give us an inspired framework, and it's up to us to determine, through the guidance of the Spirit, how we might interpret and apply them.