As I’ve prepared for my new, upcoming calling as Seminary teacher (of which, I’m sure, you will hear a lot about!), I have seriously pondered Nephi’s method of teaching. You see, as Nephi instructed his brothers, he states, “I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Nephi 19:23). As he put himself in the scriptures, they began to mean more to him. Similarly, it is my hope as Seminary teacher to help my students realize that all scripture – even from the Old Testament – relates to them in some way.
This became clear to me as I began trying to memorize the scripture mastery verses. In Abraham 3:22-23, Abraham learns that he was among the noble and great spirits in the premortal existence. Indeed, the Lord informs him, “Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.”
I have heard repeatedly that replacing the name of the person being spoken to with our name can help us relate the scriptures to ourselves, but never was this so clear until I pondered this verse. I realized that the Lord had chosen me before my birth to serve the mission – whatsoever it might be – that I am on today. He chose me to live on the earth in this tumultuous time. He chose me to be a mother to my children, and to bring them up. Similarly, He selected each of my Seminary students to serve their mortal missions at this time in the history of mankind. I have already decided that, when the time comes to teach this lesson, I am going to say that phrase to each of them, inserting their name instead of Abraham (I’ve only got six kids on a good day, so it’s not as time consuming as it might be with ten or twenty). In this way, I hope they will realize that the Lord sent the scriptures to us, and wants to touch each of our hearts.
Some scriptures are harder to liken to ourselves than others. We might wonder what we are supposed to learn from the wars in the Book of Mormon. We might wonder what significance we can take from the measurements of the tabernacle. We might wonder how instructions to missionaries in the history of the church apply to us. However, I am confident that, when we sincerely and prayerfully seek to understand how these scriptures relate to our lives, we will be illuminated and learn from them.
As for me, I’ve recently discovered that my life somewhat parallels the Israelites forty year journey through the desert. I’m just hoping that doesn’t mean this particular trial is going to last a full forty years!
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