"Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority"

This week Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles passed away. I wanted to look up his most recent talk to see what his parting wisdom was. Apparently he didn’t even speak at the latest April 2015 general conference. I went back to October 2014, and I realized it was one of my favorite talks “Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority.” Next to my bed, I have this quote from the talk: “Choose to converse with your Father in Heaven often. Make time every day to share your thoughts and feelings with Him. Tell Him everything that concerns you. He is interested in the most important as well as the most mundane facets of your life. Share with Him your full range of feelings and experiences… Don’t yield to Satan’s lie that you don’t have time to study the scriptures. Choose to take time to study them. Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video gams, or social media.”

I have a testimony of this counsel from Elder Scott. When he first said this in the talk, I thought, “Well, I’m sure if I’m really tired, it’s ok if I go to bed. I need to be well rested. But before I go to bed, I’ll just watch two episodes of The Mentalist real quick. And then I’m sure I’ll be well rested for my school work that I’ll start right away the next day.” But I testify that when you put scripture study first, your day is so much better. I feel more productive (and then I can still get my Netflix in). And even when I don’t study my scriptures in the morning, studying them at night is just as great. Starting or ending the day on a spiritual note emphasizes the role of the gospel in my life. One of Satan’s lies is that you don’t have time. That’s not true. There is always time.

           I also know that Heavenly Father truly does care about everything in my life. I have prayed to Him about everything that concerns me. Jesus Christ knows and understands everything I’m going through, so of course I’m going to seek comfort or guidance from Him. I’m still working on making adequate time every day to converse with Him, but prayer can be so powerful. I truly need Him every hour; so why not pray every hour? Next to this quote by my bed, I have Scott Sumner’s painting of Jesus Christ titled “Apart to Pray.” It doesn’t even show Christ’s face, but it is one of my favorite paintings of Him. It is based from Matthew 14:23, which says “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray; and when the evening was come, he was there alone.” Being up here at college, it is difficult to find private places to pray, but when I do, my testimony is strengthened so much because I am giving my full self and full attention to Heavenly Father. I am apart to pray. (And isn't the sunset part of the picture so beautiful, too?!)

            I’m glad I was able to pay attention to Elder Scott’s last talk because President Boyd K. Packer and Elder L. Tom Perry also passed away this summer. I was able to go to the Saturday morning general conference session and see President Packer and Elder Perry give their last talks. Unfortunately, I was not fully present and had to look up what they talked about afterwords. (Don’t worry, my fam and I watched President Packer’s last talk about the Plan of Salvation after he passed away…I haven’t reread Elder Perry’s last talk yet, but it’s about marriage and family, which is also pretty important.) I’m excited to find out who the new three apostle are in a week during our next general conference! (My hope is for L. Whitney Clayton!)

            Elder Scott closes his talk with this statement: “I am not suggesting that all of life’s struggles will disappear as you do these things. We came to mortal life precisely to grow from trials and testing. Challenges help us become more like our Father in Heaven, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible to endure those challenges.” And just as a bonus, here are some other extra good quotes from Elder Scott:

"We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day."

"To exercise fait his to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it. When you pass through trials for His purposes, as you trust Him, exercise faith in Him, He will help you. That support will generally come step by step, a portion at a time. Your Father in heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit or for that of those you love."