Day 10 of Book of Mormon Study:
"Something struck me differently than in times past. On the Title Page of the Book of Mormon we are informed that โthe interpretation thereof [is] by the gift of God.โ In context, what weโre being told is that when Joseph Smith used the โinterpretersโ (Mosiah 8:13 & 19) or Urim and Thummim, his ability to โinterpretโ the characters or โtranslateโ what was written on the plates could only happen โby the gift of God.โ However, as I read the line this time, it struck me in a somewhat different way, I saw the statement โThe interpretation thereof [is] by the gift of Godโ as applying to my own โinterpretationโ of the Book of Mormon as I read and apply it to my life.
In other words, as we spend the year 2020 studying this sacred and inspired book, we will need the โgift of Godโ to give us the interpretation most applicable to our own lives. Now, I know that there are those who say that โThe only appropriate interpretation of scripture is the one meant by the person who wrote the verse under discussion.โ However, one needs to distinguish between โinterpretingโ what a verse was originally intended to say and discovering how that verse โappliesโ to oneโs life. Yes, a verse means exactly what the person who gave it intended it to mean.
However, the purpose of scripture is not primarily to record history or events of the past. Rather, the primary purpose for which God commanded that scripture be preserved is to bring us unto Christโto save our souls. And the way that scripture can most readily help to save our souls is through our looking for personal applications of the things we read in the scriptures. And, for that to happen, we need โthe gift of God.โ In the introduction to my book, โMiracles of the Book of Mormon,โ I have a quote from President Dallin H. Oaks, speaking to this very point. President Oaks said, โScripture is not limited to what it meant when it was written but may also include what that scripture means to a reader today.โ President Oaks went on to say, โOne trouble with commentaries is that their authors sometimes focus on only one meaning, to the exclusion of others. As a result, commentaries, if not used with great care, may illuminate the authorโs chosen and correct meaning but close our eyes and restrict our horizons to other possible meanings. Sometimes those other, less obvious meanings can be the ones most valuable and useful to us as we seek to understand our own dispensation and to obtain answers to our own questions.
This is why the teaching of the Holy Ghost is a better guide to scriptural interpretation than even the best commentary.โ I couldnโt agree more with President Oaksโ explanation. As you and I read the Book of Mormon this year, may we remember the declaration of the Title Page of that Holy Book, โthe interpretation thereof [is] by the gift of Godโโand may we seek His Holy Spirit so that we will see and hear exactly what we personally need for this coming year." ( written in 2020) " Alonzo Gaskill
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