The word wisdom is mentioned at least 378 times in the scriptures. What is wisdom? An online dictionary defines wisdom as “The quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.”[1] When looking at wisdom in the scriptures though, it is used under many contexts, sometimes as a warning, sometimes as a gift, and sometimes as a comfort. I’d like to touch on these different approaches.
The first I’d like to talk about is the context of warning. When gaining wisdom of the world we need to be careful of pride. In 1 Nephi 9:28 it says, ”O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.” I know in my life of many such occasions. For example, I occasionally have the opportunity to speak to youth groups or at firesides about how trials are good for you and how happiness is a choice. At the time I thought myself pretty well an expert on the topic. Last December I went through a breakup that was pretty hard, and for a long time I struggled finding happiness. And I pushed so hard because I knew of all of these tools and examples which I shared with others all the time. I was very educated on the topic I thought! But it wasn’t until a particularly hard day where I truly humbled myself and turned to the Lord that I found happiness in my life again.
The second way wisdom is mentioned in the scriptures is as a gift. Such as with Solomon. “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.”[2]. When Solomon truly humbled himself before the Lord and asked for wisdom not to better serve himself, but to serve others, the Lord gave it to him freely, and Solomon was able to lead a period of time with much prosperity for the church, building a legendary temple even which is mentioned by many prophets in years to come. If we too humble ourselves before the Lord and are willing to submit to his will, he will bless us with the direction and knowledge we need to make wise choices which will bless not only our lives but the lives of those around us.
The most exciting way to me wisdom is brought up in the scriptures is in regards to the wisdom of the Lord. Many times in Nephi’s record of his families trek across the wilderness he mentions things they did because of the wisdom of the Lord, such as in obtaining the plates[3], preserving their records[4], keeping America secret and safe from other nations[5], and so on. In 2 Nephi 2: 24 we read, “But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.” I love that this doesn’t say “but behold, lots of things have been done…” or “ a lot of things have been done…” but ALL things have been done in the Lords wisdom. That means every circumstance we encounter or decision we have to make is known by the Lord, and even set up for us specifically to encounter. And so with the Lords help we can find the proper path. I find immense comfort in knowing the Lord hand was and is in every small detail of my daily life.
In conclusion, it is wise to seek wisdom, and the source of all wisdom is our Heavenly Father. And it is only by being truly humble and thinking of those other than ourselves that the Lord blesses us with wisdom, “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”[6] I hope we can all be humble and allow the Lord to guide us in our daily paths, that we may be wise; what can I say more?[7] And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.
Works Cited:
1 – http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wisdom
2 – 1 Nephi 3:19
3 – 1 Nephi 5:22
4 – 2 Nephi 1:8
5 – 1 Kings 4:29
6 – Mosiah 2:17
7 – Jacob 6:12
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10 comments:
Corby, good job! I really liked the sort of in-depth analysis of the ways "comfort" is used by the Lord in the scriptures. I got a bit confused, because I was expecting to read about comfort in the third body paragraph, and then you begin it by talking about the wisdom of the Lord.
I LOVED how you talked about the different aspects of comfort. It's something that all of us seek in life and you did a great job in illuminating different aspects of it. =) Great job!
Corby,
Thank you for sharing your testimony with us. It is refreshing to hear that humility is the quality we must possess to become truly wise.
nice job! it was very well organized and easy to understand. I liked how you started out with the dictionary definition and then went to the scriptural examples, it gave it a nice tone. Way to go!
Just hearing you talk about humility means I have a lot to work on. Thank you because I needed to hear this message.
378 times? That is amazing and means we should probably learn what it means. I loved the way you organized your blog. Thank you for sharing how wisdom is mentioned as a warning, a gift, and a comfort. Each is individual and important and you did a great job sharing insight on all three topics!
I'm impressed you knew wisdom is in there 378 times, LOL. Great blog Corby.
Although the transition from comfort to wisdom in the 3rd body paragraph was a bit iffy (to me, at least), I got the message. Good job.
I really liked the different approaches you used to talk about wisdom, especially the warning one; that was interesting. Great job, Corby!
I enjoyed the connection you made between being humble and turning to the Lord in order to gain wisdom. Thanks for sharing your experience :)
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