Obtain Benefit Therefrom

In a podcast I listened to yesterday, Church historian Jed Woodworth gave an interesting application for section 91 of the Doctrine and Covenants. In this revelation, the Lord gave Joseph information about the Apocrypha in which He said this: “There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly; There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men.” In other words, the Apocrypha has truth but it also has things which are not true. So what should we do with it? The Lord told Joseph that it didn’t need to be translated, but that didn’t meant the book didn’t have any value. He continued, “Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth; And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom” (v1-5). In other words, there is still value in reading a book that has imperfections and “interpolations by the hands of men” because it also contains truth. But that value can only be really had if we read it with the Spirit to guide us and enlighten us. The lesson for us from this, as Brother Woodworth suggested, is that we should not reject something or someone outright just because there may be ideas from that person or thing that we don’t agree with. Instead of searching for what is false in what we read or hear, we should focus on what is good and true. We can still find value in other people’s ideas and thoughts even if we find falsehoods in some of what they say. This is an especially important message for us in our contentious and polarized world where people are shamed and hated because they have ideas contrary to cultural norms. The Lord’s acceptance of the Apocrypha as having value despite its imperfections is a sign that we should try harder to find the good in all people and their ideas.

               This idea reminds me of what President Oaks taught us about voting in the most recent general conference. He said this, “There are many political issues, and no party, platform, or individual candidate can satisfy all personal preferences. Each citizen must therefore decide which issues are most important to him or her at any particular time. Then members should seek inspiration on how to exercise their influence according to their individual priorities.” In other words, we are going to have to vote for candidates with whom we do not agree on some or even many issues; but just because we may reject some of their ideas that need not mean that we can’t vote for them because of other issues we may believe are more important. Of course, the Lord’s instruction concerning how to find truth in the Apocrypha extends to political matters and many others: we must seek to be enlightened by the Spirit to know how to act and what is true and good. And surely the 13^th article of faith should be our guide as we seek to find truth and right from many sources: “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

               I believe this revelation on the Apocrypha is connected to the Lord’s instruction to the Prophet Joseph in the previous section, given just the day before. In it the Lord said this to Joseph: “And when you have finished the translation of the prophets, you shall from thenceforth preside over the affairs of the church and the school; And from time to time, as shall be manifested by the Comforter, receive revelations to unfold the mysteries of the kingdom; And set in order the churches, and study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, and people” (Doctrine and Covenants 90:13-15). In other words, when Joseph had finished the important work of his Bible translation, he would continue learning in two ways: through continued revelations from the Lord and from his own study of good books and languages, tongues, and people. Joseph was to seek our the good in places other than the revealed word of the Lord. Surely those “good books” would, like the Apocrypha, contain truth but also some error, and so he would need the Spirit to help enlighten him. We are no doubt each given the same invitation, to seek out truth and goodness both the revealed words of the Lord and all good books which can instruct and enlighten us.