Iron Rod and Iron Yoke

So I've recently had an interesting idea lodge itself into my head.

Missionaries have study time built into their daily schedule: one hour of free study, by themselves. This has been a great blessing in my life because I have been able to understand, to some limited degree, just how applicable and relevant the scriptures (that is to say, The Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price available here) in today's day and age. Basically, despite our technology, society today faces essentially the same problems that people have faced throughout human history. Human nature is still largely the same, we just have cooler toys.

The idea that I have in my head is this: the word of God can be used to bring us closer to God (and therefore make us happier) or keep us from God (and therefore make us miserable.) In The Book of Mormon, there is a symbolic dream that refers to the spiritual condition of each and every individual person. (1 Nephi 8,  the meaning of elements of the dream given in 1 Nephi 11) One element of the dream is a "rod of iron", which represents the word of God. People who clung to this rod of iron were able to receive the love of God, despite having their path obscured by mists of darkness.  Those who did not cling to this rod wandered off the path and were lost. A little later in the Book of Mormon,(1 Nephi 13) a prophet of God is able to see the history of the world, past and future. Shortly after he sees the ministry of Christ and the 12 Apostles, he sees the devil deceiving the world using a church. The devil brings the saints of God (all followers of God) into bondage with "a yoke of iron."

I've read these passages multiple times, but it was only recently that I noticed that the rod and the yoke are made of the same material: iron. So I pondered for a little bit. I thought along the lines of: what is the signficance of that fact? And, I have an anwer. Of course, this is entirely my own opinion, but so is this entire blog (aside from the links I put in). The answer that I received is that the "yoke of iron" represents the evil use, misue, and abuse of Holy Writ.

Here's an example of how scripture can be entirely misused to suit one's motives:
In the Old Testament, it says that "children suck" (Genesis 21:7) Therefore, children are not good, because they suck.

Of course this thinking is entirely wrong. Modern connotations of words were applied to a thing where it wasn't intended at all, scripture is quoted without any context whatsoever, and the conclusion contradicts what the scriptures actually teach. (For example, Psalms 127:3-5 and Matthew 19:13-15)
 It is that type of logic that enables the word of God to be used as a form of bondage. It is that type of thinking that has led to the very ugly  parts of religious history. Such things are not of God, but are of the devil, plain and simple. The devil loves to misquote and twist scripture (Luke 4:9-13)

Our own knowledge of the scriptures can enable us to see through the twisting of scripture. But you don't have to be learned in the scriptures, or ancient languages, or history, or anything else really, in order to understand when they aren't used properly. God will not have us without any guidance. We can ask of Him, through prayer, and we will receive the truth. (James 1:5-6, Moroni 10:4-5)

This is a topic that I feel stronly about. That is because, anyone who is familiar with history can see that bad things have happened when the word of God is ignored and/or misunderstood. While scripture is contained within the forms of literature and language, it cannot be fully understood by academic understanding alone. Since they were written by the spirit of prophecy, which is testimony of Jesus Christ, (Revelation 19:10), scripture can only be truly understood by one having a similar Spirit. Having academic knowledge can help, but that it not what we are to rely on. We are to have faith and seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Consider this:

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:12-14) Just using our natural thinking alone will not help us understand what we need to. In the words of Hugh Nibley, "The essential information for solving almost any problem or answering almost any question is all brought together in the scriptures, but it is not put together for us there."

It is my testimony that the scriptures are meant for our guidance through life. Everyone is going to have their challenges, none are immune to that fact of life. When we have regular scripture study and live what we understand of them and learn from them, we are able to get through our challenges better. We learn from our experiences and are able to see the good in an otherwise bad thing.