“Come Learn of Me,” New Era, Dec. 1985, 10–11
“Come Learn of Me”
Like a welcome, green oasis to the weary desert traveler is the gentle invitation of our Lord: “Come … learn of me; … and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matt. 11:28–29).
We are reminded of His injunction to “search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).
The words of truth and inspiration found in our four standard works are prized possessions to me. I never tire of reading them. I am lifted spiritually whenever I search the scriptures. These holy words of truth and love give guidance to my life and point out the way to eternal perfection.
The work of publishing the scriptures has been central to the mission of the Church since the time of Joseph Smith. However, it has only been in the past decade that a concerted effort has been made to tie together the four standard works by correlated cross-references and to provide them from our current reservoir of knowledge, the aids and helps which make the scriptures more easily understood.
The scholarly work of preparing cross-references and assembling other aids and helps, along with the creation of the Topical Guide and Bible Dictionary, began in earnest in 1973 and reached its marvelous conclusion in August of 1979, when the very first copies of the LDS edition of the Bible came from the bindery.
Let me illustrate how the new Topical Guide can be a blessing to each Latter-day Saint in his gospel study. Some years ago, President Harold B. Lee opened one of our auxiliary organization manuals and read to me a reference wherein the author had speculated concerning the meaning of a passage quoted from the New Testament. President Lee said, “If only the author had known his Doctrine and Covenants, he would have known what the Lord had to say at a later time to clarify the biblical account.” Now there is no need for such confusion, for the cross-references in the Topical Guide are designed to solve such problems. Certainty has replaced doubt. Knowledge has overcome speculation.
After the Bible had been published and reviewed, it was determined that the Church would next concentrate its efforts on the three books of modern scripture which we commonly refer to as the triple combination. This, too, became a publishing miracle; but it came about so quietly that most hardly knew it had happened.
The efforts and prayers of those who prepared these works, and even the miracles of publishing, are of no value to you, however, unless you begin to search the new editions. Delve into the study aids and the helpful information which supplement the texts and thus enhance your understanding and increase your testimony.
The holy scriptures are for children, to fill their eager minds with sacred truth. They are for youth, to prepare them for the challenges of our fast-moving world. They are for the sisters, remembering President Spencer W. Kimball’s advice: “We want our sisters to be scholars of the scriptures as well as our men” (Ensign, Nov. 1978, p. 102). They are for the brethren of the priesthood, that each may qualify for the description given in the Book of Mormon to the sons of Mosiah: “They were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God” (Alma 17:2).
I know these sacred books of scripture are the word of God. With all my soul, as a special witness, I testify that they are true. As we search them, as we understand them, as we live them, may we one day be privileged to meet Him who beckoned us with His words, “Come … learn of me,” (Matt. 11:28–29) and abide His holy presence forever and ever.