An "empathetic reading of scripture" approach emphasizes cultivation compassion for the unique historical circumstances of ancient authors and preparing meaningful ways to discuss this material with Latter-day Saint students.

Abstract: This article explores various methods for teaching challenging scriptural passages to foster spiritual growth and a sense of belonging. It suggests that instead of avoiding difficult texts or interpreting them narrowly for devotional purposes, teachers can adopt an “empathetic reading of scripture.” This approach emphasizes cultivating compassion for the unique historical circumstances of ancient authors and preparing meaningful ways to discuss this material with Latter-day Saint students. Using 1 Corinthians 11:1–16 as a case study, the article outlines a four-step method that offers guidance on (1) engaging with the “best books” on the passage at hand, (2) identifying principles of the restored gospel that are expressed in the text, (3) identifying gospel principles in the text that are unexpressed, and (4) facilitating open classroom discussions. By approaching challenging passages of scripture in this way, educators can cultivate trust, foster curiosity, and strengthen spiritual resilience by demonstrating how to navigate ambiguity with faith and humility. This method positions scriptural study as a transformative process that deepens discipleship and enriches the classroom experience.

Keywords: scriptures, teaching the gospel, innovate institute, empathy, questions

Approaching Challenging Passages of Scripture

It’s an experience we have all had. We come across a passage of scripture—maybe even an entire chapter—that offers few, if any, clear-cut resources that seem immediately relevant to the spiritual needs of those we teach. In some cases, we find the material to be dense or inscrutable. In others, some of the content may even appear to contradict principles of the restored gospel. Whatever the situation, as religious educators we are sometimes faced with the challenge of converting what initially appears to be perplexing into something edifying. The question arises: How do we turn a seemingly irrelevant passage into something relevant in the lives and minds of our students?

Our first impulse may be to determine how the passage has been understood by Church authorities: We look to Church manuals and publications for insight into how contemporary prophetic words have been used to shape the scriptural discourse at hand. If we are studying the Bible, we may pore over the footnotes to see if Joseph Smith addressed the passage in his inspired translation. If all else fails, a common tactic is to concoct a connection (any connection!) between some part (any part!) of the passage at hand and some aspect (any aspect!) of the restored gospel that we believe will be relevant to the life and needs of the student.

There are times and places for each of these approaches when confronted with a challenging passage. In this brief essay, we will reflect on these and propose a different approach, one that we are loosely calling an “empathetic reading of scripture.” This method explores a passage’s historical context and original meaning while extending compassion both to its author and early readers, as well as to our students who engage with it today. This approach is not necessarily new, though we hope to present it with fresh perspective, incorporating wisdom from Church authorities and recent direction from the Church Educational System.

More specifically, we suggest that modeling empathy with scripture—particularly with those challenging passages that, ironically, tend to be viewed as irrelevant to student needs because they do not easily lend themselves to commonly accepted devotional purposes—is a powerful way to cultivate classroom experiences “that deepen conversion, are relevant to personal spiritual growth, and create a sense of belonging.”[1] We hope to make the case that by approaching ancient scripture—composed by ancient people with individual strengths and weaknesses—with candor, love, curiosity, and openness, we create the sort of learning environment that is spiritually and intellectually refreshing, one where our diverse set of students feel similarly welcomed, loved, and fortified. Furthermore, we hope to identify some of the benefits that emerge when teachers demonstrate vulnerability and authenticity in presenting a challenging text, as well as a sincere sense of trust in their students to participate with them in the potentially uncomfortable process of finding relevance together. This practice, we suggest, promotes a sense of belonging as student and teacher face the challenge of a text as equals.

An Example: 1 Corinthians 11:1–16

Let’s consider an example from the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 11:1–16 (if you have a moment, we recommend pausing here to read this scripture block before continuing). In this passage, Paul addresses the question of whether women in the church at Corinth should pray or prophesy with their heads uncovered. We can easily imagine how a faithful religious educator—let’s call her Katie—might prepare to teach these verses. After reading the passage several times, Katie checks to see if the Joseph Smith Translation clarifies anything. It doesn’t. She next visits current (and perhaps older) institute manuals in search of clarification for what might be happening here. There she encounters, and jots down for future reference, a couple of edifying prophetic quotations regarding men and women in the plan of salvation, but she finds little by way of understanding what Paul’s letter is saying.[2] At last, and feeling some degree of anxiety, she reflects on the content of each verse and ultimately determines that focusing on verses 1 and 11 is the most obvious way to make this block of scripture “relevant” to her students. She designs a thoughtful and edifying lesson plan around these two verses: The first half of her class centers on what it means to follow and sustain the Lord’s anointed (“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ,” v.1), and the second half of her class focuses on the ordinance of temple marriage (“Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord,” v. 11). Katie supplements the discussion with thoughtful questions, citations from modern Latter-day Saint prophets (culled, in part, from the institute manual), opportunities for students to ask questions and voice insights, windows of time to share experiences and testimonies, and invitations to apply gospel doctrine and principles.

Katie’s approach to the subject matter at hand is, in many ways, a success. She thoughtfully and prayerfully considered how a block of scripture could be used to facilitate conversion and bring students to Christ. She attempted to make scripture central to her teaching, and she supported the biblical text with resources levied from Latter-day Saint authorities. She invited the Spirit through her teaching, through students’ shared experiences and testimonies, and through her own witness of the doctrines and principles at hand. Generally speaking, she should be pleased with the outcome of her lesson, and her students are clearly blessed to have her as their teacher.

As with any approach that we take when teaching, there are some potential drawbacks to framing one’s lesson in this way. For one, by the end of the class the students are no more aware of the ancient situation in 1 Corinthians than they were when class began. This may or may not be a negative outcome, depending on the needs of the students. For a high school freshman who is being introduced to some of the fundamental aspects of the restored gospel, this lesson may be perfect; for the returned-missionary graduate student who has experienced conversion and is seeking to become further acquainted with his scriptural heritage before going out into the world, it may be less so.

Another consequence is that the students’ interaction with scripture has been governed almost entirely by the predilections of the teacher. Again, this may not be a bad thing. We believe in the spirit of prophecy and revelation that acts to inform religious educators when they worthily seek inspiration. That said, religious educators should similarly be mindful that their inclination to share their favorite prophetic quote might arise as much from their unease with a biblical passage as from divine inspiration.

There is a third possible consequence or set of consequences that bear mentioning here. Many, if not most, students will not notice when a teacher has opted to avoid potentially challenging aspects of a biblical passage. Perceptive students, however—particularly those who are older and who are pursuing religious education at a university, in graduate school, or as working professionals—are much more likely to read the scriptures thoroughly, bring their questions to them, and attend religious education courses precisely because they have questions about the sacred past. When such students notice a difference between what the scriptures say and how religious educators discuss them, the discrepancy can yield any number of reactions. Some students may begin to question the educator’s capacity as a reader of ancient texts. Others may question the instructor’s sincerity or, worse, the Church’s forthrightness with the content of scripture. More commonly, perhaps, students may start to doubt their own ability to engage with scripture. Particularly clever pivots made by a well-meaning instructor may facilitate a smooth classroom experience but may also leave some students questioning their own capacity to engage meaningfully and honestly with scripture. Students with pressing questions about challenging passages may leave our classrooms with unhealthy conclusions about themselves, their testimonies, the Church, or the gospel if a forum is never provided for such questions to be addressed with love, faith, and humility.

Metaphors to Consider: On Pools and Springboards[3]

One way to think about how Katie approached 1 Corinthians is in terms of a metaphor. Imagine a refreshing pond of water beside which is a small springboard. In this example, the biblical passage, specifically verses 1 and 11, served as a springboard into the nearby pond of water, in this case a set of edifying discussions, quotations, testimonies, and invitations regarding the role of living prophets and the doctrine of eternal marriage. It bears repeating that Katie did an admirable job at navigating a challenging task and in all likelihood was true to the sacred trust afforded her “to assist in the Lord’s work to bring eternal life to His children.”[4]

It is important, however, to note that this is not the only way to navigate a challenging passage of scripture with success. Consider the metaphor above, now slightly altered. What would it look like if, instead of treating 1 Corinthians 11 as the springboard that gets students into a refreshing body of water, our religious educator treated the passage as the pond itself?

We invoke the image of a pond here deliberately. All ponds have water, but no two ponds are alike. Some are filled with clear, inviting waters that offer swimmers full visibility. Others are murky, concealing the rocks and slimy things that lie beneath. Some ponds are shallow. Others are deep. Most importantly, ponds tend to be wild, uncultivated things—the products of time and geological circumstance, each with its own unique history.

In a similar way, ancient scripture sometimes presents the modern reader with strange, unexpected episodes in human history. By saying this, we are not denigrating the past, nor are we denying the existence of eternal truths. We are simply noting that a lot can happen between the past and the present, so we want to give proper account for the constancy of change (which is precisely why continuing revelation and the ongoing transmission of priesthood keys is central to the restored gospel).

We do this because, in our experience, students are much more likely to underestimate how different the past is from our day than to overestimate it. The further one gets from a particular moment in time, the stranger that period begins to look to the contemporary observer. Language shifts. Basic cultural assumptions change. The modern Latter-day Saint would be astounded at just how different it was to be a Latter-day Saint in nineteenth-century Nauvoo. That astonishment would be multiplied a hundredfold if he or she were transported to one of Paul’s assemblies in Corinth: a world before the printing press, before antibiotics, before indoor plumbing, before capitalism, women’s liberation, public education, English, electricity, dentistry, emergency rooms, law enforcement, refrigeration, pasteurization, photography. A world where four out of ten neighbors are slaves, where fewer than one out of ten can read, and where nine out of ten are perpetually hungry. An alien world. The past is a wild place—swimming in its waters is not like swimming in a pool but rather in a pond, or in some cases, a lake or an ocean, where what we are able to see is dwarfed by that which we cannot. Even the most skilled and experienced of swimmers engage only partially with the waters around them, especially when those waters are deep. So it is with antiquity. We have a glimpse into the world through the limited writings of our religious forefathers—but only that.

Let us be clear on what we are not saying. We are not saying that the past is incomprehensible or that certain truths and doctrines don’t bind past and present forms of discipleship. Faith, hope, charity, agency, and the Atonement are but a few of the laws, doctrines, and principles that undergird the cosmos and the plan of salvation. How those principles and doctrines are expressed, however, is always subject to the sort of variation and refinement that is constant in human language and culture. After all, God often speaks to his children through his children (prophets, family members, friends, neighbors), and always in their own language. To take the ninth article of faith seriously is to embrace the reality that some eternal truths were either unknown to our religious ancestors or understood differently. Future generations will look back at our contemporary forms of piety and see similarities and differences—our great-grandchildren will find our realities both comfortably familiar and hauntingly foreign.

This brings us back to Katie and to our metaphors. What might it have looked like if she had decided to treat ancient scripture as the pond and not the springboard? What might be the potential outcomes of swimming alongside our students in the peculiar waters of ancient scripture?

An Empathetic Approach to Scripture

In this section we offer a set of reflections on what swimming in the unfamiliar waters of ancient scripture might look like. Again, many of these are not new ideas, though we hope to describe some of them in new language to illuminate how they can be of benefit in the classroom. To begin, we’ve opted to frame our ideas loosely as an empathetic approach to scripture.

Empathy can be used to describe a broad range of human experiences and capabilities. For now, let’s settle on a simple definition. Empathy is some combination of a person’s ability to understand and feel what another is experiencing and, in its highest form, is marked by a drive to help as needed.[5] An empathetic reading of scripture, as we are defining it here, is one in which religious educators read the biblical text with a profound desire to understand both the feelings and experiences of the ancient author, as well as the needs of their contemporary students. This may, at first blush, seem self-evident. We’re confident that most religious educators are, in fact, motivated by a deep sense of empathy for their students, as well as by a sincere interest to read scripture in its historical context. Katie’s approach to 1 Corinthians 11 is a perfect example of an educator whose empathy fuels a thoughtful discussion on the restored gospel.

Empathy for the ancient author, we suggest, is less intuitive and requires a different set of resources and skills. Most of us lack the technical expertise necessary to piece together the worldviews and experiences of an ancient author—even an ancient author with whom we identify as part of our faith. Doing so requires a knowledge of ancient languages and ancient cultures, as well as a working knowledge of historiographic theories and methods. Historians dedicate their lives to this endeavor, immersing themselves in ancient languages, poring over ancient texts, and comparing contemporaneous ancient sources, all in an attempt to reconstruct some semblance of an ancient person’s experience. This reconstructive work is highly specialized: A leading voice on, say, the writings of Isaiah would not be expected, or able, to serve as a leading voice on the book of Revelation.

Gratefully, engaging in an empathetic reading of scripture doesn’t require each of us to cultivate the technical skills to reconstruct the past. Rather, we need to identify the resources that can inform us on how that past has been plausibly reconstructed (we’ll mention some specifics in the paragraphs below). We must also cultivate a willingness to study these ancient expressions of the gospel with an open heart and to be comfortable with the uncomfortable (i.e., the murky pond). By modeling charitable conversations around ancient scripture, religious educators are in a position to create experiences that will speak to the hearts of our students.

To help religious educators in this work, we suggest a simple pattern for an empathetic reading of scripture. It contains four steps, which we will briefly describe here and explain through a detailed example below.

Step 1. Prayerfully seek to understand the ancient author with the help of the best academic resources available. These resources will be discussed in our example below.

Step 2. Identify and reflect on one or more expressed principles or doctrines that can be applied to the lives of contemporary students, based on your findings in step 1. By expressed principles or doctrines, we mean those that are addressed directly in an ancient text—particularly after one has sought to understand an ancient author’s position. Examples of clearly stated principles might include passages like “pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 6:44), “peace I leave with you” (John 14:27), and “God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18). In each of these instances the principle or doctrine being expressed in the ancient text can also serve as the material we teach our students. Important: Not all passages of scripture have an expressed principle or doctrine to share with students. In fact, those passages that seem murkiest usually won’t.

Step 3. Identify one or more unexpressed principles or doctrines that can be applied to the lives of contemporary students. By unexpressed, we mean a set of principles or doctrines that are not addressed by an ancient text but that emerge when we seek to understand an author and his or her particular circumstances in step 1. We will provide examples of these in our case study and conclusions below.

Step 4. Bring your work from steps 1–3 to the classroom. Read the passage of scripture as a class, prepared to empathize with the ancient author and with your students.

With these steps in mind, let’s return to 1 Corinthians 11.

Example: An Empathetic Reading of 1 Corinthians 11

Step 1: Prayerfully seek to understand the ancient author with the help of the best academic tools available.

Imagine that our religious educator, Katie, determines that her students would be best served by swimming in the waters of 1 Corinthians, as opposed to using the biblical text as a springboard elsewhere: She feels that her students are spiritually mature, eager to learn about their Christian heritage, and ready to engage with scripture in ways that are new, exciting, and sometimes unnerving. In sum, she’s interested in reading empathetically. The first and most critical step for an empathetic reading would be to supplement her study of the King James Version (KJV)[6] with an excellent study Bible that includes a world-class modern translation and comprehensive notes.

Study Bibles are invaluable for at least two reasons. First, they give us a second translation of an ancient text to add texture to the Church’s official translation, the KJV. The value of a precise modern translation extends far beyond what we might call questions of tone (e.g., whether scripture should sound “formal” or “informal”)—when executed properly, a good translation offers the modern disciple additional insight into what our forebears were saying to one another. Brigham Young once stated that if

there is a scholar on the earth who professes to be a Christian, and he can translate [the Bible] any better than King James’s translators did it, he is under obligation to do so, or the curse is upon him. If I understood Greek and Hebrew as some may profess to do, and I knew the Bible was not correctly translated, I should feel myself bound by the law of justice to the inhabitants of the earth to translate that which is incorrect and give it just as it was spoken anciently.[7]

We cannot truly empathize with Paul if we aren’t crystal clear on what he is saying. And while the King James Version of the Bible is one of the treasures of sacred literature and remains the official Bible of the Church, its Early Modern English rendition of Paul’s Greek cannot communicate with precision everything the apostle had to say to the modern reader, for a number of reasons.[8] Many outstanding scholars have consecrated their lives to the challenging task of producing faithful translations of ancient scripture, and each translation is informed by a particular set of methods and approaches to the ancient text. There is a wealth of fantastic options for religious educators to choose from, including a recent translation distributed through Deseret Book.[9]

Second, a good study Bible serves as a readable summation of the world’s finest scholarship on the ancient world. We live in an era of unprecedented information about the past. No other collective group of God’s children has had better access to their ancestral heritage than we have today, due to the incalculable amount of time and energy that scholars have dedicated to uncovering and understanding what’s gone before.[10] A good study Bible gives its reader easy access to the rich offerings of those who have paid the price of expertise, featuring clear and judicious footnotes as well as concise but deeply informative essays related to the books of sacred scripture. As Josh Sears has noted, good study Bibles should be seen as some of those unnamed “best books” that the Lord identifies as being crucial for those who “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118).[11] There are many rich resources for religious educators to choose from.

After about an hour with such resources, Katie is in a much different position to understand Paul and the situation in Corinth. The passage in question (verses 1–16) appears to be addressing a singular issue: namely, whether women should cover their heads when praying and prophesying in church. According to Paul, men should keep their heads bared, while women should cover them.[12] In her study, Katie notes that scholars remark that typical clothing customs (especially for women) are not entirely clear and probably varied across time and in different places. However, she learns that head coverings may have had something to do with historically and geographically situated conceptions of female modesty, according to some historians. Apparently there was a debate in the church in Corinth regarding how these particular customs should inform Christian worship, and verses 2–16 detail Paul’s case for why women should wear head coverings when they pray and prophesy in their regular church gatherings.

Based on her study of the biblical text, Katie comes to see that Paul’s case is actually made up of multiple arguments, some of which are connected and others that are not. These include arguments based on (1) theological hierarchies (11:3–5a),[13] (2) biblical and nonbiblical traditions (11:7–12), (3) “nature” (11:13–15, cf. 5b–6), and (4) ancient Christian customs (11:16). She studies each of these passages individually, seeking to understand each in turn (step 1).

Paul’s argument based on theological hierarchies (11:3–5a). In verses 3–5a, Paul presents a theological hierarchy to defend his point: Christ is “the head” of the man, therefore the man should not wear anything on his head when he prays, lest he disgrace his head (Christ). Meanwhile, the man is the head of the woman, and therefore the woman ought to offer her prayers with a head covering, lest she disgrace her head (the man). To shore up this last point, in verses 5b–6, Paul extends his hierarchical claim to cultural assumptions regarding hair: Just as a woman with a shaved head is “disgraceful” (according to Paul), so an unveiled woman in prayer is causing disgrace.

Let’s pause here for a minute. It’s easy to imagine how our fictitious teacher may begin to feel some discomfort as she puts together what Paul is saying. A theological hierarchy whereby a husband is “the head” of his wife, just as Christ is “the head” of the husband? Isn’t this at variance with Church teachings that describe marriage as an equal partnership?[14] And even if we were to accept such a hierarchy—which we don’t—why would a covered male dishonor Christ, while an uncovered female dishonors her husband? This is to say nothing of the idea that short hair on a woman is a disgrace. Perhaps you experienced feelings of disquiet when reading these verses. We did too. And some of your students may as well. Let’s return to our metaphors. These strange, almost unthinkable sentiments of Paul might be compared with any number of foreign things that hide beneath the surface of a pond and unexpectedly graze our legs when we swim. It’s easy to see why, particularly when one understands what Paul is saying, we may feel the impulse to turn his words into a springboard and jump instead into a nice, clean, chlorinated swimming pool. But let’s resist that urge for now, at least until we’ve finished the passage and thought through what it might be like to engage in an empathetic reading of Paul with our students.

Paul’s argument from biblical/nonbiblical traditions (11:7–12). We continue, then, to verses 7–12, what we might call a biblical argument. Paul here is engaging in a creative interpretation of two passages in Genesis. First, note what the first biblical passage says:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:26–27)

Now consider Paul’s creative rereading of the passage:

For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. (1 Corinthians 11:7)

The original Genesis passage states that men and women were created in the image of God; Paul has repurposed it to say that men are in the image and glory of God and that women are the glory of man. In verses 8–10, Paul invokes the tradition of Genesis 2:18–23. The Genesis passage reads:

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (Genesis 2:21–23)

Now Paul’s creative reading of Genesis:

Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. (1 Corinthians 11:8–10 New Revised Standard Version)

According to Paul’s reading of Genesis 2, because woman was taken from man (and not man from woman), a symbol of authority—in this case, a head covering—must be placed on the woman’s head.

Again, we stop to breathe. Here is where many of us would have preferred Joseph Smith to come in and clean this up with an inspired revision. The Prophet didn’t, and for that we can be grateful. Practicing empathy is not easy. Learning to empathize with people of different cultures, worldviews, and perspectives isn’t easy. Think, for instance, of the sort of energy it would require to empathize with someone with whom you completely disagree politically.[15] Paul is an ancient person, living in a context that is foreign to our own. The gaps that we find between his worldviews and our own are opportunities to practice the sort of empathy that is required of us as disciples of Christ and as religious educators working in politically and culturally diverse settings.

The latter half of verse 10 is particularly important to our conception of empathetic readings of scripture: Having said that the woman needs to have a symbol of authority on her head, Paul cryptically adds, “because of the angels.” Katie puzzles over this for some time and does some digging. As far as she can tell, no prophet has ever commented on this statement, nor is there any scholarly consensus on what Paul means by it. This is a fantastic example of the distance between the present and the past. Many ancient things are simply beyond our reach: We can only guess what certain words, certain pieces of material culture, or certain ideas might have meant to our distant ancestors. She makes note of the absence of prophetic and academic consensus and moves on.

In verses 11–12, Paul seems to bring a bit of moderation to what he just said. Up until now, much of his argument has rested on hierarchy, with the male over the female. In these verses, he reminds his readers of male and female interdependence and reciprocity, demonstrating this by an appeal to nature and theology. Just as the original woman came from man in Genesis 2, so all subsequent men have come through women in childbirth—and all things, men and women included, come from God.

Paul’s arguments from nature (11:13–15, cf. 5b–6) and from tradition (11:16). This leads Paul to his third argument for why women should have their heads covered while praying and prophesying in church: This time, we get an argument from nature/culture in verses 13–15, which echoes what Paul said previously in verses 5–6. Because it’s unnatural, says Paul, for a man to have long hair and unnatural for women to have short hair, women should wear veils, and men should not. Paul concludes his case with a fourth and final argument in verse 16: “But if any man seem to be [or is disposed to be] contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.” It appears that Paul here entertains the idea that those reading the letter may not be totally convinced by his argumentation, so he appeals to tradition: In other ancient Christian churches, men are unveiled when they pray, and women are veiled. Therefore, the Corinthians should do the same.

Having studied these writings of Paul for over an hour, Katie makes a few observations. First, she is struck by what is required to engage with Paul on his own terms—akin to what it takes to attend carefully to the thoughts of a friend or family member. Related to this is a newfound appreciation for the countless hours that specialists over the centuries have dedicated to helping us understand Paul—she feels a fresh sense of humility and gratitude for those who have dedicated their lives to this effort. On a slightly different note, she is now much more mindful of which of Paul’s arguments resonate with her personally and theologically, and which do not. For instance, she appreciates the vigor with which Paul seeks to bring harmony to the ancient Christian assembly and empathizes with Paul’s desire to ensure that the body of Christ is without contention. She disagrees, however, with his specific views on nature and culture, and notes that Paul’s reading of Genesis does not accord with how she understands or would read the Old Testament text. She also is confident that modern Church leaders have revealed a more equitable depiction of male/female, husband/wife dynamics—and she certainly doesn’t think that it is unnatural for women to have short hair. In other words, much from this passage feels like a strange pond to Katie—a common feeling when one is becoming acquainted with the ancient world!

There are upsides to this reading. Katie feels, for instance, like she is coming to know Paul, and not just a whitewashed version of Paul, but the actual Paul, warts and all. It gives her the opportunity to exercise faith and charity toward an ancient person with whom she has differences. She makes the choice to love Paul and to try to see the world as he saw it, without giving up the added light that has come to the world through the Restoration, and without inventing a fictitious Paul that runs contrary to the historical record. She is practicing an empathetic reading of scripture, which is marked by charity, humility, compassion, patience, and good-faith effort. Katie is now in a position to begin identifying doctrines and principles (both expressed and unexpressed) that she believes will be relevant to her students’ concerns and interests.

Step 2. Identify expressed doctrines or principles for student application and edification.

One expressed principle that Katie draws from this passage is that both men and women pray and prophesy in church settings (vv. 4–5). She writes this principle down and beneath it composes a handful of follow-up questions for class discussion and future study, such as:

• What might it have meant in an ancient context to “prophesy”? What might it mean for us today?
• Do we regularly approach our meetings with the intent to speak to one another and be edified by one another by the power of the Holy Ghost?
• If we did, how would this change the way we prepare for and attend our meetings?

She concludes by locating a few meaningful quotes from Church leaders, as well as making note of a personal experience, to help students better understand and feel the importance of this principle.

Step 3. Identify unexpressed doctrines or principles for application and edification.

Katie then sets out to identify a handful of unexpressed doctrines and principles that emerge from her study. She notes that Paul’s argumentation (1) seems motivated by a profound interest in communal harmony, (2) assumes some degree of distinction between men and women, and (3) lacks coherence and arises from certain cultural conditions that no longer apply in our contemporary context. From these she writes down a handful of unexpressed doctrines or principles, such as:

• We should strive to achieve harmony in our local congregations.
• Despite our differences, men and women are equal in the sight of God.
• The Lord inspires individuals in each generation to speak to that generation (in their own language and with their particular customs, worldviews, and historical circumstances).

She supplements these unexpressed doctrines and principles with questions, inspired quotes, experiences, and testimony, and organizes them in a way that will allow her to locate them easily in a classroom discussion.

Step 4. Bring to the classroom insights from steps 1–3, prepared to empathize with both the ancient author and your students.

Katie begins class by giving a brief and honest overview of her experience with the day’s material. She confides that she found some of the material to be challenging and that, after significant study, she has as many questions as she has answers about the passage at hand. That said, she also expresses her renewed love for scripture, her excitement to continue learning, and her faith that as a class they can be edified together as they seek to understand their shared sacred heritage. Students read and discuss the passage in small groups and then share their insights and questions as a class. Steps 1–3 have prepared Katie to facilitate a generative group discussion, even if (or perhaps especially when) students express confusion about unclear aspects of ancient scripture. Like a wise guide, Katie models for students how to navigate and enjoy the murky waters of ancient scripture. Whether she can answer students’ questions or must be content to say, “I don’t know” or “I think experts are divided on how to answer that,” her posture toward the class and toward the ancient text reflects the charitable love of Christ. As the lesson progresses, and in accordance with the Spirit’s guidance, she points out one or two of the expressed or unexpressed doctrines or principles that she finds most meaningful and that she thinks may best meet the needs of her class.

The Benefits of Modeling Empathy with Difficult Passages of Scripture

With this previous example in mind, we will conclude by stating why we have found that reading and teaching difficult passages of scripture empathetically can help religious educators cultivate classrooms that are relevant sites of personal spiritual growth and belonging.

• An empathetic approach to scripture is honest and transparent about what one knows and doesn’t know. It cultivates belonging because it deemphasizes “knowing everything” about a passage of scripture and instead rewards both the instructor and all students for exercising curiosity and asking sincere questions of a text and one another. Students are more willing to ask their honest, heartfelt questions—even questions unrelated to the material at hand—when they have seen their instructor model compassion toward ambiguity and difference.
• An empathetic approach to scripture encourages religious educators to allow classroom discussion to go in the direction of the hearts of the learners, as opposed to tracing only the topics, quotes, and anecdotes that the teacher finds inspiring. It helps us to teach the students that are right in front of us instead of simply repeating lessons we have always taught.
• Because an empathetic approach to scripture does not seek to whitewash the realities of the past, it communicates to students that there is no need to whitewash the present. By collectively meeting ancient authors where they are and regardless of what we find, we communicate to students that we are concerned with their spiritual progress and will meet them wherever they are. A student’s fear of giving a “wrong” answer or holding a “wrong” opinion is muted when he or she sees a teacher looking lovingly at a biblical past that is confusing, different, or even problematic. This cultivates a classroom setting in which candor, compassion, and belonging are central to the students’ experience.[16]
• An empathetic reading of scripture highlights differences between the present and the past and is a powerful reminder that prophets are called to speak to those in their own day and time. This is a foundational element of the restored gospel that is relevant to every classroom discussion.
• An empathetic reading of scripture invites the student to cultivate spiritual self-reliance. There is a wealth of brilliant and inspired scholarship on scripture—we can invite students to seek answers to their own questions through the faithful study of the world’s best books.
• An empathetic reading of scripture celebrates the multitude of voices and scenarios encapsulated in the scriptures; these serve as witnesses of God’s boundless love and grace.
• An empathetic approach to scripture prepares students for the ambiguities that color our lives after adolescence. Students quickly learn that for every “yes” or “no” answer there is an “I don’t know,” a “perhaps,” an “it’s possible,” and an “I’d never thought of that.”
• An empathetic approach to scripture invites genuine learning in the home and in the classroom. Students and teachers are perpetually invited to learn new things about human history and God’s role in it, rather than simply reciting to one another things they already know.

Challenging passages of scripture can help students appreciate the multilayered nature of scripture. Courtesy of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

In sum, one of the most innovative things that a religious educator can do in a classroom is also one of the simplest: read scripture on its own terms, even when the passage at hand seems strange, opaque, or irrelevant. There are, of course, pitfalls associated with this approach. For the nonspecialist teacher, it requires legitimate (but not excessive) preparation. Fail to prepare and things will quickly go awry. For the specialist, it requires humility. Our charity and compassion must be directed toward the ancient text and toward our students. If we fail to attend to our students’ needs, then we have missed the mark, no matter how brilliant our exposition of the past. Furthermore, all teachers should be sensitive to the possibility that some students may draw incorrect conclusions about the overall reliability of scripture based on their encounter with a handful of challenging passages in particular. Here are a few principles and practices that can help students cultivate a healthy relationship with scripture, including ways to maintain realistic expectations of these sacred texts:

1. Teach the nature of scripture. Challenging passages of scripture can help students appreciate the multilayered nature of scripture. As writing inspired by the Lord, scripture has the power to help us draw closer to Christ; as writing transmitted by mortals, scripture has been shaped by the language, worldviews, and capabilities of its authors. We should not be surprised when scripture contains cultural traditions that are foreign to our own—or even mistakes.[17] Reading scripture empathetically involves revering these sacred writings despite perceived differences and difficulties. The Church has provided resources to help students faithfully approach the past.[18]
2. Teach the nature of faith. Challenging passages of scripture present students with the opportunity to reflect on what it means to exercise faith. Teachers might find it useful to invite students to think about exercising faith alongside the related terms faithfulness and fidelity. In a marriage, a man or woman demonstrates their faithfulness or fidelity by exhibiting commitment, loyalty, and confidence in a spouse—even in the face of imperfection. Those who develop a meaningful relationship with the scriptures find that the difficulties posed by a challenging passage can be dwarfed by the spiritual riches available within scripture as a whole.
3. Position discussions around challenging passages alongside discussions of more straightforward devotional material. Students will be less likely to draw incorrect conclusions about scripture if they have had numerous positive experiences that testify of scripture’s power and goodness. Returning to our example above, if Katie were teaching a series of classes on the letters of Paul, she might consider placing her discussion on 1 Corinthians 11 between classes dedicated to passages that offer clear and immediate devotional resources, like Paul’s discussions on Christ crucified and the weakness of human wisdom in chapters 1–2, spiritual gifts in chapter 12, or the resurrection of the body in chapter 15. In this way, her students would get a more holistic portrait of Paul’s efforts generally and of the broader value of scripture. Put differently and returning to our metaphor: We take our students to a pool one week, a pond the next, a cenote or the ocean after that. For as much as we want them to learn to navigate unfamiliar waters, our higher objective is to help them cultivate a love of swimming in the abundant waters the restored gospel has to offer.

Finally, and as noted above, this approach may not meet the needs of all our students. In our experience however, it speaks deeply to those mature students who hunger to better understand the gospel and their religious heritage. Swimming in the vast waters of scripture—all scripture, no matter how seemingly wild or murky—helps them develop the skills and recognize the patterns for acquiring spiritual knowledge throughout their lives, through faith, effort, humility, charity, prayer, curiosity, and patience.[19] It encourages them to try new things, to change their minds, to repent.[20] It consistently offers them fresh views of scripture, God, the gospel, humanity, and themselves.

Notes

[1] Chad H Webb, “We Have Not Come This Far to Only Come This Far,” S&I annual training broadcast, June 9, 2020, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[2] Our fictitious teacher may take solace in the institute manual’s observation that “modern readers may find parts of the First Epistle to the Corinthians confusing,” including his counsel on “relationships between men and women (1 Corinthians 11:3, 8–9), hair coverings (1 Corinthians 11:4–7), and the role of women in worship services (1 Corinthians 14:34–35).” Church Educational System, New Testament Student Manual: Religion 211–212, 361, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[3] We are indebted to Tyler Griffin for introducing us to this metaphor, which we have developed in new ways below.

[4] Dallin H. Oaks, “Gospel Teaching,” Ensign, November 1999, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[5] Daniel Goleman, Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships (Bantam, 2006), 82–101.

[6] Joshua M. Sears, “Study Bibles: An Introduction for Latter-day Saints,” Religious Educator 20, no. 3 (2019): 36–57.

[7] Brigham Young, “Temperance,” in Journal of Discourses (Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1872), 14:226–27.

[8] These include, among other things, obsolete words or ones that have changed in meaning, translation issues, and subsequent manuscript discoveries. See Royal Skousen, “Through a Glass Darkly: Trying to Understand the Scriptures,” BYU Studies 26, no. 4 (1986): 3–20.

[9] Ben Spackman, “Why Bible Translations Differ: A Guide for the Perplexed,” Religious Educator 15, no. 1 (2014): 31–66. Thomas Wayment produced the first translation of the New Testament for Latter-day Saints in 2018: Thomas A. Wayment, trans., The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints (Deseret Book, 2018). Grant Hardy produced the first fully annotated, academic edition of the Book of Mormon in The Annotated Book of Mormon (Oxford University Press, 2023).

[10] On the importance of seeking out expertise, including from experts in history and scripture, see M. Russell Ballard, “The Opportunities and Responsibilities of CES Teachers in the 21st Century,” address to CES religious educators, February 26, 2016, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[11] Sears, “Study Bibles,” 28.

[12] Most study Bibles suggest that the first verse in chapter 11 actually belongs to Paul’s argument in chapter 10. As such, we’ll treat 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 as a discrete passage in this case study.

[13] When a lowercase letter a follows a biblical verse, it tends to refer to the first portion of the verse. In this case, 11:5a refers to the italicized phrase: “But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaved.” The number 5b refers to the remainder of the verse.

[14] “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” www.churchofjesuschrist.org; Spencer W. Kimball, “Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters,” general conference talk, October 1978, www.churchofjesuschrist.org; Howard W. Hunter, “Being a Righteous Husband and Father,” general conference talk, October 1994, www.churchofjesuschrist.org; Boyd K. Packer, “The Father and the Family,” general conference talk, April 1994, www.churchofjesuschrist.org; and Packer, “The Relief Society,” general conference talk, April 1998, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[15] Melissa Inouye, Crossings: A Bald Asian American Latter-day Saint Woman Scholar’s Ventures Through Life, Death, Cancer, and Motherhood (Deseret Book, 2019).

[16] On the other hand, one of the possible drawbacks of the “springboard” approach to scripture is that it can communicate to students that we are not interested in what scripture (or a student) has to say, but in what we want them to say. It may reflect an unwillingness to meet scriptures and students where they are.

[17] Speaking of the Bible in particular, the Church has stated: “Latter-day Saints revere the Bible. They study it and believe it to be the word of God. However, they do not believe the Bible, as it is currently available, is without error.” “Bible, Inerrancy of,” Gospel Topics, www.churchofjesuschrist.org. For analogous ideas in the Book of Mormon, see 1 Nephi 13:28; 19:6.

[18] See for instance, “Work to Understand the Past,” Gospel Topics, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[19] “Doctrinal Mastery Core Document,” Seminary, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[20] Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” general conference talk, April 2019, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.