By Nathan Moulton
Joseph McConkie has been asked how his late father, Bruce R. McConkie, studied the scriptures - as if the apostle had some unknown method that helped him become such a respected gospel scholar.
'I will reveal the great and grand secret,' McConkie told a crowd of Education Week participants Monday morning, Aug. 21, 2006. 'It is that there is no secret method.'
Effective study has nothing to do with the marking system a person uses or other physical methods, McConkie said. But 'it has everything to do with intensity and consistency.'
McConkie, a BYU professor of ancient scripture who has worked in the Church Education System for more than four decades, gave 'seven principles of scriptural understanding' to help people get the most from their study.
First, that which has been given by the Spirit can only be understood by the Spirit.
'By breaking communications with the heavens ... we lose not only the opportunity to receive additional revelation, but we also lose the key by which all that we possess is understood,' McConkie said.
Furthermore, scripture not read in the spirit in which it was given is useless, he said. 'Holy writ in the spirit of contention is not scripture. It is simply black ink on white paper.'
Second, all gospel principles are absolute.
'Whenever or wherever we live the principles and promises of the gospel, they are the same,' he said.
For his third principle, McConkie used the words of Doctrine & Covenants 88:118 - to 'seek learning, even by study and also by faith.'
He compared such faith to the birth of a child - whose life brings a depth of love and understanding to its parents that they might not have understood otherwise.
'It is only in the adding of faith to our study of scripture that we capture the essence of that which we read,' McConkie said.
The fourth principle was to keep things in context.
'When my wife tells me I ought to say ''I love you'' more often, she does not have in mind my saying that to other women,' he said.
It is dangerous to concentrate on a small concept without looking at the bigger picture, he said. 'An obscure or isolated statement will not be called on to bear the weight of the gospel.'
Fifth, true principles properly interpreted will be in harmony with each other.
Sometimes, as in the case of Adam and Eve, people just need to make a choice and be prepared to face the consequences.
'Any virtue overdone can become a vice,' he said. 'No principle remains a correct principle when used incorrectly.'
McConkie''s sixth principle was to seek help from sources that possess greater knowledge.
He said people should not be afraid to go to other sources that might provide insight into certain aspects of scripture. On top of that, common sense is sometimes most important.
'Some things are just left for us to figure out,' he said.
McConkie''s last principle for scriptural understanding was to liken scripture to the individual.
'We take the cloth of scripture and tailor it to fit our own circumstances,' McConkie said.