Keeping the savior Jesus Christ as the focus of your scripture study is the very most important thing that you can do, and that's what we are talking about all month long here on Primarily Scripture. But what do you do when the verses that you're reading don't seem to actually be talking about Jesus Christ? I've got a trick for you to try. Stay tuned and I'll show you how sometimes He's hiding right in plain sight. So far this month, we've discussed some of the ways that you can focus on Jesus Christ as you study. You can look for His names, what He said, what He did. Finding out how He shows up in each scripture story is such a powerful study technique. And last week we talked about how just knowing about Him isn't enough, we need to take the time to apply what we've learned about Him and ask, "how does He show up like this in my story?" And that's such a great thing to do when we have very specific verses about what the Savior did and said. What about those times when the scriptures aren't directly talking about the Lord? There are actually a lot of verses out there that talk about other things. This week's Come Follow Me is a great example of that. We are in Genesis chapter 6 through 11, and in Abraham chapters 1 and 2, and this includes the story of Noah's Ark and the Tower of Babel. Some people say Tower of Babel. I've heard it both ways. And even though in both of these stories, the Lord does give instructions and says things, there are comparatively a lot of verses that don't talk about the Lord. Now one really quick note right here. When the scriptures tell us that the Lord talked to people on earth, that almost always, not every time, but almost always means Jesus Christ, not Heavenly Father. And here's why. In the Garden of Eden all of the people on Earth literally walked and talked with God. All of them! Now, that was just Adam and Eve, but it was still every person on Earth. Then Adam and Eve chose to transgress the law. They broke the rule, right? And they became what we call "fallen." So if you imagine like up high as Heavenly Father, and Adam and Eve were at that level with Him and then Adam and Eve fell and they're down here. Heavenly Father, of course, stayed perfect and pure, but Adam and Eve were now fallen and there's this divide. And Adam and Eve are no longer allowed to walk and talk with God. They're completely cut off, fully separated from God. Well that's where Jesus comes in. He is the go between- He's that connection between God and man. This means that if we want to talk to God, there's no way to do it except through Jesus Christ. That's why we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. And when God wants to talk to us, He almost always sends his message through Jesus Christ. And the Holy Ghost is a helper there too, but it wouldn't be possible at all if we didn't have the Savior, Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, we'll read a lot about God talking to prophets. It is still God's words, but they're going through Jesus Christ to get to us. Does that make sense? So keep in mind that we're hearing the Savior's words when God is talking to his prophets. So back to our stories this week. In the story of Noah's Ark there are some really great verses about what the Lord said and did. But what about the parts that don't talk about him? We've got the rest of the story- the ark and the rain and the animals. I've got a great tip for you and it's such a fun way to find hidden treasures in the scriptures. We've all heard that phrase. Have you ever found a hidden treasure in the scriptures? This is one way to do it. We are going to look for what the scriptures call "signs" and "types" and "shadows," meaning symbols of Jesus Christ. And some people get a little bit worried when we say that we're going to look for symbolism in the Bible. But don't worry, it's not as tricky as you might think. And actually you already do this every single week when you think about the body and blood of Jesus Christ during the sacrament. You already do this, and it's that easy. So let's go to my worksheet and we can work through this together. Now, these worksheets are 100% free. They are available for download on my website, primarily scripture.com. They are aligned with Come Follow Me, and give you simple study suggestions to help you make the most out of your scripture study. This study activity is called"Find Symbols of Jesus." Pretty straightforward, right? You can use this activity with basically any scripture story. All you have to do is you think about the things and the people in the story, and see if there's any possible way that they could represent Jesus Christ. Now be careful because not everything is a symbol of Jesus Christ, so don't overthink this, and don't try to force something to symbolize him in a way that would not be true. For example, the wicked people who died in the flood, they do not represent Jesus Christ. Noah, on the other hand, can represent the Savior because he has righteous qualities that remind us of Jesus. Can you think of any? Here are some that I thought of. He asked everybody on Earth to repent. He also had a way to save the righteous people. There is even a verse that calls Noah perfect. Now this means that he was perfect in trying to obey and repenting whenever he fell short. But it reminds us of Jesus Christ, who was actually perfect. So do you see how Noah is a shadow or a type or a symbol of Jesus Christ? These words- shadow, type, symbol... they're all synonyms. They mean the exact same thing, okay? Let's look at another symbol, the ark. Now this isn't a person. This is a very huge boat that was filled with animals. How could this represent Jesus Christ? Do you have any ideas? Feel free to pause the video and write down your ideas before I tell you mine. Are you ready? Okay, let's do it. Did you know that the ark only had one door? One way in, and that was it? There was only one way to be saved, and it was by going through that door. Does that remind you of Jesus? Hasn't He said that He is the only way to get to heaven? And who was allowed through that door? It was only the people who would follow Him. I also love that every kind of animal was put on the ark, because Jesus Christ wants to save all of us. Just like he didn't play favorites with which animals got to go on the ark, who was the prettiest or the fastest, or the softest or the cuddliest. He doesn't do that with us either. All of us who are willing to go through him will be saved, and I love that too. Maybe one way that the ark is like Jesus that you thought of, is that it kept Noah and his family safe during the storm. Does that remind you of Jesus? Won't he help us when the storms of life are all around us? If we are with him, then we are spiritually safe, even if all around us there's danger and wickedness. I love the ark as a symbol of Jesus Christ! Now there are even more things in this story that point to Jesus Christ through symbolism, but I'm gonna let you search, and ponder, and find them for yourself. And then as you build this skill, you'll be able to use it in other stories too. Some symbols will be very obvious and easy to find, and other ones you'll have to think a little bit harder and that's okay. Don't feel like you have to find every single symbol the first time you try it. Any way that you focus on the Savior, when you study will help you to feel his spirit and to strengthen your testimony. So don't overthink it. But I know that if you just put in a little bit of effort and ask for the spirit to guide you, you'll be able to find amazing symbols of Jesus Christ as you study the scriptures. I'm Cindy Young, and as always, thank you so much for being here with me on Primarily Scripture. See you next time. 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, primarily scripture.com. And if you like the channel, be sure to subscribe, like, share, and leave a review. See you next time.