come, follow me part three: records full of friends

 Happy September!

I completely forgot the month had changed as I recorded the date of this post…this summer has flown by. Here’s to another school year, though!

My mind has wandered to many places as I’ve considered what to share with you all this week- and you have rested very prominently in my thoughts. I’m a bit cautious when it comes to sharing, as I try to differentiate between what is too personal for me to share and what is all right. Sometimes I feel it necessary to be brave and take a leap, other times I feel I should hold my tongue. Nevertheless, what I share here is what I want you to hear, and I hope you will feel my love as I do so. Expect this post to be rather long and all over the place!

To set the scene, I’d like you to direct your thoughts to your favorite fictional story. It doesn’t have to be a book (I’m a writer, so I’m a bit partial to the literary genre, but I digress), it can be a movie or a TV show, even. Just make sure you have it in mind.

For me, something I’ve noticed in the best stories is there is some kind of quest. A reason to obtain something, whether that “thing” is material or hypothetical. The drive to find this “thing” (I need a better word) generally leads to the main characters embarking on an adventure, the most entertaining ones being those with countless twists and turns.

We, like our favorite characters, are on a quest, my friend. A quest to seek out the greatest treasure of all: eternal life! And the adventure we embark on certainly has its array of twists and turns, for the adventure is our mortal life.

But something else to keep in mind is that fictional characters never embark on a quest alone. The best stories give the main character a mentor, someone who has seen the road they are traveling on before, and knows all the twists and turns up ahead. They know what the main character needs to do. They can act as a comfort to the main character, but also give them important counsel when necessary.

Have we got mentors like this in our lives, too? Yes. As I read verses from the Book of Proverbs this week, I couldn’t help but feel touched, as the tone the verses were written in felt very personal…like it was loving counsel from a mentor of my own. Someone who knew the road I was on, and knew what I needed to do. Those verses acted as a comfort to me, just as mentors do to book and movie characters- but they also gave me counsel right when I needed it.

I felt my testimony of the scriptures grow as I read in Proverbs. My father likes to remind me that the scriptures really must be likened unto our lives for us to truly gain a testimony of them. As I found voices like that of mentors and friends in the scriptures, I felt them become more personal to me. I felt more than just power filling my soul, I felt like I had advice from people who really knew what I was going through. I felt at home.

This feeling really gave me so much joy…and I want you all to feel that same joy. But let me tell you right now: we do not obtain this joy by just thinking “oh, that sounds nice” but doing nothing! We must work to put ourselves in the scriptures, and hear the words these mentors crying from the dust have for us. We cannot receive what we don’t hear.

Think of the painting of the Savior knocking at the door: the doorknob is only on our side of the door. He can’t open it Himself. We have to let Him in.

Today in Sunday School, my teacher pointed out something to us that I found incredibly interesting. We read in Proverbs chapter 1 verse 7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The word “wisdom” in Hebrew is Hokhmah, a word more closely related to “skill”. Thus, wisdom is more than just knowing things, it is putting what we know into action.

That relates heavily to what I said before: that while the scriptures are full of messages from dear friends and mentors who have long passed, we cannot receive these messages unless we read the scriptures ourselves. It takes effort on our part! But I speak from experience when I say it’s worth it. I have read my scriptures in the most inconvenient of places: in a hotel room where I’m staying with other people, in the hallway during a dance while music is blasting, in the car, on a train- anywhere. There have been times where I really don’t want to put myself in the scriptures because, like I said before- it’s inconvenient! But I have never regretted taking just a few moments to read and let that divine power pump into my soul.

My dear friends, as we continue on our quest back to our Heavenly Father, and to become gods and goddesses together, let us remember that we are not alone. We have Jesus Christ and His prophets- both living and dead- to give us counsel and comfort. And may we always remember that, if we feel lost or forsaken, we have the Word of God to act as our roadmap. It is the “iron rod”, as Lehi saw in his vision of the Tree of Life. No matter where you are or where you’ve been, you can turn back to the scriptures and find your way home.

I leave you with two verses from Proverbs chapter 4:

Verse 18: “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

Verse 25: “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.”

Let the message of these verses wash over you. Look up, and look forward! The path you are on is a “shining light”. This world can feel dark, despairing, and lonesome, but if we keep moving forward and immerse ourselves in God’s word, we will never be walking alone.

That is what has brought me joy this week. I hope you will join me in studying the scriptures this week, so that you might also be able to partake of this joy.

To close, here is a quotation that was shared with me in Sunday School last year, and has touched me deeply as I’ve considered scripture study + wisdom this week:

-Emma