In
one of those small, enlightening coincidences, I had an experience in
Primary that tied in with the previous “Light for My Path” column
on understanding the meaning of words. I was teaching the song “I Will Follow God’s Plan,”
which includes these lines:
I will follow God’s plan for me,
Holding fast to his word and his love.
I
asked the children what “fast” means here: “Does it
mean you’re holding on in a hurry?” They realized that
didn’t make sense. But the next two children who answered the
question thought it had something to do with fasting, as in not
eating, which didn’t make much sense either.
The
correct meaning — holding tight or firmly — wasn’t
even in their minds. And they couldn’t understand the meaning
of that important line until they had a correct sense of the words.
In
Old Testament times, Nehemiah’s people gathered to hear their
leaders read the scriptures. These leaders “read in the book of
the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to
understand the reading.”(Nehemiah 8:8.)
Whether we’re teaching ourselves or others, an important key to
understanding the scriptures is understanding the words in them.
Seems
obvious, right? But how many times do we guess at a word from its
context instead of looking it up, only to be surprised later that it
doesn’t mean what we thought it meant? Or how often do we skim
over a word that doesn’t make sense instead of figuring out how
to close the gap in our understanding?
Part
of the challenge is that the scriptures were written long ago and
sometimes use words that are unfamiliar, or at least have an
unfamiliar meaning. For example, there are words we rarely use in
everyday speech:
Betimes
can mean “early” or “quickly”: “And
they arose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and
Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.”
(Genesis 26:31.)
Wist
means “knew”: “And [Jesus] said unto them, How is
it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s
business? (Luke 2:49.)
Wont
means “inclined or disposed to do”: “And the
people resort unto [Jesus] again; and, as he was wont, he taught
them again.” (Mark 10:1.)
Then
there are words that are part of our modern vocabulary, but their
meaning in the scriptures is different from our modern meaning:
Fear
can mean “reverence”: “Come and hear, all ye that
fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.”
(Psalms 66:16.)
Suffer
can mean “permit” or “allow”: “But
Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come
unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14.)
Save
can mean “except” or “unless”: “And
again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope,
save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.” (Moroni 7:43.)
Sometimes
we as adults struggle with — or even complain about — the
language used in the scriptures. But it doesn’t have to be an
insurmountable obstacle. In fact, when I ask Primary children what to
do if they find a word they don’t understand in the scriptures,
they know: Look it up, pray about it, ask someone.
And
as they grow older, they’ll learn more about footnotes and
other wonderful Study Helps
included with the scriptures.
I
love the reaction of Nehemiah’s people when they understood the
words of scripture that were read to them: they celebrated! (Nehemiah 8:12.)
Understanding the words we read is
a cause for celebration as we grow in our ability to hear the Lord’s
voice to us through the holy scriptures.
Kathryn Grant is a user assistance professional with a passion
for usability and process
improvement. She also loves family history and enjoys the challenge and
reward of building her family tree.
As a child, she lived outside the United States for four years because of her father's job. This experience fueled her natural love of words and language, and also taught her to appreciate other cultures.
Kathryn values gratitude, teaching, learning, differences, and unity. She loves looking at star-filled skies, reading mind-stretching books, listening to contemporary Christian music, attending the temple, and eating fresh raspberries.
Kathryn teaches Sunday family history classes at the BYU Family History Library, and presents frequently at family history events. For more information, visit her Family History Learning Resources page