3 Ways to Not Get Lost in the Isaiah Chapters - Week 8 - Feb 19-25

Cindy: Hi friends. Welcome back to Primarily Scripture. I'm Cindy Young and this is a beginner's guide to scripture study. Everything we do here is so easy a kid can do it. And to prove it, I have kids  study with me. This week I've got Isaac. Hi, Isaac! 

I: Hi!  

C: Tell us how old you are. 

I: I am seven years old and  I'm getting ready to get baptized! 

C: That is so exciting. I love it. How much do you read your scriptures?  

I: A lot!  

C: Good! Have you ever read the words of Isaiah before? 

I: Mm,  I might have. I just don't really remember. 

C: Well, this week we are reading in 2nd Nephi chapters six through 10,  and some of these chapters have words of Isaiah and they can be a little tricky to understand.  But we do have these free worksheets and they can help you with your study. They've got little excerpts from the study material and,  activities that will help your study be a little bit easier to do and to understand. Okay?

I: Mm-Hmm. Got it. 

C: All right. So why don't we open up the first worksheet today 

I: Second Nephi, chapter 8, verses 1 through 7 and 15 through 16. 

C:  If you guys want to find the link to the free worksheets, just go into the episode description and you'll find it there.   On these study pages, column one contains pure scripture, and then column two puts it into more modern language, so it's easier to understand. Column three has easy study suggestions and tips to help you make the most of your scripture study. So Isaac and I will read together. I will first read a verse from column one,   📍 and then Isaac will read the same verse from column two and so forth.  Then after we've read these verses,  we will talk about this week's study tip.

And you guys at home can follow along.   

I: Got it.  

C: "Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness. Look unto the rock from whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence ye are digged."  

I: Listen to me, all of you who want to be good.  Just as small rocks are pieces of big rocks, and dirt comes from the ground. Look to where you came from. 

C: Good.   "Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah, she that bear you; for I called him alone, and blessed him." 

I: Look to Abraham and Sarah, who are the great- grandparents of all Israel. They were chosen and blessed. 

C: "For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody." 

I: The Lord will comfort his people.  Even when things seem really hopeless, he will make  the hard and ugly parts of life to be  beautiful and wonderful. There can be joy and gladness, and you can be thankful and sing. 

C: "Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation; for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light for the people."  

I: Listen to me, my people and listen, everyone who has made covenants, because I give commandments and they will help light the way for my people.  

C: "My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall judge the people. The isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust." 

I: My righteousness is near. I have given everyone a way to be saved, and I will judge the people.  People everywhere should accept my blessings and trust me. 

 C: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner.  But my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished."  

I: Look  at the things in the sky and look at everything on the earth. Things in the sky might disappear and all things on the earth get old  and everything will eventually die and be gone. But the blessings of salvation are eternal. My righteousness will never disappear.  

C:  "Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings." 

I: Listen to me, all of  you who know what righteousness is, you are the people who treasure my commandments in your heart.  You don't worry about what people of the world think or say, 

C: "But I am the Lord thy God whose waves roared. The Lord of hosts is my name." 

I: I am the Lord your God, who even controls the waves.  The Lord of hosts is my name.  

C: "And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: Behold, thou art my people." 

I: I have helped you know what to say, and my hand has been in your life so much that it was like a shadow all around you. Everything I do, from the heavens to the earth, is a message to you:  you are my people. 

C: Excellent. 

I: I feel that like that was a hundred words!  

C: And some of them are pretty confusing, right? 

I: Uh huh. 

C: Yeah.  So, what if it is confusing, then what do we do?  

I: We  ask of God and like Joseph Smith did.  We can read the scriptures over and over again.  And on the worksheet, I would try to do the first thing in the first box. 

C: Okay! And it says,   Isaiah was a prophet and everyone from Jerusalem knew of his teachings and prophecies. Many people today think that his words are extremely hard to understand.  And they can be!   But that doesn't mean that we can't learn something. There's still something to learn, even if we don't know what all of it means. Can you read, it says, as you read these verses, try this...  

I: As you read these verses, try this.   Look for the things you can understand and focus on learning small lessons from them. Don't focus on the parts that are confusing. Even adults use this trick  when they study the teachings of Isaiah. When you are ready to study Isaiah more, there are other tips and tricks, but this is the best way for a beginner. 

C: Alright, so those three things: look for the things that you can understand; focus on learning small lessons; don't focus on the parts that are confusing. It's okay if it's confusing to you, you can skip it for now.  

I: Because if you keep on focusing on that one part,  yeah, it just makes you more confused.  

C: So did you find a small message that you do understand?  

I: Yes.  

C: What did you find?  

I: I found Hearken unto me, Hearken unto me and Hearken unto me.

C: Oh, it said it multiple times, didn't it? Which verses did it say that in?  

I: Um, one, four, and seven.  

C: I'm gonna get my colored pencil and let's mark it in the real scriptures.  Because later you might not go back to the worksheet, but you should always be going back to your scriptures, right?  So verses 1 and 4 and 7 say, "hearken unto me." That is a great little phrase... 

I: And it means 'listen to me.'  If we listen to the Lord, things could be a lot easier! Because the Nephites listened to the Lord and things were easier for them, but the Lamanites were, like, lazy and they didn't work and they didn't follow the Lord, so it was a lot harder for them. 

C: That's right! So when you see little phrases like this, you can think of ways that that was true for other people, and then you can think of how it could be true for you. Is there a time in your life when you have listened to the spirit and it blessed you?  

I: Um,  let me think.  When I was preparing for my talk, the Lord helped me know what to say.  

C: That is so great. I love that! What a great way to receive help from the spirit. That is awesome! 

 I: And from a very small message!

C: It's only three words.  

I:  It can do like  something extremely important!  And it can be hard,  but if you just listen to Heavenly Father, it'll be a lot easier.  

C: Definitely! And that is such a great little tiny lesson that we found in the middle of all these confusing words. Did we have to understand the whole chapter in order to find that lesson? 

I: No! We just need to look at the first three words to find it. 

C:  That's right. Studying doesn't have to be hard. You just have to put in a little bit of extra effort. Just think about it, right? Look for things and think about them.  

I: They can make BIG differences.  Remember, if you read your scriptures slow enough, you could find tons of treasures in just a few minutes.

C: Alright, you heard Isaac, go read your scriptures - a little bit slow, and look for those treasures. I'm Cindy Young. Thanks for joining us on Primarily Scripture.  See you next time. Bye, Isaac!  

I: Bye! 

  📍  Thanks for tuning into primarily Scripture with Cindy Young. Don't forget you can subscribe to the newsletter and download free worksheets on the website PrimarilyScripture.com. And if you like the channel, be sure to subscribe, like, share, and leave a review. See you next time. 📍

I: Oh, that was fun. 

C: What was your favorite part?  

I: Hmm.  Mostly when I was talking. 

C: Ha ha ha ha!  Well, I think you talking was my favorite part, too. 

I: Just trying to help Primarily Scripture. 

C: You're the best!