Scripture Study

"The Written Word of God- the scriptures-is one of the greatest blessings the Lord has given us.  Until we recognize that fact, I am afraid we will hold them lightly. Conversely, if we recognize their supreme importance in our lives- even standing in awe of these precious gifts- we then will treat them with more respect and great attention. And, in turn, we will receive much greater benefits from them."
            ~Gene R. Cook~

Question of the day: How much are YOU willing to sacrifice to give the scriptures a prominent place in your life?

We talked about this in Sunday school and Relief Society this past Sunday and I have been chewing on it ever since. I honestly have to say that the only time I read my scriptures is when I am preparing a lesson and that is 2x a month. That really isn't a great track record. It seems as though I read more when I was busier and now that I am not busy I am being drowned in the quagmire of nothingness and unimportant things such as t.v., Facebook and games on my Ipad. What have I done that really matters as of late?

How can my spirituality grow if I don't feed it? How do I know the meaning for my life, if I don't learn of what Heavenly Father has in store for me and the foundation of that blue print?

Am I willing to give a few hours or even 30 minutes each day to better myself through the core values and to understanding what the Lord taught so long ago? Am I willing to give a few hours to reading Conference talks and find out what the Prophet has to say so that I can follow the words of the Lord through His chosen mouthpiece? I mean, I spend time practicing the piano, the guitar, reading good books and working on art~ all good things and yet they are not the guiding forces of eternal matters.

My Patriarchal Blessing says that I "might be able to store away for future use the beautiful pearls of wisdom and truth found in the scriptures and recall them as needed and desired to buoy you up and to support your thinking."  How can I do this if I don't read? You can't memorize something you know nothing about.  Also, How do I learn about the higher, finer, loftier things in life if I don't search the scripture for the messages that are placed there for me? Yeah, this is what I need to work on.

I opened my personal scripture journal and the last entry that it held was from June 2012. That is over a year ago!  Where was I reading at in the Book of Mormon? 10 chapters before the place I marked off to read to today. Yeah, How many times do you start from the beginning and end up reading the same place over and over again. If I don't have 1st Nephi memorized by now, I should be ashamed of myself (please don't try to question me on that though because I am sure I will draw a blank, except for where "I, Nephi  being born of goodly parents", and his father "dwelt in a tent").

So, one of my personal goals is set a time each morning or quiet afternoon where I spend a few hours reading the Book of Mormon and spending sometime studying and expanding my knowledge of the Gospel. So, if you want to talk to me between the hours of 1 and 2:30 p.m. each day you will have to leave me a message on my voice mail because I will be studying in the solitude of my gorgeous office on the day bed.