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Just "DO
IT"
by Claudia
Goodman
No matter what
question the teacher asks in a church class, we generally give the
same answers.
How do we
get to the celestial kingdom?
How can I gain a testimony?
What can I do to feel close to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father?
What things help us stay morally pure?
How do I learn what God expects of me?
How do I develop faith?
The list goes
on and on, but we all know the answers by heart: pray, keep the
commandments, and study the scriptures. If studying
the scriptures is really that important, why do so few of us actually
do it? Out of the thirty students in my daughter’s
seminary class, only three read their scriptures daily. Of forty
young women in a ward, only four have read the Book of Mormon even
once. Sadly, adult percentages may be even less. How can we actually
make ourselves do what we know we need to do? Several years ago
our oldest daughter Melissa had an experience that helped her put
her belief into action:
Two weeks
before my senior year of high school, most of my family caught
Hepatitis A. I was in the hospital for several days and was extremely
weak. I didn’t have energy for anything; it was hard just
to get up the stairs. School has always been important to me,
but I was unable to attend my classes. This dragged on for about
2 ½ months. I just couldn’t get better, no matter
what I tried. Meanwhile, I was slipping farther and farther behind
in school, until finally my school counselor suggested putting
off my graduation another year. I was devastated.
My mom and
I had tried everything we knew to help me get well—medicines,
good food, extra rest—but nothing seemed to help. Finally,
after a good talk, we decided to each pray separately for inspiration,
because we didn’t know anything else to do. We both went
to different rooms to ask Heavenly Father what I needed to do.
Interestingly, we both got the same answer, a very simple answer:
I needed to put the Lord first in my life. The thing that came
to me was to read my scriptures daily—without fail. It would
be tough with all the make-up work I had to do, but I promised
my Heavenly Father I would read every day, and I started in on
it immediately. Well, to make a long story short, I was back in
school full-time by the end of the week, and my teachers said
if I worked hard I could be up to a “D” grade (passing)
by the end of the semester. However, by then I was not only caught
up in all my classes, including the AP classes, but I had straight
A’s! At the end of the year I was named valedictorian of
the school and Outstanding Female Student. The Lord had done His
part as I did mine.
The impact
of this experience on our family was so powerful that my younger
brothers and sisters followed my example of reading the scriptures
every day. I remember a time on a car trip when we got to the
motel at 2:30 in the morning. I could hardly walk across the room,
because my brothers and sisters were sprawled out everywhere,
reading their scriptures before they went to bed. Another time,
when we were flying home from Rome, my two youngest sisters (ages
8 and 10) decided they were going to read the whole book of Alma,
which is 63 chapters, by the time we got home—and they did
it!
As I have
continued to read the scriptures every day, I have found Pres.
Ezra Taft Benson’s statement to be true. He said, “When
we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place
or drop out of our lives.” My daily reading of the scriptures
coupled with striving to obey the commandments, has blessed me
in my schoolwork, social life, and marriage, and has given me
strength during the times of great testing in my life. I always
know I can go to them to find peace and strength and comfort.
That experience
happened thirteen years ago, and Melissa has not missed a single
day of reading her scriptures since then. How can someone make a
commitment so strong that it becomes a habit for life, never to
be broken?
Put first things first
The most important
step is to catch the vision of how important daily personal scripture
study is. When it comes right down to it, it’s really a question
of what you put first in your life—God or something else.
The Savior admonished us, “But seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added
unto you.” (Matt. 6:33) In other words, as Pres. Benson pointed
out, if you do the most important things, everything else that is
important will be taken care of. A few things may drop out of your
life, but if they are the least important, it won’t matter.
Do we really
believe that promise? Or would we rather try to do everything else
ourselves—without His help? Do we recall the covenant we made
at baptism and renew each time we partake of the sacrament—to
always remember Him? How can we truly come to know Him
if we never think about Him? As King Benjamin pointed out, “For
how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is
a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of
his heart?” (Mos. 5:13)
Melissa’s husband Slate commented: “Daily prayer and
scripture reading are literally the ways we put on the full armor
of God and fill our lamps with oil. The way Melissa and I have been
able to succeed is that we have made promises to each other and
to our Heavenly Father we intend to keep. We just decided it was
the path we were going to follow and we have stuck to it. It is
the same way in reading to our children.”
Be an example.
Slate’s
comment pinpoints another important principle in daily scripture
study: setting the example. If parents read the scriptures, it greatly
increases the likelihood that their children will do likewise. I
remember asking our three-year-old granddaughter Lucy what she wanted
for Christmas. Without hesitation she replied, “A Book of
Mormon.” That was all she wanted. We gave her a missionary
one, and she was thrilled! She had her very own scriptures. Now
at age six she can read the Book of Mormon all by herself. She has
been practicing for three years. It comes perfectly natural for
her to love and read the scriptures. She has watched her parents
do so ever since she can remember.
Set a definite time.
Most of us are
committed to the concept of reading scriptures every day, but often
the biggest roadblock comes when we fail to schedule a specific
time. Our study time gets pushed aside by all the other demands
in our busy day. Before we know it bedtime comes, and we are too
tired to stay awake and read. Another day passes without opening
our scriptures.
One thing to
consider is whether you are a morning or night person. It’s
best to read when you are wide awake! If it takes you an hour to
get your eyes open in the morning, you might not get much out of
your study, as the words slip in and out of focus. If you wind down
early at night, just before bedtime might find you dreaming about
your scriptures instead of understanding them.
Another very
important factor is finding a time when you are consistently free.
First thing in the morning is a time when there are fewer scheduling
conflicts for most people. It also helps to study right before something
you always do. For example, if you always eat breakfast, you might
read them right before you eat. For me, putting on my make-up is
very important, so I read my scriptures before I allow myself to
apply it. Then I am sure to get my studying done. Everyone goes
to bed, so right before bedtime is also a consistent time—as
long as you can stay awake.
The third consideration is to read at a time when you do not feel
pressured or rushed. Skimming the scriptures is tedious and unfulfilling.
It’s not always how much you read, but that you have time
to really feast and ponder on what the spirit is telling you.
We just received
a letter from our daughter Marilee who was married right after Christmas.
She said: “Matt and I have tried so many things since we got
married, and nothing was working where we could find a good regular
time. However, I think that is a key: find a time when you can read
every day. Matt and I have found a time at 4:45 in the afternoon.
Kind of random, but that is the time. We have been doing it this
past week, and it feels so good and right. We are so much happier
and really able to study the gospel instead of slopping through
it. It’s so wonderful.” As Marilee said, the key is
finding a definite time that works for you.
Start Small.
If you have
never read the scriptures consistently before, reading a half-hour
a day might be overwhelming. Start with just one chapter from the
Book of Mormon, or if necessary, just five verses. It’s better
to start with something realistic that you know you can do. Success
is built upon success. As one level becomes easy, you can work up
to more—five minutes, then ten, twenty, a half-hour or whatever
you feel in your heart is right for you.
Remember that
there are times and seasons in our lives. Missionaries have the
privilege of really immersing themselves in the gospel, feasting
on the scriptures for perhaps one to three hours a day. I remember
a time—probably only one or two semesters at BYU—when
I was able to read the scriptures for an hour or two every day.
My testimony and closeness to the Lord grew by leaps and bounds
during that precious window of time, and I often felt tears roll
down my cheeks as the scriptures came alive for me.
But the seasons
shift. When a mother has a nursing baby that is up several times
a night and several other small children to care for, when a father
has a highly demanding job as well as a time-consuming church calling,
when a student has an especially heavy load at school—perhaps
these are not times when they can spend an hour or two a day on
the scriptures. They are becoming close to the Lord in other ways.
I smiled as
I watched Melissa last time I visited her home. Now she has three
small children. She fed her children breakfast, then let them watch
Barney for twenty minutes while she read her scriptures at the breakfast
table while eating—a little different than when she was a
senior in high school or on her mission. But she has found a consistent
time that works for her. It’s a lot shorter than it used to
be, but she still does it every day.
The purpose
of this article is not to discuss all the various methods of effective
scripture study. There are as many ways as there are people. Whether
you read chronologically or by topics; whether you use a scripture
journal, colored pencils, or cross-referencing; whether you begin
or end with prayer, the main thing is to find what works for you
and JUST “DO IT”!
Never miss a day.
When my husband
was studying violin with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki in Japan, Dr. Suzuki
told him, “You don’t have to practice the violin every
day—only on the days you eat!” Scripture study should
be the same way. You don’t have to do it every day—only
on the days you eat—and even more on the days you fast!
Slate said:
“Personally, I haven’t missed a day of reading some
form of scripture in just over eight years. Granted, in many of
these instances I merely go through the motions. However, often
during those times when I begrudgingly read the scriptures, my heart
is softened and the Lord is able to commune with me those things
I need to feel and understand.”
If you are just
beginning a scripture-reading program, give it at least three weeks
to catch on. To start with, like Slate, you will probably just be
going through the motions. It takes a while to build the momentum.
Like learning to play the violin or walk or read, it may be some
time before you really enjoy the process. Give it time to bear fruit
in your life. Meanwhile, you can definitely enjoy the journey and
the daily inspiration that comes as you consistently read.
It’s amazing
what even a small amount of time devoted to daily scripture study
can yield. I asked our daughter Andrea, who is twenty-one, how many
times she has read each of the standard works. She has read the
Book of Mormon 24 times or more, the Bible (including the entire
Old Testament) 4 times, and the Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl
of Great Price at least 6 times. She added that now she reads them
slower and gets a lot more out of them. Of course the object is
not to see how many times you can read them, but what a depth of
gospel understanding has come to her with consistent reading over
the years.
Think of reading
the scriptures in the same light as praying. No matter how much
pressure there is, you never miss a day. Some prayers may be hurried
and short, but you still pray. In the same way, some days there
may only be time for a few verses, but make the commitment to always
read—no matter what. And be sure that most of the time you
read in depth.
Renew your commitment often.
Pres. Spencer
W. Kimball said, “The cultivation of Christlike qualities
is a demanding and relentless task—it is not for the seasonal
worker or for those who will not stretch themselves, again and again.”
None of us lives
the gospel perfectly from the moment we are baptized. That’s
why we have the opportunity to renew our covenants each week as
we partake of the sacrament. The commitment to read the scriptures
daily and effectively must be evaluated and renewed often. We all
stumble at times, and there are always things we can do better.
Our son Paul
said, “I don’t know that there really is anything that
makes personal scripture study work—it’s just something
that you have to make a priority in life. Although I’m doing
fine with it right now, I’ve struggled with it, too.”
We all have our moments of weakness. The main thing is to get up
and try again. Instead of thinking or talking about it, we just
need to “Do It.”
Enjoy the feast
As we consistently
immerse ourselves in the scriptures daily, we will enjoy a spiritual
feast beyond description. All of our children have noticed that
without fail their day goes better if they have read their scriptures.
However, the long-term benefits are even greater.
After years
of scripture reading, our son Mark wrote from the mission field
a few months ago: “I guess you can tell I'm happy. The other
night I couldn't sleep because I was just so happy, and so grateful
to the Lord for his blessings. Our Heavenly Father is so amazing!
The more I learn about the plan of salvation, the more I learn about
Him, and the more I learn to use the atonement in my life and apply
it to everything, the more I want to praise Him. I have really realized
lately the truth of what King Benjamin said about our relationship
with God. We can never give Him back enough. We will always be in
debt. There really is no sacrifice. The only thing that is ours
to give him is our will, and if we give him that, we receive everything.”
The joy Mark felt because of his increased understanding of the
gospel was beyond words.
Our daughter
Andrea received her endowment from the Manti Temple the day before
her marriage. That night she lay awake in bed for hours. Finally
she whispered to me, “Mom, I just can’t sleep.”
“No wonder,”
I thought. “You’re getting married in the morning. That’s
enough to keep anybody awake!”
But to my surprise
she continued, “The words to the endowment keep running through
my mind. I learned so much. I can’t wait to go and hear them
again!” I was amazed. Never had I seen anyone comprehend so
much in a first temple session. Her years of dedicated scripture
study had served her well. During the sealing ceremony the next
morning she sobbed openly, so thrilled that she could not speak.
I remembered the description of Ammon, who “…was swallowed
up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength;…Now
was not this exceeding joy?” (Alma 27:17-18)
The blessings
we gain through daily scripture study are beyond comprehension.
May we have the faith and determination to put the Lord first in
our lives and just “Do It”!
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