A beautiful trio of verbs that many of us sang as Primary children is:
“Search, ponder, and pray.”
I’ll admit that the first verb, “SEARCH”, is sometimes the trickiest for me.
Mormon, the author and compiler of 3 Nephi, counsels:
“And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them.” (3 Nephi 10:14)
But what does it mean to search the scriptures?
When I’m preparing a church lesson, I often search through the scriptures for something related to my topic.
But I’ve discovered that there are other ways to search the scriptures, too.
I can search for manifestations of God’s love.
I can search for personal revelation.
I can search for calm.
For motivation.
For hope.
For peace.
Reading the scriptures just to cross them off my list is a good first step to creating a good relationship with them.
But it is so powerful to feel the freedom and excitement of opening the scriptures with a question or intent in mind and then searching for an answer that I know and EXPECT will come!
“Just as a road map not read, the scriptures not searched are of little value to us in providing directions.” – L. Lionel Kendrick
What are some ways that you SEARCH the scriptures?
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black