Remember Him through Searching the Scriptures

“My soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my soul pondereth them.” (2 Ne. 4:15.)

As the mother of three preschoolers, Geri Brinley was trying to live the gospel and to rear her family in righteousness. But she didn’t think she had time to study the scriptures.

“What did Lehi’s journey to the promised land have to do with my problems?” she wondered. “Where was the chapter and verse in the Book of Mormon that tells how to toilet-train a stubborn two-year-old or get a four-year-old to pick up his toys? I was sure I had more relevant things to worry about than who was going to win the next Nephite-Lamanite war.”

Her answer came when she was called to be a Relief Society Spiritual Living teacher. As she studied the scriptures to prepare for her lessons, she found that they contained the answers to many questions. She began to look for scriptural answers to her questions about rearing children.

“I began reading the Book of Mormon with a purpose,” she recalls. “Whenever I discovered an example of parenting, I wrote down the reference with a brief note. When I finished, I organized the examples I’d discovered into principles taught and my applications of each principle.”

The scriptures became a guide to rearing her children. (Ensign, July 1988, pp. 38–41.)

A Catalyst to Personal Revelation

As we regularly and prayerfully study the scriptures, the Spirit will lead us to contemplate particular passages that can guide us to learn and grow. One way to begin this process is to identify a specific need, question, or problem and then to look up references to that subject in the topical guide, index, or dictionary in the LDS edition of the King James version of the Bible. This can help us to “liken all scriptures unto us, that [they] might be for our profit and learning.” (1 Ne. 19:23.)

One sister was living with Latter-day Saint roommates who were not living Church standards. She felt it would be inappropriate and ineffective to lecture them about their behavior, but she cared enough to want to help. One evening she read Alma 4:19, which speaks of “reclaiming” others by “bearing down in pure testimony.” This verse seemed to be a direct revelation. She decided to find ways to bear her testimony of the joy that gospel living had brought into her life.

A Comforting Influence

The scriptures can also be a source of comfort in times of trial.

Hazel Hunt’s husband, Bill, died shortly after he received a blessing that he would be healed if he and Hazel had faith. After his death, Hazel worried that she hadn’t had enough faith.

“Please tell me why my husband was taken,” she asked her home teacher. He turned to Doctrine and Covenants 42:48: [D&C 42:48] “He that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed.”

“There was the answer to my question,” Hazel says. “I could accept Bill’s appointed time to return to his Heavenly Father.” (Church News, 18 Apr. 1987, p. 2.)

The Lord is eager to inspire, help, and comfort us. As we prayerfully search and ponder the scriptures, he will give us joy and peace in our lives and strength to overcome our trials.

Suggestions for Visiting Teachers

You or the sister you visit may want to share an experience of when your life was touched by studying the scriptures.
Discuss some ways we can build a habit of studying the scriptures regularly.

(See Family Home Evening Resource Book, pp. 17–19, 167 for related materials.)

Illustrated by Beth Maryon Whittaker