President Gordon B. Hinckley on a love affair with the scriptures

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) was born on June 23, 1910 — 105 years ago today.  He was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1961, served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1981-1995, then as Church President until his death in 2008 at age 97.

"I love our scriptures. I love these wonderful volumes, which set forth the word of the Lord—given personally or through prophets—for the guidance of our Father's sons and daughters. I love to read the scriptures, and I try to do so consistently and repeatedly. I like to quote from them, for they give the voice of authority to that which I say. I do not claim distinction as a scholar of the scriptures. For me, the reading of the scriptures is not the pursuit of scholarship. Rather, it is a love affair with the word of the Lord and that of his prophets. They contain so much for each of us....

"I urge our people everywhere to read the scriptures more—to study all of them together with the help of these tremendous aids for a harmony of understanding in order to bring their precepts into our lives.

"May the Lord bless each of us to feast upon his holy word and to draw from it that strength, that peace, that knowledge 'which passeth all understanding' (Philip. 4:7), as he has promised."

- Gordon B. Hinckley, "Feasting upon the Scriptures," talk given during the “Using the Scriptures” Churchwide satellite fireside, March 10, 1985; see Ensign, Dec. 1985, pp. 42-45
Click here to read the full talk

In 1985, the Church held a special worldwide broadcast to share encouragement about scripture study. New editions of the Bible and the Triple Combination had been released in the years leading up to this, and the broadcast was an opportunity to encourage church members to understand and take advantage of those new resources. President Hinckley was a counselor in the First Presidency, and spoke along with other leaders. I appreciated these comments:

• "I love to read the scriptures, and I try to do so consistently and repeatedly." He shares his own commitment to the principle of scripture study.
• "I like to quote from them, for they give the voice of authority to that which I say." Scriptural authority adds power to any teaching setting.

He then shared this important perspective; he never claimed to be a "scholar" of the scriptures, but still found great blessing and power in his personal study:

In the years that have followed, many others have given similar urgings to "read the scriptures more... in order to bring their precepts into our lives." That invitation and challenge is just as valid today as it was 36 years ago!

Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2021
June 23, 2015