That Ye May Profit Thereby

Most days in our home we try to read scriptures with our children in the evening right before bed. As we try to shut down their other activities and call them into the living room, we say something like, “Come sit down on the couch for scriptures.” Somehow they seem to hear instead, “Go walk around the kitchen and eat.” So we usually spend several minutes trying to convince them that this was not what we actually said and that we really want them participating with us reading the scriptures. We have varying levels of success each night, but my wife and I usually must content ourselves with having only some of our six children present in the room as we discuss the scriptures in Come, Follow Me. The image that lately has come to mind is one from my high school physics class: our children are like electrons circling the nucleus, never stopping their movement but also never arriving at the center place. Thinking about this small struggle that we have, I appreciated Brother Mark L. Pace’s comments in general conference about why we study the scriptures and program. He quoted this from the Come, Follow Me introduction: “The aim of all gospel learning and teaching is to deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ…. The kind of gospel learning that strengthens our faith and leads to the miracle of conversion doesn’t happen all at once. It extends beyond a classroom into our hearts and homes. It requires consistent, daily efforts to understand and live the gospel. Gospel learning that leads to true conversion requires the influence of the Holy Ghost.” Elder Pace commented, “That is the miracle we seek—when one person has an experience in the scriptures and that experience is blessed by the influence of the Holy Ghost…. Conversion is our goal.” I love that clarity of purpose. For our family the goal should not necessarily be that all the kids obediently sit down and we get through a chapter in the scriptures together. Rather, the goal is for them to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost and for our experience in the scriptures to strengthen their conversion to the Savior and His gospel. If that happens in some small way, even if there is a little chaos and wandering in the process, we will have succeeded in our purpose.

            When King Benjamin spoke to his children about the scriptures, he said this: “I would that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God.” He bore his testimony to them that the scriptures were true: “O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true.” And then he expressed his desire for them to find benefit in the words of holy writ: “And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby” (Mosiah 1:3-7). His words give us a guide for what we should focus on with our children as it relates to the scriptures. We want them to come to know the Lord and His mysteries through the pages of the scriptures. That is the goal and part of how we do that is to bear our witness to them. We also invite them to search in the scriptures themselves so that they might in some way be profited by the words they read. I think this highlights the need in our family scripture study to have each child who can read to read at least something for themselves, giving them an opportunity to “search” on their own. Certainly there is value in reading to them, but as Brother Pace taught, “Reading or hearing about another person’s experiences and insights can be helpful, but that won’t bring the same converting power. There is no substitute for the time you spend in the scriptures, hearing the Holy Ghost speak directly to you.” We want them to understand and be converted to Him, and to do that we must help them hear His voice for themselves. We symbolically place “the blood of the Lamb of God on the entrance to [our] homes” as we follow the prophet’s counsel and study the scriptures. By doing so each day we demonstrate our commitment and faith and invite “the miracle of one person having an experience in the scriptures and that experience being blessed by the influence of the Holy Ghost.” To have that kind of experience in the scriptures should be our ultimate purpose as we read with our children.