Exegesis

Exegesis, the process of drawing out, is the process of interpretation. You might not realize you are interpreting but you are always doing it. I have heard it said that the scriptures are plain. What does that mean? Nephi says he glories in plainness. We then assume a simple reading of the scriptures is all we need. Then we read Isaiah or Revelation and scratch our heads. Usually we state the Bible is not translated correctly and leave it at that, so we can stay secure in our viewpoints, unshaken. But what if we are wrong and we over state the mistranslation idea? What if we just need to partake of the fruit, have our eyes opened, and the horizon retreats further into the distance revealing a grand panorama yet to be explored? 

So, how wrong is our interpretation? How far off is the misreading? Do we at least have a standard by which to measure? Is there at least core doctrines that are true, that will not evolve and change? I think so. But these set of core doctrines may be smaller than you think. Others will change but to what degree? Only time will tell, but I expect we may be far off on some things.

As for misreading scripture, it has more to do with original context. This comes down to exegesis. We often interpret through our modern lens. That's not how the original author saw it. That's not how the original audience would have heard or possibly read it. It was given for their understanding and language. Now certain things have been revealed or uncovered more. Our understandings have evolved overtime and continue to do so as the Restoration continues. You can track this in the Bible a bit. It seems like Abraham didn't know what God's name was. But Moses asks and received His name later on, Yahweh. So clearly there is doctrinal development. So we have to be careful when we interpret that we don't place our current understanding upon the text. 

That being said, it doesn't mean you cannot apply the teachings to your life. Or that God could give specific meaning to you that was not meant by the text itself. He certainly can. But what we have to be careful with is saying this verse absolutely meant that. We may have a fairly good idea of it. But it's still open to evolve and change. Some things less so, some things more so. Just some thoughts.