29- Watching and Preparing 8/14/23

 29- Watching and Preparing 8/14/23

Hello Family,

It’s crazy to me that another school year is upon us. Our little Lainey moves past Elementary school into Middle School, can you believe it? No more little ones to send out the door. You are all growing up so fast. Too fast!  Mama and I try not to think about it :)

I am just finishing the book I’ve been reading over the past few months “The Millennial Messiah”. I have shared some thoughts from it before, but as it wraps up, one of the end chapters is about disciples of Christ preparing and being watchful for His return. How are we individually preparing ourselves, and in what ways are we being watchful?

Yesterday in our Sacrament Meeting there were three missionaries reporting home from their missions. One missionary shared that close to the middle of his mission he found himself having a personal faith crisis. He talked about the area where he was then serving being a struggle for him. It was an affluent area and people there were showing antagonism toward the missionaries and the church. He was being posed questions about church history and criticisms that he had never heard before, which led to this missionary doubting his beliefs. The fascinating and miraculous part of this story is that he could identify that along side his faith being challenged and dwindling, was the the realization that his personal efforts in sustaining his faith were also absent. He had stopped praying. His morning scripture study time was used for sleeping.

This isn’t a unique story. It likely happens to people all around the world everyday. It happens to full time missionaries, and long time members. None are exempt or immune to losing or doubting their faith. We read about it in the scriptures going all the way back to the beginning. People listening more closely to critics and to naysayers rather than to the still small voice of the Spirit. 

How can we prevent this happening to us? The same way this missionary found his way again. By developing that relationship with our Savior and Heavenly Father through person prayer and scripture study. There lies the magic formula. The formula that we sometimes rationalize away as tooth simple and too insignificant to really matter.

Miles sent me a sweet email to me this morning. It was an overview of a few different talks he has been studying this past week and the meaningful points that inspired him. I don’t think he will mind me sharing this, but here is what he said at the end of his email. “Don’t feel like you have to read all these talks, I know I am the only one who gets an allotted time everyday to study. I just found them to be super good and I wanted to share it with you.”

You returned missionaries know about that “allotted” time you took as missionaries to study. BUT we  all need this “allotted time” everyday. Not just missionaries. Our missions helped us learn to make really good habits of scripture study, but those habits were meant to endure for a lifetime. That is no doubt one of the many blessing of missionary service, learning how to communicate with Heaven, and how God communicates with us. How are we each doing? How can we improve? I have a strong testimony that each of us can feel that same spiritual strength Elder Miller feels as he studies and prays. We need those feelings to fuel our faith.

Invitation: Let us recommit to do the small and simple things that strengthen our faith. The very things that keep us “watching and preparing” for the Saviors return.

I love you so much! 

Dad