Go & Do/Scripture Studying

I think one of life's hardest lessons is learning to trust the Lord. We know that He knows everything, but trusting in Him and His timing is hard. I'll admit, I'm not the world's most patient person, so trusting in the Lord's timing is especially hard for me. So waiting to receive an answer to my mission prayer was hard. One week I would feel like maybe He didn't want me to go and that's why I hadn't gotten an answer while the next week I would feel that it was a No Duh type of answer. I wanted to pull out my hair and scream WHY CAN'T YOU ANSWER ME??

Yelling and pulling out my hair wasn't considered a healthy reaction to the situation so I turned to the scriptures and of course, the General Authorities. Several scriptures helped me through this time and I knew they were the answer that I least wanted to hear: Be patient and wait; I'll tell you soon enough. 

1st Nephi 4:6- And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. 

1st Nephi 9:6- But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen.

These two have made it into my top ten of favorite scriptures (maybe a future post?). Heavenly Father knows everything. We had to be willing and patient to wait and look for His hand in our lives. I had to be patient in waiting for my answer to whether or not I should go on a mission. In fact, the answer came when I least expected it. But it took three months of praying, fasting, studying scriptures, and pondering to get my answer. I knew I had to be steadfast in doing those things so I would be in the right environment to receive my answer. In all honesty, I learned more about patience than I did receiving answers to prayers. 

Some people have asked me how I do it. How am I so spiritual and how do I have all these cool experiences? The answer is easy. I know you all know it. I read and pray everyday. Scripture study and daily prayers are the keys to getting yourself into a spiritual mindset. I often study in my room, with MoTab playing (I'm a musical person, so I learn best when there's music involved). I create an environment where the Spirit can come and reside and teach me. I approach studying with an open heart and mind with a willingness to learn. 

Then I study. Pretty simple. I start reading and I have my scripture markers handy because I like to mark everything I like, even if it means my scriptures end up looking like a coloring book. If I really love a scripture, I'll go find a nice picture of flowers or something nature and put it as the background to it. I like to have them on hand. I'm not saying this is the sure fire way of getting a good study session and feeling the Spirit- this is just what works for me. 

Maybe take the cookie cutter mold for studying and apply it to how you learn best. Maybe you're a visual learner- go get some pictures of the stories you read. Maybe you're auditory; listening to the scriptures is great (as long as you don't fall asleep). So many times we are told to just read our scriptures, but we are never told that we can adjust our study methods to best feel the Spirit and learn the most. The whole point of studying your scriptures is to learn from them. So do what you need to do so you can learn best. 

Sorry that this post was all over the place. That's what happens when I get the urge to write and it just comes out spilling all over the place with no real organization. I hope you all have a fantastic week. Remember your Heavenly Father loves you very much! 

Love,

Janae