Profit and Learning

Nephi wrote, “I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Nephi 19:23). His father used the same phrase to explain why he taught his sons about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and agency. “My sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning,” he said (2 Nephi 2:14). And in 1831, the Lord opened a revelation to the church with the same phrase:

Hearken, O ye people of my church; for verily I say unto you that these things were spoken unto you for your profit and learning.

Doctrine and Covenants 46:1

The common denominator across each of the three appearances of the phrase is application-focused instruction. The teacher (Nephi, Lehi, and Jesus) expects us to engage both cognitively and practically with the principles they are teaching. They want us to live better as a result of what we are learning.

We generally associate the word “profit” with monetary gain, but the word has a broader meaning: any benefit or advantage derived from an activity. It derives from the Latin word profectus, meaning growth, success, or progress. Consider, for example, two biblical uses of the word:

• “In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury” (Proverbs 14:23).
• “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

So revelations from God are intended both to educate us and to enrich our lives.

BYU religion professor Charles Swift has noted that it’s possible to learn something without benefitting from it. If we choose not to act on the knowledge we have received, it may provide learning without profit.

And President Russell M. Nelson has emphasized that scripture benefits us the most when we apply its principles holistically, allowing them to permeate all aspects of our lives:

We can gain great knowledge from the scriptures and obtain inspiration through prayers of faith.

Doing so will help us as we make daily decisions. …

We should “liken all scriptures unto us … for our profit and learning.” Danger lurks when we try to divide ourselves with expressions such as “my private life” or even “my best behavior.” If one tries to segment his or her life into such separate compartments, one will never rise to the full stature of one’s personal integrity—never to become all that his or her true self could be.

“Let Your Faith Show,” General Conference, April 2014 (See also “Begin with the End in Mind,” a 1984 BYU Devotional in which President Nelson introduced this same concept.)

Today, I will strive not only to learn from God’s word but to profit from it. I will translate what I have learned into action and will pay attention to how the scriptures are helping me become more successful.