Duff read and marked his scriptures with a special emphasis
on its chief message, the witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said that as he
read, he too “felt to sing the song of redeeming love” of which the prophets spoke
(Alma 5:26). Among other things, he found a multitude of sentences that were
profound, beautiful, and worthy of any literature on earth.
Duff believed that the only way to understand the
scriptures was to invest the necessary time with them. He taught, “I was
thinking about what the scriptures themselves teach us about reading the
scriptures. There are so many strong affirmations about searching and seeking
and asking and knocking, and about the attitude with which we do this. Paul
compared the people in two cities where he had taught. He reported that they in
Berea were nobler than those in Thessalonica, in that day ‘received the word
with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily’ (Acts 17:11,
emphasis added). (“An Attitude: The Weightier Matters,” BYU, Mar. 25, 1980)
‘Christ himself answered the cynical question of the
Sadducees concerning marriage in the resurrection, a resurrection in which they
acknowledged no belief, ‘Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures’ (Matthew
22:29).” Duff added, “And so do we err if we do not know them.
“What men need is not so much to know what other men
think or feel, but to know what God has said, what God has done, and what God
wants us to do. But if we are wise and determined, we can learn it every day in
the pages of the Scriptures as we ‘seek learning by study and also by faith’
(D&C 88:118). (“An Attitude”)
Many of us find ourselves slacking off. We have studied
in times past and probably remember it with joy, but haven’t recently put in
the effort—Alma responded to this situation by reminding the people of the
faith and feeling they once had and then asking, ‘Can we feel so now?’ (Alma
5:26).”
Duff taught, “We have to stay current and qualified in
the things of God. It isn’t enough to have once felt, when we were young, or
when we were on a mission, or even a year or two. Life is full of changes and
newness. We need the current companionship of the scriptures and the assurances
they bring. Through constant connection to the Word of God and the truths found
in the scriptures, we can find the strength and faith to accomplish God’s
purposes for each of us.” (Richard D. Hanks, To be a Friend of Christ: The Life
of Marion D. Hanks [Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2024], 123, 125)
To Support this Blog:
Email for Amazon Gift card:
ScripturalMormonism@gmail.com
