In his Old
Testament manual, copyrighted by Heber J. Grant, then-president of the Church,
for the Education Department of the Church, Ezra Dalby wrote the following at
the end of the study giving praise to the Bible. I would that more Latter-day
Saints, many of whom have, at best, a superficial knowledge and
underappreciation of this great text had the same attitude as Dalby and
others:
O this Bible of ours! this word of God! this
book of life! What a wealth of precious truths are hid within its sacred pages!
What words can possibly tell the story of its priceless worth! Whose
imagination is vivid enough to conceive the comfort it has brought to sorrowing
souls and broken hearts! It has been the life and light of the world for five
and twenty centuries. Kingdoms have come and gone, empires have flourished and
fallen to decay, conquerors, rulers, mighty men of war and peace have played
their little part, and then passed from the stage of human activities to be
seen no more; but the word of God endures forever. Men have ridiculed it,
laughed at it, claimed to have proved it false, condemned it to oblivion, and
still it remains the greatest force for righteousness in the world. Not one
person in ten thousand knows its matchless worth. Men may search in all their
days, read it a thousand times, and still find new truth to gladden and refresh
their souls. Truly, it is a comforter in our day of sorrow, a companion in our
loneliness, a source of strength in our hour of weakness, a witness for God
when doubts assail us.
The Bible is our greatest heritage from the
past. It comes to us laden with a thousand blessings, sanctified by countless
missions of human souls who have read and loved it from the days of Ezra until
now. Jesus knew and drew much of his inspirations from its sacred pages; Paul
was familiar with the deeds and words of every character we have studied. Any
other single thing we have in the world might be dispensed with, but what would
the nations do if this sacred book were lost? Nothing could take its place.
The world is full of people who know little
or nothing of the Bible. Let every boy and girl who has taken this course
resolve to know the Bible better than any other book. They should learn to love
it as their dearest treasure. But this requires study reflection, prayer, and
faith. If it is to become a foundation of life, a superficial knowledge of it
is not sufficient. Its depths must be sounded, its heights determined, and the
extent of it measured. We must see in imagination, at least, the land from
which it came, and the character of the people that brought it forth, and
understand the age in which they lived. Our hearts must be in the study, and
God near to inspire our efforts. With such conditions to help us we can make
the book our own. (Ezra C. Dalby, Land
and Leaders of Israel: Lessons in the Old Testament [2d ed.; Salt Lake City:
Department of Education of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
1933], 521-22)
