I delight in looking forward.

kayaking on Mantua reservoir

july 2017

I'm studying faith in Christ right now. In doing so I've been reading a lot about trees and fruit and roots. About trust and diligence, patience and hope. I love the analogies used to teach faith. I can relate to trees and roots and water and through them, I'm starting to understand more about faith.

This scripture particularly stood out to me,

Alma 32:40
"If ye will not nourish the word looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life."

The theme of looking forward stood out to me. At this part of the parable on faith, Alma has talked a lot about seeds and the importance of nourishing them and giving it room and good ground for growth. He's talked about giving it great care and the importance of not neglecting it. I find it interesting that another dependent variable for the success of the growth of the tree and the rooting of the seed is looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit.

I feel like Alma is reminding us that we must be future forward faith focused. We must have goal directed persistence (to put it in executive functioning terms). We must not give up before we've given the seed a chance to grow. We must keep watering, keep nourishing, even when we think the seed might not make it or when we aren't sure whether it's going to take off or not. We must persist with the perspective that our current circumstances are not our future circumstances.

Alma goes on to say...

Alma 32:41
"But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

Our God is a big picture God. He doesn't see things in isolated events or occurrences. He doesn't experience our experiences in snapshots. He knows how they connect, how they interconnect with others--his view is perfect. It is broad and deep. He knows the in's and out's. He is both high and wide. He "gets" it!

So what does looking forward look like for me, right now, as a 30-year-old-single-working-female-who-hopes-to-be-a-wife-and-mother-one-day-and-who-is-absolutely-happy-and-optimistic-in-the-meantime? It means that I look forward! I get anxious and excited about the present and the future. I remain optimistic in all aspects of my life. I strive to be engaged in the present and in the opportunities that are currently present in my life. I make intentional choices to have joy. I focus on the things that have eternal worth. I thank the Lord for the fact that I am on the ride and that there is more around the riverbend. Looking forward also means I keep sowing. I do good things, contribute good to the world, and try to make the world a better place for my presence. I continue learning and trying so that I am becoming who I want to be. I strive to be in the right places and examine whether I am in them with the appropriate frequency.

my study journal--by subject

Today I thought I'd post a little about one of the ways that I study the gospel.

the study journal: by subject

For this journal, I just took a notebook that I had that I felt was big enough but small enough. Next I counted the number of pages in the book and reserved the first 3 or so pages for a table of contents. I numbered the pages and made a table of contents page so I could find subjects quickly. 

Next, I determined what some of the content pages would be. When I started this notebook, I wanted it to be a way to collect information that I learned in church, conferences, or in personal studies I was having so deciding on subjects was important to me. Some subjects I took right from Preach My Gospel, others from the For Strength of Youth pamphlet, and finally, other subjects I felt I wanted to understand better such as leadership, learning, teaching, effective study, patriarchal blessings, sin/disobedience, desire, testimony, and work. 

             

Next, I went through and labeled all the pages correspondingly, leaving some empty initially until I determined what subjects I wanted to study. I determined a general layout for each page. On the left, the top three lines were for a definition, next a section on scriptures that teach this doctrine or principle, at the bottom, a section for favorite quotes. On the other page, (note that they are all an open double page layout) is room for my personal thoughts, examples, insights, illustrations, stories, pictures, and testimony. Sometimes I glue things in or add sticky notes with a reference to something I want to go back to at some point to add to the content. 

Below is an example of my study on Jesus Christ. On this page, I even recorded what some of my favorite hymns are about the Savior since I love the music. I also included a picture I took in the garden of gethsemane. 

So that's basically it. I want to just say that being able to have this tool in my studies. I still don't have something written on every subject and that's not the point. It's been fun to see where my studies take me to and fro. I love being able to focus on something and return to it later when I have a new or different perspective depending on how things in my life have changed.