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\u2014scripture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019ve probably read the Book of Mormon at least eighty times cover to cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if you’re like me, part of your faith journey might involve starting to see scripture differently. That shift can be painful\u2014and truthfully, I am still working through it. I can also tell you that the journey to reconciling my relationship with scripture has been beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You may wonder:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I don’t read these words the same way anymore, do they still count as scripture?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
If they\u2019re not literal or historical, are they still true or good?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s what I\u2019ve come to believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve benefited from the fact that I\u2019ve never taken the scriptures as 100% literal. That\u2019s helped in seeing all of them as flawed but worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture has never just been about the words themselves\u2014it\u2019s always been about what they point to. They\u2019re about the way they stir us, humble us, teach us, awaken us, and how they bring us into conversation with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Latter-day Saints, we\u2019ve always had a more expansive view of scripture than most. Ours is a tradition that says God didn\u2019t stop speaking with the Bible. We believe in continuing revelation. We believe in \u201cmany great and important things yet to be revealed.\u201d We believe that scripture can and should be expansive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps you’re now realizing that scripture doesn’t have to be in a leather-bound volume. That it doesn\u2019t need chapter and verse to be sacred. And that it doesn\u2019t have to be historically or literally true to hold spiritual value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019t accept polygamy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Give yourself permission to let those things go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it gets even better than letting go. There is also expansion that opens up an even wider world of wisdom from new voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you can believe that, for example, the Book of Mormon inspired you despite its flaws, you can believe that about many written volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019t be included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That has opened me up to so many new voices, both Christian and not, who have distilled peace. Scripture can be what inspires you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone recently shared this social media post with me from Zachary Helton:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I left institutional Christianity, I really missed the Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not the problematic parts\u2014but the idea of having a sacred book I could claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thich Nhat Hanh writes that forming a canon is like \u201cstringing precious jewels together to make a necklace.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We decide what the string is-based on our highest values and our ultimate concerns\u2026 And in light of that, we decide which precious jewels belong on the string, and which don’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if that’s the posture we need now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not a closed box decided long ago-but something more alive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not rigid, but reflective?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not handed down, but intentionally chosen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Built from what brings us alive and helps us connect?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That canon would look different for each of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The things we put in them may not \u201csound sacred\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
but by stringing them together,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
we make them sacred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s what the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christian canon once was-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
before it became institutionalized and untouchable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we want a spirituality that supports our truest selves\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
maybe this is a posture we should reclaim.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019ve stopped reading scripture for a while, I understand. It\u2019s hard to digest. But when you\u2019re ready, maybe try reading different scripture, and read it differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, when you are reading scripture, don\u2019t ask, \u201cIs this literal?\u201d but \u201cIs this loving?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not \u201cIs this historical?\u201d but \u201cIs this helpful?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not \u201cIs this the Word of God?\u201d but \u201cIs God speaking to me through this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You might find the sacred is still speaking\u2014just in new ways. And you\u2019re still allowed to call it scripture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With warmth,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your Friend<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reading time: 5 minutes. 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\u2014scripture. For so long, scripture felt like bedrock foundation. It was the thing I could always turn to for answers, clarity, and truth. I was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[78,76,79,77,81,75,80],"class_list":["post-102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-your-friend","tag-bible","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-letting-go","tag-literal-belief","tag-sacred","tag-scripture","tag-word-of-god"],"yoast_head":"\n
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