"Scriptures that I Own"

Someday I will publish a book with this title.  I scribbled it down in primary of all places a couple of weeks ago.  I've pondered on it a long time, but I finally mapped it out in outline form and decided what shape it should take.  I think I'm excited about the prospect of doing something that's new.  I don't have much confidence in accomplishing any task right now, but I prayed about it and am prepared to give it a try.  Since my blog has been so "despairing" lately, I don't really have to worry about too many people reading it and squashing my idea.

We are supposed to make the scriptures our own;   put them into our context;  liken them unto us;  so, I figure as long as I'm not completely out of the doctrinal ballpark, I can write about what selected verses mean just to me.  There will be different sections of verses: 
1.  Verses that I inherited from family; 
2.  Verses I borrowed or stole from other peoples' talks, but tweaked to relate to me; 
3.  Verses I worked for and earned all on my own; and
4.  Verses that were given to me in the form of counsel or advice by people I'm close to.   

I will include the quotations and the date I 'acquired' that verse and the story of why it's important and what it means to me.  Then I think I conclude with encouraging others to "own"  the scriptures they read.

It's scary to put this out there, even if only Keith will read it.  It makes me vulnerable and I have to say, over the past 10 months, that's all I've been.   I always seem to look at the scriptures differently than those around me and come away with a totally different point of view.  While that's interesting, It's a little scary too.   If I write short, rough  attempts here though, it will give me a place to start.

I have a few favorites.  Maybe I should start with one of them. 
1 Corinthians 10:13 is normally quoted like this,  "...God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;".    I feel very strongly about this verse.  I think so many people in the world are lulled by it when it's quoted that way.   In it's more full context it reads like this, starting in verse 12,  "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;   but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

I  have a dated notation written next to verse 12 which says,  "10-8-02  I think this may very well be the most pertinent of all verses of scripture!  The minute we feel unbeholden or independent of the Savior we better brace ourselves for a fall.  See Alma 13:28 and Alma 38:11."

What I mean by my note is that we can never think we're strong enough without help.   We never will be.  The devil is always going to be more experienced than we are.  There are lots of temptations he can put in front of us that we may not be able to bear without being prepared in advance.  Alma 38:11 says,  "See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength."  If we look at the original, oft quoted scripture the way it's normally presented, we get a false sense of our own power--power that isn't really ours.  It's the power that comes from total reliance on the Spirit that makes temptations bearable.  That's an interesting word choice too.  Bearable isn't exactly a synonym for beatable or winnable is it?

I really like the footnoted scripture in Psalms 34:17, 19  that says "the righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.  We aren't just given trials we are able to overcome.  What would be the point of that?  We are given challenges that require us to seek for help from above.  The test is in whether we ask for it or not.

Finally, my answer whenever I hear this temptation verse quoted in a class or anywhere that lends to a discussion is Alma 13:28.  "But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear..."  This one goes on too, but for this particular answer, ending there is okay.  Doesn't that sound like it is  possible to be tempted above your threshold unless you are on your toes and being obedient?  It does to me.  It screams accountability, responsibility and the humility to not lean on your own strength when temptation (or anything else) comes.

So that's the first example of a scripture that I own.  I worked for that one.  Nobody handed it to me.  In fact, you can probably tell, it came from my unwillingness to accept  what was given to me.