Brigham Young University (BYU) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” As part of their undergraduate coursework, BYU students take multiple semesters of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.
Here, in this column, students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the New Testament and gospel of Jesus Christ in the form of letters to someone they know. In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to witness to all of us of the relevance, power, and beauty of the New Testament, and God’s plan of happiness for each of us. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures. Let us know how these may help you in your own life. Share them with a friend.
Mormonism: A Mirror
A Letter to a Friend
Dear Van,
This week in my class my teacher taught us something that was quite profound that I thought might help you. We all know the importance of the scriptures in our lives, but do we really understand the role they can play in our lives if we really try and study them?
Professor Griffin compared the scriptures to a windowpane. When you look through a window during the day, the light from the outside is illuminated on the inside, but when the sun goes down, eventually the inside of the window almost becomes mirror like. We can clearly see our own reflection in the pane.
The scriptures can be like this in a sense. As the sun goes down and events have passed in the scriptures, they begin to reflect on our own lives and how we live. The more we read and ponder the words of the Lord, the more we will be able to see those counsels working in our own lives.
I thought a lot about this and how we can use this to our advantage. Another aspect that is hard is that we as individuals cannot see ourselves unless we are looking in a mirror. Maybe the scriptures are the same way. It’s often times easy for others to see our flaws but hard for us to see our own until we have a mirror to look in. The scriptures can also serve as a way to help us find our weaknesses. I know that they help me to better myself and draw closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ. That should be our ultimate goal.
Love,
Chandler
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