Prooftexting is a method of proving a point by using scripture out of context without regard for the entire text. You see this all the time. Someone will tell a story and then use a scripture verse to support the theme of the story.
This happens so often that we end up believing something to be doctrine and truth when, in fact, it is not. Once a proof-texting has endured, it is often set in stone — that is until someone goes back to read the entire text and discovers the real meaning. But even then, many people have no desire to hear anything different.
I first became aware of this when I heard lessons at church about “how to know when the Holy Ghost gives you an answer” — I was taught that “you will get a burning in the bosom if it is correct and a stupor of thought if it is incorrect or wrong.” Then, the teacher would use a couple of verses from the Doctrine & Covenants to support this concept:
I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong… (Doctrine & Covenants 9: 8-9)
Now, the problem is, these verses have been taken out of context. You must read the entire revelation. And the section before it too. Read it like a novel. Breaking a book or a revelation into verses may help us locate a particular sentence (much like finding verses in poetry) — but it takes away from the story. What if you took a favorite book such as The Hobbit, and broke it up into verses, and read it like that? Or a poem? Or your own private journal?
Those verses in the D&C are part of a revelation given to Oliver Cowdery about translating the Gold Plates. It’s about translating. It is very specific. The stupor of thought comes if he does not get the inspired translation, and hence he cannot write that which is not from God.
Prooftexting is similar to clipping sound bites.
The news media will use sound bites to get your attention or manipulate their message. These clipped statements are often controversial. Political candidates have to be careful what they say because the media on the opposing team will clip speech to damage their opponent.
We have become a society that likes to take shortcuts — we read the headlines and never bother to read the entire text and make our own conclusions. Everything has become minimized — tweets and Facebook posts. We do this with our scriptures too. We get very comfortable with the same old interpretations and sound bites — or verses are taken out of context. We throw them around without even looking at the original text as a whole.
I have become more aware of this in my study of Isaiah. We need to read our scriptures as a book, as the authors intended. Look at the whole picture, the whole story with an open mind.
For example, one of the scripture verses that is often quoted in the church is this one:
“…precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little…” (Isaiah 28:10) (KJV)
And most people use it to support the idea that we learn gradually or follow the rules one after another. [The heading to the LDS KJV: Woe to the drunkards of Ephraim!—Revelation comes line upon line and precept upon precept—]
But according to Avraham Gileadi, this is not what Isaiah was saying. He was explaining that we are still just babes, weaned from the breast when we should be dining on the greater words of Jehovah. It’s not good; it’s not a good thing at all. The Lord wants to give us more, but he cannot when we continue with breastmilk and are never weaned to more substantial food.
Whom shall he give instruction?
Whom shall he enlighten with revelation?
Weanlings weaned from milk,
those just taken from the breast?
For it is but precept upon precept,
precept upon precept,
measure by measure, measure by measure;
a trifle here, a trifle there.
Although God wants to give his people “instruction” (dē â) and “revelation” (šěmû â), they are but babes and sucklings who haven’t developed enough to digest more than milk. Their mode of learning God’s word is still “precept upon precept, precept upon precept, measure by measure, measure by measure; a trifle here, a trifle there” (ṣaw lāṣāw ṣaw lāṣāw qaw lāqāw qaw lāqāw
zě îr šām zě îr šām).Assonance and alliteration parody their rote method of learning by parroting their leaders: “Everyone who uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe” (Hebrews 5:13). (Avraham Gileadi)
Now, to understand this, you must go to the link above, where you can read the entire chapter of Isaiah 28 and Gileadi’s commentary. But it is clear to me that Isaiah is not happy with those of us who are still on baby pabulum and milk. (Though, I still love a good bowl of porridge!) You can check other commentaries and translations at Bible Hub.
While homeschooling my kids, I read a book called The Well-Trained Mind, which explains the method of teaching a classical education — the trivium — the first stage of learning is called the parrot stage — where kids mimic and repeat what you say — line upon line. It’s not a bad stage, but it’s the first stage, where you gather information — kindergarten through fourth grade. But we need to progress. We can’t just keep parroting what we hear from those we believe have all the answers.
*Updated, originally published Jan. 25, 2015.
