Message for November 2020 – Nov 8, 2020
by Chauncey C Riddle
Keeping in mind the fact that every human being gives canonized scripture a personal role of their own choosing, I speak here of one possible role it could play for any individual who desires to let it play such a role. So here goes my opinion:
Canonized scripture is writing declared by living prophets to be the word of the Lord as voted upon and accepted by a constituent body of disciples of Christ. In more specific terms, it is a piece of writing which is proposed by the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be accepted by the members of that church as the word of the Lord Jesus Christ in a vote taken in general conference. An example of such canonizing in the life-time of many of us was the proposal that the revelation on the work of the Savior during the time between his death and his resurrection received in October 1918 by President Joseph F. Smith be accepted as scripture and be added to the Doctrine and Covenants. Those attending the conference where this proposal was made were considered a constituent body, and after their acceptance, that writing was added to the Doctrine and Covenants as Section 138.
The primary role of canonized scripture, I believe, is to provide training materials for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to help them receive the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. When persons are accepted as members of this church by baptism and confirmation, it is said to them in the confirmation: “Receive the Holy Ghost.” That phrase is not stating a fact. It is rather a command, telling the person that they are now charged with receiving the presence and guidance of the Holy Ghost in their lives. The ultimate fulfillment of that command is to gain the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Whenever one has the presence of the Holy Ghost with them, they are forgiven of their sins.
How does canonized scripture fulfill this role? It can do its job best only if the person is reading that scripture for the right reason. The best reason is to be hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Righteousness is blessing others. So if a person reads or hears the scriptures to learn how to treat their neighbor better, their reading will be maximally profitable. They will have the best opportunity to feel the Holy Spirit as it moves upon them to do some specific act in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and doing good to all men. “Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled with the Holy Ghost.” (3 Nephi 12:6)
The person who is thus reading scripture for the right reason and is feeling the presence, promptings and guidance of the Holy Ghost, they need now to take a most important and essential additional step: They need to learn carefully, memorize, exactly how it feels to be prompted by the Holy Ghost. They need to fix that power to identify in their hearts and minds so that ever after they will never be confused as to which influence they are listening to. There are four potential sources for any idea or prompting. First, promptings generated by the self, the person. Second, promptings generated by communication with other human beings, be it conversation, writing, art, or just observing their actions. Third are promptings generated by Satan, through our human flesh. Third, promptings from the Holy Spirit, from God, to either or both our spiritual tabernacle or our physical tabernacle. One of the major tasks of the life of any human being is to learn, if possible, to be unerring in differentiating among these four source of ideas and impulses.
Satan tries to make sure that we never become clear as to which is which. But our Heavenly Father wants us to be accurate and expert in that differentiation. One cannot develop full faith in Jesus Christ without mastering that ability. But if we do not care about faith in Jesus Christ, then having that ability does not matter. The default position is to lapse into the power of Satan.
How does one learn to make those distinctions without error? By careful observation and practice. If a person pays close attention to his or her promptings and especially if one keeps a written record of impressions and urges and their consequential experiences in applying the promptings that come to them, one can begin to see patterns emerge. We are each given a conscience, which is the light of Christ within us. And that conscience is our guide to good thinking and choosing. And it is our best help in learning to distinguish between those four sources of ideas and impulses in our lives.
And this is where canonized scripture comes in. Reading or hearing canonized scripture is the best opportunity we humans have to feel what it is like to have revelation from God. With careful practice and memory, we can learn what if feels like to be receiving revelation as we read scripture with the right motive. And as we pay attention to those experiences, sometimes receiving help in interpreting scripture and sometimes not receiving such help, then comparing what happens when we act on the promptings we receive, we can begin to know and understand which of the four sources we are taking our promptings from. This process is little different from the challenge we face to learn to distinguish who different people are, or which kind of leaf is generic to which kind of plant, or which kind of mineral we are observing in the rocks we find, or which kind of cloud we are seeing in the sky.
Learning to make good classifications and then good identifications is one of the great keys to success in this world.
But back to spiritual identifications. As we begin to know the difference between revelation from God and revelation from Satan by studying the Holy Scriptures, that ability when gained then enables us to tell the differences in ideas in other writings as to whether they are true or not, lend themselves to godliness or not. By this ability we can read and profit from the Apocrypha of the Bible:
“Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be translated. Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth; And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom; And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it [the Apocrypha] should be translated.” (D&C 91:3-6)
This key to understanding applies not only the Apocrypha, but to all other writings and expressions by human beings. Those who have the Holy Ghost as their companion will weigh and evaluate all ideas and impulses that come to them, from any source, and will prove all things by the Holy Spirit and then hold fast to that which is good and true. “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” (Moroni 10:5)