Making your scripture study more meaningful

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John L. Hilton III related that he wanted his Education Week audience to be able to get to a point where they have passion and excitement over their scriptures. Hilton taught a class on “Making Your Scripture Study More Meaningful,” in the Jesse Knight Building Tuesday morning.

“Why study the scriptures?” Hilton asked. “I think when we understand the why, it becomes much easier to go and do.”

Hilton used the acronym P.E.A.C.E. to illustrate why people should read the scriptures.

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John L. Hilton III teaches a class on Making Your Scripture Study More Meaningful Tuesday morning in the Jesse Knight Building.
The P stands for protection.

 

“This protection is real,” Hilton said. “The Book of Mormon not only exposes enemies of Christ but also gives us examples of great righteousness. I think that maybe in our lives we can ponder and think about if there is anything in my life that I’m not obeying with exactness.”

 

 

 

The two E’s in Peace stand for “Easier to feel the spirit.” Hilton related the account of Lehi’s vision in first Nephi and quoted verse 12, saying that as he read, he was filled with the spirit of the Lord.

“What a powerful phrase, as he read he was filled with the spirit of the lord,” Hilton said.

Hilton then quoted Elder David A. Bednar: “In my judgment, diligently searching to discover connections, patterns and themes is in part what it means to “feast” upon the words of Christ. This approach can open the floodgates of the spiritual reservoir, enlighten our understanding through His Spirit, and produce a depth of gratitude for the Holy Scriptures and a degree of spiritual commitment that can be received in no other way.”

Finding patterns, connections and themes was greatly stressed by Hilton. He suggested using a program available at http://ldsview.byu.edu. The program has a search engine where you can type in words and find where they are throughout all the standard works.

An example was used with the word, atonement. “Maybe as we go through we can find different patterns and see how the word atonement is used,” Hilton said. “And our testimony of the atonement can be deepened.”

The phrase, “inquire of the Lord,” appears 36 times in the scriptures. “In every case but one, it says in the verse after, that the Lord responded,” Hilton said. “But we all know that there are some prayers that the Lord doesn’t respond to. So it made me wonder if there was a difference between praying and inquiring of the Lord. So I went back and looked at patterns of behavior that people have when they inquire of the Lord.”

A stands for “All things you should do.” Hilton gave a personal account of when he met his wife before they were married. He said the scriptures helped give him guidance and prepare him to court her.

“The scriptures have the answer for every problem we have, large or small,” Hilton said.

“When we want to speak to God, we pray. And when we want Him to speak to us, we search the scriptures,” Hilton said, quoting Elder Robert D. Hales.
C stands for covenants in the P.E.A.C.E. acronym.

“I do not know of a better way to always remember him than to daily study the scriptures,” Hilton said. “That covenant is not an abstract notion. It can be honored in meaningful, personal prayer every morning and night and in diligent study of the scriptures.

“So we made a covenant to study. We know that we should study them everyday so we dutifully do it. But reading your scriptures shouldn’t be like going to the dentist where you grit your teeth… It should be an exciting passionate thing that we love to do.”

Hilton concluded his presentation with an invitation to act.

“The real question is what will you and I do differently with our scripture study?” he asked. “I testify that if we take this challenge… that the spirit will flow into our lives.”

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