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Dear Friend,

I want to write today about something that was very important to me in my past and that I am working through in faith journey—scripture.

For so long, scripture felt like bedrock foundation. It was the thing I could always turn to for answers, clarity, and truth. I was quite adherent to reading from them daily. I’ve probably read the Book of Mormon at least eighty times cover to cover.

I read them with an amount of certainty and belief that every word meant exactly what it said, no more and no less. Perhaps you have as well.

And if you’re like me, part of your faith journey might involve starting to see scripture differently. That shift can be painful—and truthfully, I am still working through it. I can also tell you that the journey to reconciling my relationship with scripture has been beautiful.

In some ways, the stories from our scriptural canon feel more complicated. The commands and demands from God are more questionable. The former certainties are less certain.

You may wonder:

If I don’t read these words the same way anymore, do they still count as scripture?

If they’re not literal or historical, are they still true or good?

Here’s what I’ve come to believe.

I’ve benefited from the fact that I’ve never taken the scriptures as 100% literal. That’s helped in seeing all of them as flawed but worthwhile.

Scripture has never just been about the words themselves—it’s always been about what they point to. They’re about the way they stir us, humble us, teach us, awaken us, and how they bring us into conversation with God.

As Latter-day Saints, we’ve always had a more expansive view of scripture than most. Ours is a tradition that says God didn’t stop speaking with the Bible. We believe in continuing revelation. We believe in “many great and important things yet to be revealed.” We believe that scripture can and should be expansive.

Perhaps you’re now realizing that scripture doesn’t have to be in a leather-bound volume. That it doesn’t need chapter and verse to be sacred. And that it doesn’t have to be historically or literally true to hold spiritual value.

That realization might feel disorienting at first. Then, it can be a relief. Then you can look differently at stories of prophets that command she-bears to slay children or gods that threaten wives with damnation if they don’t accept polygamy.

Give yourself permission to let those things go.

But it gets even better than letting go. There is also expansion that opens up an even wider world of wisdom from new voices.

If you can believe that, for example, the Book of Mormon inspired you despite its flaws, you can believe that about many written volumes.

And that creates an opportunity for you to decide what is scripture to you. You can create your own canon, not relying on what others decided hundreds of years ago should or shouldn’t be included.

So, what do you include? For me, scripture is anything that brings me closer to the Divine. Anything that teaches me to love better, see more clearly, walk more gently can be scripture.

That has opened me up to so many new voices, both Christian and not, who have distilled peace. Scripture can be what inspires you.

You don’t have to treat all texts the same. Not everything deserves the same weight or reverence. You can be discerning. You can let some things go. And you can let new things in.

Someone recently shared this social media post with me from Zachary Helton:

“When I left institutional Christianity, I really missed the Bible.

Not the problematic parts—but the idea of having a sacred book I could claim.

I didn’t want to just replace it with something else-but as I read about other spiritual traditions, I realized there might be a different way to think about it…

Thich Nhat Hanh writes that forming a canon is like “stringing precious jewels together to make a necklace.’

We decide what the string is-based on our highest values and our ultimate concerns… And in light of that, we decide which precious jewels belong on the string, and which don’t.

What if that’s the posture we need now?

Not a closed box decided long ago-but something more alive?

Not rigid, but reflective?

Not handed down, but intentionally chosen?

Built from what brings us alive and helps us connect?

That canon would look different for each of us.

The things we put in them may not “sound sacred”

but by stringing them together,

we make them sacred.

That’s what the

Christian canon once was-

before it became institutionalized and untouchable.

If we want a spirituality that supports our truest selves—

maybe this is a posture we should reclaim.”

If you’ve stopped reading scripture for a while, I understand. It’s hard to digest. But when you’re ready, maybe try reading different scripture, and read it differently.

But when you are ready, create your own canon. Ask yourself, what is useful to you? String it together in your own volumes, and choose as widely as you wish.

Then, when you are reading scripture, don’t ask, “Is this literal?” but “Is this loving?”

Not “Is this historical?” but “Is this helpful?”

Not “Is this the Word of God?” but “Is God speaking to me through this?”

You might find the sacred is still speaking—just in new ways. And you’re still allowed to call it scripture.

With warmth,

Your Friend