Today I am grateful for the inspired leaders of my church. We met for Regional Stake Conference today. All of the stakes in Arizona met at the same time and we heard from the prophet, a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles, the presiding bishop, and a member of the general primary presidency (whom I absolutely love hearing speak). I only got to hear the gist of their messages because our children were really, really restless throughout the entire meeting. (But, who's kidding, when are they not restless at church?) However, I heard the most from Sister Barbara Thompson (the second counselor in the General Primary Presidency), and I'm so glad I did. The entire message of her talk was about increasing our spirituality through daily scripture study and prayer.
When I first started attending seminary, in ninth grade, my teacher challenged our class to read the scriptures every-single-day. I took up the challenge and read every-single-day up until Jon and I had been married for a few months. There are many choices I've made in my life for which I don't feel regret because of the learning process I went through while dealing with the negative consequences. This is not one of those. I fully regret making the choice to close my scriptures that night. I chose not to read because I didn't feel that I would "get anything out of reading" because I was so tired. There were countless nights before when I was up later than on that night, and I still took the time to read (even if it was only for a couple of minutes). But, that night, I closed my scriptures and went to sleep. And, I have regretted that choice every-single-day since.
My regret is because I have struggled to consistently read my scriptures for the last 11 years. I didn't read one night, and then it became two or three. They just keep piling up, and now it is so hard to remember to set aside time to read/study the scriptures everyday.
I really feel that Sister Thompson was inspired to share her message about studying the scriptures. One thing she said was that as we begin a serious study of the scriptures we will have greater spiritual power. If there is anything I've learned through my regretful choice, it's that when I read the scriptures I am more able to be patient with my children, more understanding, I am able to focus on what is most important. And, for me, that is power. I can only imagine how more powerful I will be (spiritually) when I enter into a "serious study" of the scriptures. I am so grateful that Sister Thompson felt guided to speak on studying the scriptures, for through the words of her talk that I did hear, I have been given a greater motivation to do exactly what I have been counseled.
When I first started attending seminary, in ninth grade, my teacher challenged our class to read the scriptures every-single-day. I took up the challenge and read every-single-day up until Jon and I had been married for a few months. There are many choices I've made in my life for which I don't feel regret because of the learning process I went through while dealing with the negative consequences. This is not one of those. I fully regret making the choice to close my scriptures that night. I chose not to read because I didn't feel that I would "get anything out of reading" because I was so tired. There were countless nights before when I was up later than on that night, and I still took the time to read (even if it was only for a couple of minutes). But, that night, I closed my scriptures and went to sleep. And, I have regretted that choice every-single-day since.
My regret is because I have struggled to consistently read my scriptures for the last 11 years. I didn't read one night, and then it became two or three. They just keep piling up, and now it is so hard to remember to set aside time to read/study the scriptures everyday.
I really feel that Sister Thompson was inspired to share her message about studying the scriptures. One thing she said was that as we begin a serious study of the scriptures we will have greater spiritual power. If there is anything I've learned through my regretful choice, it's that when I read the scriptures I am more able to be patient with my children, more understanding, I am able to focus on what is most important. And, for me, that is power. I can only imagine how more powerful I will be (spiritually) when I enter into a "serious study" of the scriptures. I am so grateful that Sister Thompson felt guided to speak on studying the scriptures, for through the words of her talk that I did hear, I have been given a greater motivation to do exactly what I have been counseled.
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