Do you want to increase your knowledge and strengthen your testimony of Jesus Christ?
Who is up for a challenge! I know I am! I have talked before about my scripture study, but wanted to do this challenge that Elder Russell M. Nelson gave in a World Wide Devotional. No matter where I am in life, I am always looking for ways to increase my testimony of the Savior.
The Challenge
In a Worldwide devotional President Nelson encouraged Young Adults to increase their testimony of the Savior by taking time each week to:
- Study everything Jesus said and did as recorded in the Old Testament.
- Study His laws as recorded in the New Testament.
- Study His doctrine as recorded in the Book of Mormon.
- Study His words as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants.
The Process
Of his study, President Nelson said:
I have devoted much of my 92 years to learning about the Savior, but rare are the occasions when I have been able to learn as much as I did over this six-week study period…
Now, I realize some of you are probably thinking to yourselves that you couldn’t possibly have time to complete an assignment like this.
I know how you feel. I thought the same thing of myself—that there’s no way I can have time to do all of this. I needed to remind myself that a comment like this is not a faith-promoted comment. A faith-promoted comment would be “I know I don’t have time for this, but I’m going to make time for it. And I’ll fulfill it with what time I have.”
Each of us who takes this challenge will finish in our own time frames. For me, much of the joy of this came from getting it all done in just six weeks. This intense study over a relatively short period of time allowed me to appreciate the complementary nature of the learnings to be found in the Old Testament, the Book of Mormon, the New Testament, and the Doctrine and Covenants.
The Promise
The promise is that if you would proceed to learn all they can about Jesus Christ, your love for Him and for God’s laws would grow beyond what you can currently imagine. President Nelson promised:
To those of you who feel you don’t have time, if you will make a sacrifice, you will be well rewarded and very, very grateful for the change of perspective, increased knowledge, and improved depth of your conversion. I know this is true because I have seen the same rewards in my own life.
As I mentioned at the devotional, in a coming day, you will present yourself before the Savior. You will be overwhelmed to the point of tears to be in His holy presence. You will struggle to find words to thank Him for paying for your sins, for forgiving you of any unkindness toward others, for healing you from the injuries and injustices of this life.
You will thank Him for strengthening you to do the impossible, for turning your weaknesses into strengths, and for making it possible for you to live with Him and your family forever. His identity, His Atonement, and His attributes will become personal and real to you.
But you don’t have to wait until then. Choose to be one of His true disciples now. Be one who truly loves Him, who truly wants to serve and lead as He did. I promise you that if you will study His words, your ability to be more like Him will increase. I know this is true.
Will you join me in the challenge?
I’m going to start the challenge today! I don’t have a specific timeline, but I am hoping to finish before July. Who’s with me? I am really looking forward to enriching my study and learning more about my Savior Jesus Christ.
