Scripture Reading and Gatorade!

We all know what the scriptures are and most of us have them in our homes. All of us have access to them. But how many people actually open them up? What's the importance of reading the scriptures? We can to go church if we want to get God's word right? Wrong. Although going to church is good, it's not good enough. Reading the scriptures is what we have to do as well.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have a lot of different books of scripture. We are blessed to have the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, The Doctrine and Covenants and of course, The Holy Bible. All of those books are the word of God. All of them should be read daily! There are many reasons why we should read daily but the main reason is so we can obtain a stronger faith in Jesus Christ and His gospel. Having faith in Jesus Christ is the key to life. Without faith in Him, we will not be able to open the doors to the Celestial Kingdom.

We have been commanded by our Loving Heavenly Father to read our scriptures. It's really not that hard to do. We can all talk to Him through prayer and He wants to talk to us.  He will speak to us through the scriptures.

I once heard of scripture reading compared to water. A person must have water to live. We must all read the scriptures to live with Heavenly Father. Some people like to drink Gatorade.  Gatorade gives us more energy and hydrates us throughout the day. Gatorade is compared to the words of the living prophets. Their words help us in our daily lives, give us more spiritual truth and are just all around great for us. I love thinking of it that way because scripture study really does help us just as

 much as water or Gatorade!

Even in the scriptures it warns us what will happen if we don't read: Alma 13 says,

20 "Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I have said may suffice. Behold, the scriptures are before you; if ye will wrest them it shall be to your own destruction."

Now I don't know about you, but I do not want to be destroyed. So unless you want to be destroyed, I would invite you to read the scriptures. Use them. Apply them to your life. I can promise that as you read the scriptures, your faith in Jesus Christ will grow. You will want to follow Him more and you will find that the Spirit of the Lord is with you more. Will you read your scriptures daily?

Fishing and the Atonement

A few weeks ago I went fishing. It was really fun. As I was standing on the shore reeling in my line, I saw the fish grab the hook and take off. It was really cool and it was intense as I was reeling the fish to the shore. It was fighting really bad, like most fish do, and it brought an adrenaline rush to my body. When I finally landed the fish, I realized that I didn't want to eat it. So I took it off the hook and put it back in the water. Catch and release. I continued to fish the rest of the day and really enjoyed catching fish and making memories with some other missionaries. Later that day I was thinking of the fishing trip and the things that happened. I know this is going to sound cheesy but when we fish, we become sort of like Satan. Let me explain why I think that way.

When we have our lines in the water, we are waiting for a fish to grab our bait so we can pull them in and catch them. We do whatever it takes to catch the big one, the monster of the lake. We try different types of baits, lures, all the goods. Of course we will accept any fish that grabs our bait but our main goal is to catch the big one! When we do catch some, the hungry fishers will keep the fish and eat them later on. For those that can spend hours upon hours on the lake will play catch and release. I like catch and release because that way I can catch lots of fish and be on the lake for a longer period of time.
Now how is that related to Satan? Well, Satan does whatever he can to get the "big fish" or in other words, The true disciple of Jesus Christ. A follower of Christ is the hardest to catch but Satan will do anything he can to get us. His "line" is in the water. He is trying his best to make us catch the bait so he can put us in his power. Sometimes a little nibble at the wrong time can hook you. Satan in not one for catch and release. He wants to keep us. He wants to show us off to his followers. Of course Satan, like us, won't just go for the big one, he will take whatever he can. Satan will try all the different kinds of bait that he has. It may be as small as telling a white lie, or it could be as big as not living the law of Chasity. Sometimes, we accidentally grab onto the bait, even the best of the best can make a mistake here or there.

How do we get off the hook of Satan and back into the lake? Jesus Christ made it possible for us to "spit out" the hook and continue onward towards salvation. When Christ was on the earth he performed what came the most important event in the history of the world: He died for us and took upon himself all the sins of the world. This is all called the Atonement. His intense pain made it possible for us to be free of Satan's trap or "hook". In the Book of Mormon, Alma says: "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people." This means that we can even be freed from the temptations Satan will throw at us. I know that the atonement is the only way to get off the hook of Satan. We all need to use the atonement. Satan does not like to play catch and release, but we can get released if we use the Atonement. No sin is too serious that the Atonement can't fix. I know that to be true.