Not all members of the Church will go to the Celestial Kingdom - only the valiant. The other honorable people who weren't so valiant will go to the Terrestrial kingdom. One sister did lots of good works and community service but was a stranger to the scriptures and to the temple. She would not qualify for the Celestial Kingdom. "Don't be surprised that the Celestial Kingdom has high standards." "Few there be that find it." "Press forward feasting on the scriptures."
Most members don't take the time to feast.
All spirits, even from our birth, are in young adult form. They grow but not in height - but in light. Our goal is to grow brighter and brighter until we are like God.
To gain light we must take the Sacrament weekly, serve others, go through difficult experiences, attend the temple*, study scriptures DAILY.
If your spirits are hungry from lack of temple and scriptures, you get angry, irritable, etc. A few verses a day won't feed and strengthen our spirits. We need to feast and search the scriptures daily.
Nephi said the words of Christ will tell us all things that we should do.
When one man was called as a General Authority, his wife felt very inadequate for herself. She took the opportunity to be with David B Haight's wife to go to a meeting and asked her how she could prepare herself for her part of her husband's calling. Sister Haight said, "Study the scriptures." The sister thought that was a little too obvious and wondered what else, so she asked, "Can you suggest anything else?" Sister Haight said, "No, just study the scriptures." After a few moments more, she asked sister Haight again, "Can you give me anything else I might do?" Sister Haight said, "No, just study the scriptures."
After some more time, before they reached their destination the sister said, "So now that you've had some more time to think about it, can you give me any other suggestions?" Sister Haight said, "No, just study the scriptures."
The other word used in the scriptures is that we should feast on the scriptures. We'll compare it to Thanksgiving dinner.
The first step is my own; Laurel didn't mention this one, and that's preparation. We spend more time preparing Thanksgiving dinner than we do eating it. I think preparation to study scriptures is important. We need to have paper and pencil handy, other references available, prepare a place of quiet and comfort, and be in a mind ready to learn and act.
The second step is prayer. We begin our thanksgiving dinner with a prayer of gratitude. In our prayer for scripture study, we can give thanks for having scriptures. As we say at dinner time, thanks for the hands that prepared it, we can be grateful for the hands that prepared the scriptures, from the prophets who took the time to write, from the scribes who copied them whenever they were beginning to break down, to the translators, printers, and all who have made modern access so great. We can pray that the scriptures will nourish and strengthen our spirits and that we will REMEMBER what we read and that we will be able to apply it.
When Larry was a Seventy, one time they were invited to the General Authorities' weekly meeting in the temple and allowed to ask any question. He said Elder Oaks emphasized the importance of praying constantly while we study scriptures.
The third thing we need are utensils. We need a pen and paper to write down what we learn. We should write int he margins as we are impressed. She said she and her husband were constantly telling the missionaries, when Larry was mission president in Russia, not to have 'markaphobia' - the fear of marking up their scriptures.
Joseph SMith said for neglecting to write what is revealed as we study, you will forget and the Spirit may withdraw and God may be angry.
The fourth step is to have a balanced meal as we feast. We need the four food groups.
1. The Book of Mormon is the grains because it is the staff of life.
2. The Bible is dairy. just as a baby has milk before meat, the Bible gives us a foundation to help us understand the Book of Mormon better. It teaches of Christ, of the House of Isreal, and gives a great background.
3. The D&C is the meaty doctrine. It has doctrines that aren't as clear anywhere else like the Word of Wisdom, the 3 degrees of Glory, Eternal Marriage, the destiny of the earth, the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, and (138) the Spirit World.
4. The Pearl of Great Price is the fruits and vegetables. It gives variety and color and nutrition to our study.
How can we study other works while studying the Book of Mormon every day?
1. Listen as we travel, get dressed, do housework
2. Study by topic - that way we are studying all books of scripture. Elder Bednar said as we write what we learn we will see connections and patterns and our testimony will grow.
3. Don't feed your body until you've fed your spirit.
4. No TV until you've studied
Use a dictionary to look up words int he scriptures.
Modern day words from the Prophets supersede all scriptures. they are like the after dinner mints.
She did a study of seminary students to see how long the average person takes to read a chapter of the Book of Mormon and it took between 2 and 5 minutes. We can't say we don't have time! Covey-Don't prioritize your schedule, schedule your priorities.
As with Thanksgiving, when one dish is especially delicious, we go back for seconds. When you find a scripture you love, look up references to it; spend more time on it. Cross references and mark them.
Our spirits grow brighter as we study. If we study for 365 days, over a year's time there will be much growth.
Brigham Young said "share what you have and you will never go hungry." Same with scriptures. To remember what you learn, you need to share it. "Share what you learn and you will never forget."
She mentioned that while mission president, they asked missionaries what they most want to hear from their families when they write them. The missionaries said they most love hearing new insights from the scriptures. they love knowing that their families are studying scriptures and learning and growing.
As with food, we believe in food storage for emergencies. With scriptures, we need to have a storage too. We do that by memorizing scriptures - have them written on your heart. Richard G Scott said memorized scriptures are like packets of light stored.
Larry was a convert and soon after baptism he decided to memorize the Sermon on the Mount.
During the war, the LDS and other Christian Prisoners of War used scriptures to help them stay strong. Many had scriptures they had memorized, and they would share them and memorize each others'.
We always find a way to feed our bodies. We need to find a way to always feed our Spirits. Richard G Scott, in his last talk before he died said that feasting on the scriptures is more important than sleep, work, etc.
Joseph Smith said truth tastes good. Jacob (in BofM) said Feast on that which perish not - soul be light
Jesus referred to himself as the bread and water of life.
If we are faithful in studying the scriptures, we can receive more like the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon, the scriptures of the lost tribes, the lost portion of the Book of Mormon, the record of John the Baptist, etc.
*A couple of sisters shared that they've seen people have a glow about them after being in the temple. One sister said whenever she saw another certain sister after temple attendance, she had fewer wrinkles.
Tip for family scripture study - everybody reads one chapter or designated amount of verses. when everyone is done, you ask everyone to share what the Holy Ghost taught them.
One sister uses a workbook from the internet that goes with the scriptures where you analyze and write down what you feel/learn.
Daily Scripture study will remove the spirit of contention.
One sister said her son wanted to go to a midnight sale to buy a game he loved. It was a special sale but she said "No way" was she going to let him go to a store at midnight on a school night. He thought about it for a while and then came to her and said, "What if I read the whole Book of Mormon before the sale?" It was in 2 weeks. She was flabbergasted and said of course then he could go.
I did read the whole thing in 2 weeks and managed to read the whole Book of Mormon 12 times before he left on his mission.
One sister said she always read to her babies so that they had heard the whole Book of Mormon before they turned 1 year old.
A habit of scripture study will help us through trials.
She quoted a lot from a talk by Richard G Scott: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/make-the-exercise-of-faith-your-first-priority?lang=eng&cid=email-shared
That is SO AWESOME!
ReplyDelete