Likening the Scriptures

Growing up reading I was told that the scriptures were full of examples for me and that I should "liken' them to me. (See: 1 Nephi 19:23) One of the first times I felt like I really did this was as a missionary reading about Samuel the Lamanite. I realized that we were in a similar situation where we were both missionaries sent to people. The major difference was that he had a slightly more aggressive audience. I learned from Samuel that you succeed as a missionary when you do your best to obey the Lord and try and testify to people. I also learned that a good missionary testifies of Christ whenever possible. Samuel also taught me not to give up easily and to be firm in doing what I know to be right. In our lives there are situations that we can compare to experiences people in the scriptures had. If we compare their lives to our own and learn from the example of those in the scriptures we will gain greater knowledge from the scriptures.

I know that the scriptures can provide us with patterns for how we can live our lives. Neal A. Maxwell testified that applying the scriptures to our lives would hasten our process towards perfection. (See:Lessons from Laman and Lemuel) As we apply scriptural lessons in our lives we can grow closer to God; find safety in the scriptures; and gain greater knowledge from them.