I believe that the scriptures contain the answers to life’s problems.  The secret in finding the answers to our problems lies in making the connection from our situations to those faced by the people in the scriptures.  The more we are able to liken ourselves to the scriptures, the more relevance we will see in the scriptures.

In an address to religious educators seveal years ago Elder Neal A. Maxwell said:

“We are going to have to do a better job – I as a parent, I as a teacher, and you, certainly, in your classrooms – than we now do in helping the young to see that there is a connection between the gospel and the problems of the real world and that the gospel does contain the solution to human problems.  Mormonism never was, is not, and never can be monastic.  It is not a religion that runs away from life, but it stays in there and hangs tight in the situations of our time, trying to make them better.  This means that the much-used word relevancy is still at issue in that young people must come to see that the gospel is something we do, not simply something we talk about.  And that means that the relevancy of the gospel, in terms of how it can solve human problems, has got to be borne home more consistently, more artfully, and more spiritually than has been done in the past.” (The gospel gives answers to life’s problems, Neal A. Maxwell, Address to CES Religious Educators, Summer 1970, Brigham Young University, p. 3.  See also:http://bit.ly/y9eQEc)

Elder Hales stated:  A critical component in gaining knowledge from the Savior is acting upon the principles He taught.  In order to gain the greatest insights the scriptures have to offer, our study will focus not so much on places and names as on principles and doctrines.  It is not simply book knowledge we are after but insights that will change the way we live that will actually make a difference in our lives.  We must see the scriptures for what they are: an instruction manual for becoming like our Savior.  (Elder Robert D. Hales, The Journey of Lifelong Learning, BYU Education Week, 19 August 2008. See also: http://bit.ly/y3SOyp)

One of the greatest concerns that President Hinckley has expressed to me personally, which I have repeatedly felt myself, is the number of students who attend class without internalizing “in the fleshy tables of the heart” the instruction given. Such do not appear to associate what you teach with their personal choices in life. They can answer test questions well but do not retain in their minds and hearts the principles and truths taught. In times of trial or testing, they often seem to follow the world rather than the truths taught them. They do not appear to realize that what you share is not something of casual interest but are powerful truths that, when understood and applied, will help them resolve the defining challenges they face hourly.  (Richard G. Scott, “To Understand and Live Truth,” address to CES religious educators, February 4, 2005, Jordan Institute of Religion, 2.)

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *