BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” As part of their undergraduate coursework, BYU students take multiple semesters of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.
In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.
In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America. (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names. We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)
Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.
Mormon Reflections on the Word: Three Levels of Study
Have you ever thought about how you read the scriptures? Not just that you do, but on what level do you do it? We learned in class about three levels of reading the scriptures. You can read, first, on a global/world level. This is where you read and understand the story and what’s happening. The Spirit isn’t really there, and you may not receive the revelation that you might otherwise if the Spirit were part of your study. Next is the we/family/Church level. This is when you read with “us” in mind. That could mean you and your family, or us as a Church, as Saints. When we read this way, we learn to apply gospel principles as a community. The best way to study individually is on the “I” level. When stores want you to see their products, where do they put them? On eye level. I level. Get it? This is when you study the scriptures and you’re in tune with the Spirit, analyzing and always taking into consideration how it can apply to you and your life, always trying to use them to receive revelation and improve yourself.
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