How many times have you come home from church and said, “I want to be a scriptorian”? And then after a week or two, the passion waned and well, you – you know the rest of the story. If you have ever struggled with loving the scriptures, perhaps this story will help.

About 25 years ago I flew for the first time across the Colorado Rockies. I remember I sat at a window seat with my nose pressed against that window, taking in the magnificent scenery below. It was fun the first few times I flew – staring down at the world below. But then, you know, after a while it became boring. It all looked the same – no perspective. There were variations in color and texture, but from 35,000 feet it all looked about the same. I came to the conclusion that seeing the Rocky Mountains from the air is a little like getting a kiss through a window – nice, but something’s lost.

Now by contrast, my daughter Sherise and I determined we were going to run Hurricane Pass in Wyoming. The trail starts in Teton Canyon near Driggs, Idaho, and goes up and over the entire range, and comes down near Jenny Lake in Wyoming. It’s a 22-mile journey, and we weren’t going to hike it; we were going to run it! So on the appointed day, the family dropped us off at the trailhead, and we set out. Now to be honest, we did not run the entire 22 miles. Some of that trail was just too steep and rugged. But we ran most of it – and it was fun! We ran through the thick pine forest along the valley floor. I love the smell of pine. Then we began to climb until we reached the open hillsides covered with wildflowers – the color and the contrast – oh, awesome! And then there were the high mountain lakes and the rocky terrain above the tree line. And finally we reached the top, and crossed over the skyline trail. I remember the view, and the cool clear mountain air, and the breeze. Oh, it was wonderful!

Well, up to this point our journey had been nothing but uninterrupted joy. But that changed when we started down the other side. The trail was steep and rough. There were places we couldn’t run safely. As it was, Sherise rolled her ankle twice. We ran out of water, darkness came, and worst of all we got turned around and lost. It was a struggle by the time we got down that brought us to point of exhaustion. We hurt so bad! The last few miles we were walking, holding onto one another for support, and singing sacred music to keep us going.

When we were done, we were completely spent and in pain – but happy. We did it – we did it, and we’d do it again! We experienced first hand every sight, sound, smell, and step of the Tetons in Hurricane Pass that cannot be known from a plane or a car. I have flown over and around the Tetons on more than one occasion, but nothing compares with getting down in them, and experiencing them up close. Memories of the mountains are made in them, not above them.

Mountains are like scriptures. You have to get down in them with your nose only inches from the page. There are too many of us that read our scriptures like we are flying in a jet. We sit down, put the book in our lap, and off we go, eager to get to the end. There’s no passion! There’s no quest! Nor is there any sense of the topography of the characters, the story, the history, or the drama that’s lying under our nose. Just as texture, shadow, and perspective of ‘Mother Earth’ are experienced up close, so too do the scriptures become a passion when we slow down, bend down, put our nose on the page, and start exploring every word, phrase, and character. It will be frustrating at times, maybe even painful.

I promise you no one can study the word of God like this and not be affected deeply. The scriptures will invade your spiritual senses just as the smell of pine in a forest can assault you. And so, my friends, the books open?; marking pencils ready?; backs bent?; eyes eager?; curiosity peaked? Here we go! – the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos. We will see you on the other side, traveler – weary and glassy eyed, but a changed man!