The Scriptures -- A Sign in Our Hands

President Packer has been known for his involvement in and commentary on the great scriptural project that the Church undertook in the 1970s to bring us the footnoted, cross-referenced, combined four volume set of scriptures complete with detailed maps, Bible Dictionary, and an enormous Topical Guide.  He spoke about the subject in 1982 in general conference and made this statement, “The older generation has been raised without [this edition of the scriptures], but there is another generation growing up. The revelations will be opened to them as to no other in the history of the world. Into their hands now are placed the sticks of Joseph and of Judah.  They will develop a gospel scholarship beyond that which their forebears could achieve” (Scriptures, October 1982).  I was in the generation growing up with this version of the scriptures and am profoundly grateful for how it has influenced my life and instilled in me a testimony of Jesus Christ and his gospel. 

                When this version of the scriptures came out in 1982 it could have scarcely been imagined how much more accessible the gospel library could become to the Saints in 30 years.  Now not only can we carry a physical copy of the four volumes of scripture in one book, in our handheld device we can digitally hold that, general conferences from decades past, and countless other inspired works of scriptural commentary and counsel from the apostles and prophets.  I think that William Tyndale would be overjoyed by this fact, for he died trying to get the scriptures in English into the hands of the common man.  As he said to the king, “If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough, shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost!” (see The Blessings of Scripture, April 2010).  His dream has surely come true, for now everyone in the world that has at least access to the internet has the same ability to read, study, and ponder the word of God if they so choose to do so.  Our great challenge today is not having access to the scriptures; it is putting that access into use. 

                A favorite scriptural passage that I ran across again recently is in the words of the Lord to Moses.  After commanding Moses to “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might,” He said this about what we now call the scriptures: “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Deuteronomy 6:5-9).  I love that language—the scriptures should not be something we occasionally open, read, and promptly forget until the next time around in Zoramite fashion, but the messages of the scriptures should be a part of our homes, our conversations, and our teachings to our children.  As Joshua was told, we should “meditate therein day and night” (Joshua 1:8).  For the Jews they were to physically be reminded of this as they wore their phylacteries (small boxes with verses from the Torah) on their hands and forehead as Deuteronomy 6:8 commands.  I presume that this physical practice disappeared for Christians as the Law of Moses was fulfilled, but perhaps now we have come full circle.  Most of us do indeed have the full set of scriptures bound to our hands, especially since for many the smart phone is never far from reach (if it leaves the hand at all).  We can again literally “bind them for a sign upon [our] hand” as we search, memorize, study, and read the scriptures that are constantly with us.  To do that, though, we must see our device or tablet for its only truly important function: not calling, not texting, not playing games, and not searching the internet or checking Facebook, but for giving us instant access to the word of God.