This new Come Follow Me study has been great! I have read through the entire New Testament before and been to many of the places mentioned but I don't feel that I have really studied or looked as closely at each chapter and verse as I am now. This particular chapter doesn't seem like much when you are just reading it as part of the story line of Christ's life but as you look deeper and really ponder the words, there is a lot to be found. I am curious, what have you all have learned from focusing on this one chapter?
As I read through I noticed that all of the men who met Christ believed he was the Messiah and were truly converted:
"And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." v.34
"And they were fishermen. And they straightway left all and followed Jesus" JST v.42
"Rabbi, thou art the King of Israel." v.49
Reading through and seeing the acknowledgement and understanding of these men in just one meeting really got me thinking about my own conversion. Am I truly converted? Am I doing what I should be doing so that when the Lord returns, I will recognize him as quickly as they did? Do I have a relationship with the Savior?
Conversion is not something that just happens once. It is a constant effort and action on our part. We should be constantly trying to grow and be more converted unto the Lord. We can become complacent, thinking we know all the stories and we know all of the answers. But, in reality, we know only a fraction of what there is to learn about the gospel. There is always room for us to grow and become closer to the Lord.
This article popped up on my feed today and I encourage you all to read through it. What are some of your thoughts on conversion? How can we help ourselves and others to continue on their path of conversion? How can we take away our gospel check-list to focus on what truly matters?
I really like this quote from Elder Uchtdorf:
ReplyDelete“There is more to … Church (and more to life) than simply checking things off an assigned to-do list. … It might be wise to look at … the scriptures not as checklists or detailed scripts but rather as opportunities to prepare our minds and hearts to receive divine inspiration.”
When I think about the scriptures or Come Follow Me, it is easy to think of it as something to do because it's on my list of goals. However, the scriptures prepare us to receive inspiration and are more than to-dos.
I remember when I was a teenager that I didn't like to read the same book over and over, which made me a reluctant scripture reader. I read the scriptures out of duty, checking off the list. But then on day, my seminary teacher told us how like Nephi her soul delighted in the scriptures. I decided that I wanted to delight in the scriptures, not just endure readingthem, and slowly over a few years, my heart and mind were changed. Now, I can tell when I haven't been studying enough. My soul needs the scriptures :)
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