Scripture Time

Early this year we had the FHE, the kind my mind says they all should be. I didn't exactly plan it, it just sort of fell together. I believe sometime I blogged about ice cream. If I can't find it I will write it tomorrow. 

Anyways my current goal for scripture time as a family is the habit, the routine, it just being what we do. It's entertaining at times when Kaede reads in voices, gives things a dramatic flare, or breaks into corresponding Primary songs. We lost some momentum during 2nd Nephi but we made it -- including discussions on why Isiah is important to read even though it's hard to understand sometimes. Charlet noticed the beautiful imagery on her own.  I am grateful for the knowledge that stories lie ahead.  

Family scripture time is hard though, almost always and the blessings linked to it aren't as obvious and straightforward as some. Rounding everyone up during the chaos of the evening and getting minds focused on scriptures instead of bike riding, hummingbirds at the feeder, whether the turtles have been fed and if I charted that last pain assessment or not is challenging and sometimes comical. It's a priority for me though even when I have to remind myself that it's important even when I have no glorious a-ha moments of gospel truths that like I do during personal study.  Mostly this post is to remind me of that priority.  If I write it down it's more solid, more concrete. 

This quote says nothing about it being easy to gather everyone or that blessings come immediately. It also doesn't discuss anything about only immediate families. Grandma and Grandpa were reading 'with' us, on their own time at their own pace 50 miles north. 

“I promise you that daily family prayer and scripture study will build within the walls of your home a security and bonding that will enrich your lives and prepare your families to meet the challenges of today and the eternities to come” (L. Tom Perry, in Conference Report, Apr. 1993, 113; or Ensign, May 1993, 92).

In that ice cream FHE we also discussed that statements like those from one of the  Apostles isn't just random words thrown together in a statement but that it's a binding promise that The Lord won't break if we do our part. 

This is another of my favorite quotes on family scripture study. 

“When individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, … other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Power of the Word,” Ensign,May 1986, 81).

Obedience leads to extra strength

Usually when I'm reading scriptures I study by topic using Ensign, Conference Talks, a few select books by General Authorities (okay, pretty much just Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy). It's not unusual to start with a Conference talk and work from there.

Every few years I read beginning to end, starting last Sunday and each time I find a new theme standing out which follows through to the end. It's still studying by topic, its just that the topic finds me this way. 

This go around? Obedience due to ones own faith leading to increased strength as needed for whatever it is that needs to be accomplished.  Nephi being physically strong still needed additional strength to stop Zoram, and he received what was needed. 

{Heather}