Just after the Lord's Resurrection, two of His disciples had a powerful experience as He taught them from the scriptures. And behold, two of them went to a village called Emmaus, and Jesus Himself drew near. But their eyes were holden that they did not know Him. The brethren had questions about what had happened to Jesus in Jerusalem. The Lord taught them about His Atonement and Resurrection from the scriptures. And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Later that night, after Jesus had left them, they talked together about what they had felt as He taught them. Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way and while He opened to us the scriptures?

When you teach us from the scriptures, we'll feel the Spirit just like the Lord's disciples did. The scriptures are powerful in teaching the youth, and they don't need to be diluted. They are prepared to hear right from the scriptures and to learn from the scriptures. We need to learn not only what's in the scriptures, but how they apply to us. We're trying to get these young men to liken the scriptures unto themselves and to say, "This is what I'm going to do." If you want us to apply the word of God in our lives, it will help if we actually read the scriptures in class.

Can you turn to 2 Nephi, chapter 2.

And Travis, will you read verse 16? And Garrett, will you read verse 27? Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the Great Mediator of all men. As we read, discuss the scriptures with us. Help us see how we can live what they teach. How do those two scriptures tie in with what we've discussed today? The first one says we can choose captivity or we can choose liberty and eternal life. From the very beginning, we've always had that choice. And it's our job to seek out knowledge and to find the Spirit and to make the right choices. In verse 16, it says, "Wherefore the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself." That's pretty much what we do. We act for ourselves. We make our own choices. And it's always our choice, and it's always been our choice, and through the Great Mediator, through Jesus Christ, we can find strength to go down the right path. As you show us how to study and apply the scriptures in class, we will want to study and apply them at home too. The word of God will touch our hearts, and the scriptures will become an important part of our lives.

The scriptures provide the strength of authority to our declarations when they are cited correctly. Their use provides a foundation of truth that can be awakened by the Holy Ghost.