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What is Scripture?

by Autumn Dickson

The title page of The Book of Mormon has me pondering about a couple of things that have actually been on my mind over the past year as I read the New Testament – namely, what really is scripture? Why do certain things get counted as scripture? What does it mean to be a writer of scripture?

As you read various books in the New Testament, you find that some of these men might not have even known they were writing what would be classified as scripture one day. We have the four gospels which are retellings of the life of Christ, replete with testimonies of who He is, but then we also have letters written by missionary-apostles. Lastly, we have a vision written by one of the apostles. In the same breath, we find the Doctrine and Covenants. These were a collection of blessings, visions, and dictations of the voice of God from a prophet. Apparently, the word “scripture” can be used to connote many different types of writing though I would still argue that there are a couple of criteria. The biggest criteria is that scripture is the “word of God.” How that chooses to manifest seems to include a wide array of options, but it all comes back to the idea that writing scripture is writing the word of God.

Let’s also look at this concept of “scripture” in the context of the title page of The Book of Mormon. There are a couple of phrases found on the title page that originally caught my attention. Mormon is teaching us that The Book of Mormon is a record “Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation.” I do not believe this to be an exhaustive list of criteria required for canonized scripture, but I do believe it can give us a glimpse of what the Lord views as scripture as well as giving us ideas of personal application.

Revelation

Though it is listed last, I want to start with it first so that I can describe why you can find personal relevance in this message. Scripture is written by way of revelation. This is obvious and makes sense. If the Lord had left us alone here on earth, revealing nothing, we could have likely found a wide range of things to worship. We could have pondered and thought and believed and worked and formed theories and acted, but none of them would have likely been accurate. Writings about the true nature of God and His plan for His children had to be revealed to us, and we see that in any of the canonized books of scripture we read. He has to speak to us, and it gets written down. Scripture is the revealed word of God. All of the men who wrote the books of scripture had the Savior revealed to them by some measure of His power.

But as I ponder this idea of revelation as well as the general concept of “word of God,” I also realize that we, as individuals, have the gift of revelation that enables us to receive the word of God directly. The Lord can reveal the mysteries of His kingdom to us, just as He did with other servants. That being said, that doesn’t make generalized scripture a free-for-all. Though we can all receive revelation, we also have limited jurisdiction with our revelation. I can receive revelation for my family and me and the actions we need to take in our own lives. I can receive revelation for myself about the mysteries of the kingdom, but I cannot receive an answer about where my friend should move or whether my brother should take a specific job he’s been offered. If I have a dear friend who is struggling with a question in the gospel, I may feel inspired to say something, but it has to be revealed to them in some manner by the Spirit. In the end, the true revelation will go to the person who has the right jurisdiction to receive such revelation.

I believe it is the same with scripture. There have been countless times where I have felt the Lord speaking to me (cough cough word of God) as I’ve written in my journal. He has revealed new perspectives, specific life directions, and even knowledge I had never noticed. Does that mean my journal is scripture? Maybe for me. It’s the word of God directly to me. Like scripture, I can go back and read through old entries and feel the spirit anew. I make new connections about things I have written in the past while I was feeling inspired.

On that same note, I feel as though I’ve caught a glimpse of what some of these scripture writers might have felt. The men who were commissioned to write scripture did have jurisdiction to write revelation for the entire church. They were apostles and prophets. The Lord had given them the authority to lead the church, and therefore, the word of God that they were receiving could come to us with authority. And even though some of these men were likely far more righteous than I am, they were still imperfect. There have also been times that I have gone back in my journal entries and found imperfect understandings, incomplete thoughts, or just the smallest fledglings of new knowledge. I think of Paul. If you read his epistles in chronological order, you see him grow in his own understanding of the Savior! His sermons describing grace become more eloquent and complete.

Much of the world believes scripture to be final, infallible; there is nothing left to say. This is extremely limiting to a God who has never ceased wanting to speak to us. This is extremely limiting to a God who is trying to teach us more about who He is and His plan for us, but we’re not ready to receive everything immediately. That doesn’t even begin to touch the idea that our language isn’t even perfect enough to describe what heaven can reveal; don’t we want to get better and better at expressing it? What if Paul stopped progressing after writing his final letter before his death? That was it. There was nothing else to learn or be said. What if we had only been given the first letter written by Paul? Having an understanding that scripture is the inspired writings of holy (imperfect) men means that the Lord can continue to reveal His will to us!

Scripture is the revealed word of God given to men, and it has not ceased.

By way of commandment

According to the title page of The Book of Mormon, this record was also written by way of commandment. The men who kept the records of the Nephites (as well as the men who abridged those records) were doing so because they were commanded.

To be totally honest, I don’t have a ton of commentary on this particular principle other than this: we have been commanded to keep a journal (even though we don’t always like to think about it), and I don’t think it’s because the Lord wants our posterity to hear all about our crush in the seventh grade. I think the Lord knows the power that can come from writing while being guided by the Spirit, and He wants us to find that power. Perhaps you have a hard time writing; try recording your thoughts. Most of us have phones with voice memo capabilities. I don’t believe it’s the writing so much as the expansion of inspired promptings. If you come across a thought in scripture or a feeling about a question you’ve been asking for a while, pause long enough to speak or write about it for a little bit. I can promise you from personal experience that the Lord has more to tell you if you’ll pause to hear it. The word of God continues on, and the commandment to write it down (or record it some manner) only furthers that process.

Spirit of prophecy

This section is like the commandment section; I don’t necessarily have a ton of commentary, but I still think it’s worth being brought to attention specifically. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ; the testimony of Christ enables the writing of scripture.

Once again, we do not have authority to write scripture for the entire church, but we do have a testimony of Christ, and it can lead us to write the word of God for our own lives as well as our circles of revelatory jurisdiction. I should also mention that my most powerful moments of writing what the Lord is trying to tell me often comes when I write about Christ. It’s not easy to just sit down and start writing about Christ spontaneously, at least not for me. Rather, I usually write about what’s going on in my life, I get it all out there on paper, and then I start to write it again with the perspective of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I reconsider what’s going on in my life through the lens of His promises, love, and power. These are definitely the times when I feel like He is revealing the most to me.

Interpretation by the gift of God

The Book of Mormon was written in reformed Egyptian, and it came to us by “the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof.” This is honestly a pretty significant claim that we lean on in the church. We testify that Joseph Smith, a simple farm boy, was able to translate this book in record timing through the power of God.

Perhaps we do not need to “translate” the word of God into our language, but there is personal and general relevance in this message. Whenever we seek to read the word of God, it needs to be interpreted by His power to the best of our ability. This has two implications. It means having a healthy understanding of our own imperfection and a willingness to be corrected as we mature in the gospel, but it also means pushing a significant portion of our energy towards having a communion experience with God as we read His word. If we want to get the most out of it and truly hear His word for us, it will require hearing from Him again. It is not enough to simply just read what’s already been written. God has not stopped giving His word, and this extends to the circumstances of reading what’s been written. When we read, He has more to say about His own mysteries as well as direct relevance to our own lives. Seeking that interpretation brings more of His word directly to you; it brings more “scripture.”

I testify of a Savior who is not finished speaking with His people and leading them. I testify that He continues to reveal His word, both on a church wide scale and an individual level. I testify that we can receive and write the word of God for our own lives and our own posterity. I testify of that because I feel and experience it all the time. It is through this process of recording (not just writing) His word that I have been able to experience the gospel in a way that has brought so many of the promises that have been made by the Savior.

And if there are faults, they are the mistakes of men. They are the frailties and mortal limitations of men who are trying to receive something heavenly into broken vessels. I testify that even some of these mistakes can be turned for our benefit because they push us to seek His word for ourselves. If we knew the word was completely written and perfect, we would not have to struggle to receive it for ourselves and develop the relationship with the Savior that He desires. I am so grateful for a Savior who continues to reveal His word because there is no way we can catch it all the first time.

 

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives.