Your Spiritual Foundation is Worth Time

I was asked to teach a class about meaningful scripture study at our stake relief society women’s conference a couple of weeks ago. I had ideas pour into my mind over the next 2 days for what I could share from my own experience with studying the scriptures. After the classes were over, I starting thinking about sharing my ideas with others through social media. After much thought, I decided to start sharing little tips periodically. Maybe you aren’t interested in what I have to say, and that’s fine. But if you want to improve your scripture study, maybe something I share might help you.

I have always loved the scriptures and read them regularly throughout high school and college. When Abby was born, I continued to read almost every day until she stopped nursing. All of a sudden, I felt like I didn’t have time to study when she was awake and at the time, I wasn’t willing to get up before her to study. It was maybe two or three years that my studying was more sporadic. When I finally decided to set my alarm and get up early, I noticed a difference in how I felt and my ability to be kind to my kids.

I started teaching school part time almost three years ago now and when I first started, I noticed a difference in my study time. I go to Jazzercise early, then come home and pray and study until it’s time to get in the shower. I only had about 20 minutes, which was less than I had been studying before that. Then my class switched from 5:30am to 5:00am. I work out way too early in the morning and it was a hard adjustment, but now when I come home, I have about 45 minutes to pray and study all by myself. That time is very special to me, and even makes it worth my early mornings.

So my first scripture study tip is to schedule a consistent time for yourself. I promise, it’s worth some sacrifice. If you can’t find the time, maybe you can follow the recommendation given to the youth in our ward recently. Delete an app that tends to be a time sucker for you. Then use the time you used to spend on that app and study the scriptures. The Spirit can help us all to get more out of the scriptures if we’re ready to invest the time and effort into it.