Alfredo wrote:I'm confused.
D&C 8:9
But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
For what rational purpose is the command to "study" given, which is not simply fulfilled (or overthrown) by asking and accepting God's answer?
I find it very suspicious that this suggests the term "study" must be used to fulfill some irrational purpose, yet what possible irrational purpose is not similarly supplanted by feeling it is right?
It seems that, given the end result, there is no purpose to "study", at all.
The Lord is describing the relationship between Faith and Works.
Study and Revelation are not mutually exclusive. They are two blades of a pair of scissors, both necessary for the job to get done. Faith precedes the Miracle. Study, in this context, is an act of faith. It is us doing our part which then signals the Lord that He can do His part.
Let me quote the relevant verses here:
7 Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.
1) Study it out in your mind.
I think this is simply suggesting that the Lord does not want us to simply ask Him for the answer without giving it some thought first (see verse 7). We don't need to ask Him if He would like us to stop smoking or drinking. He has already spoken on the matter, and common sense also tells us these habits are not very healthy.
The Lord has blessed us with a conscience and an intellect. He expects us to employ them
as a necessary part of getting an answer from Him.
More to the point, I think the Lord is probably talking about things that have no clear or obvious answer. In this case the question at hand was translating the Book of Mormon. It was not just to be had for the asking. I am sure the Lord expected Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith to study available material on translation, to pay attention to patterns and language constructs, to memorize symbols that they encountered over and over to aid with translation. To be engaged in the process - not just ask the Lord to hand them the translated book with no effort on their parts.
Also - the Lord holds our agency sacred. Studying something out in our minds is a token of our faith and a token of our desire to get an answer from Him. We are saying - Look, Lord, I am following your commandment. I am doing it the way you have given to us."
2) Ask if it is right.
To me, this suggests that we have already made a decision as to the course to pursue. We've studied it out in our minds. We have weighed the pros and cons and thought about the impact on ourselves and our family and friends (perhaps). Having done that, and made a decision, we now go to the Lord for confirmation.
3) The Lord tells us how He will tell us YES:
and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
4) The Lord tells us how we will tell us NO:
But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong;
-No such feelings.
-A stupor of thought that will cause us to forget the thing which is wrong.
Thinking IS required! But we are commanded to not take it too far the other way and rely ONLY upon our own intellect. The Lord wants a mix - some effort and faith on our part combined with asking and receiving a yes or a no. Only doing ONE or the OTHER is not the right way. Both must be involved.