Pages full of friends

I'm thankful for the scriptures.

If there is anything in this world that can bring me comfort, teach me lessons, and give me inspiration, it would be the scriptures. What a blessing it is to have The Book of Mormon and The Bible, along with the modern revelations found in the Doctrine and Covenants! Not to mention the extended records we have in the Pearl of Great Price.

In my church, we are encouraged to search, study, and ponder the scriptures on a daily basis. These books contain the words of God as written by the prophets of old. There are many treasures of knowledge hidden away in these books... gems just waiting to be discovered. The more times we read the material, the more we will get out of it. I find that concept true for any book I read. When I reread a book, I notice things that I didn't notice the first time. I make new connections. Some things may stand out to me in a different way based on how my life is going at the time.

The same is true for the scriptures. A verse that doesn't mean much to me one day will be entirely important for me to read a week later - perhaps because the verse contains a piece of advise or comfort that I specifically needed to hear. This is why our church leaders encourage us to have daily scripture study. Besides... what better way is there to learn about the gospel than by reading the very texts that our knowledge is founded on?

I need to get myself a pocket Book of Mormon that I can just carry around with me everywhere. There are plenty of times during the day when I'm at school or something and I just happen to have a few minutes of down time. What if, instead of sitting around and twiddling my thumbs, I were to whip out my handy travel-sized book and read it for those few minutes? That could serve for good missionary opportunities too, because I'm sure people may be interested in what my tiny book could possibly be about and why I read it so avidly.

My life just seems to go more smoothly when I take the time to read my scriptures. It's like the object lesson that I'm sure all of us have seen or heard of... the one where you have to put the big rocks into the jar first, and then the little pebbles just fill in the empty spaces. Well my friends, the scriptures are one of those big, fat rocks that needs to be put into the jar first. Then everything else that you need to accomplish during the day will just fall into place. Strange how that works out...

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a talk in this year's October General Conference about "The Power of Scripture". In his talk, he said that, "Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change." I took this to heart and have picked out a couple of new friends to keep in mind... friends that can bring me comfort or inspiration when I need it. So... challenge for the day: find a new friend! And these are good friends that you'll keep with you forever, and they'll always be there for you. Doesn't hurt at all, right??? So go for it!

I'm thankful to the prophets who spent hours and hours recording their history and teachings. Especially those who had to write on metal plates, which was not easy at all. I'm thankful to those who translated those ancient records so that they are available for me to read today. I'm thankful that I can get so much out of these books! They are certainly worth the time to read over and over again!