Thursday, May 12, 2011

ARE YOU up for the CHALLENGE?! [Part 1]

Who is with me?!! :)

The conference Ensign has been mailed out to those who have a subscription (I received my a few days ago) and they will be in the distribution centers/online for purchase hopefully next week. If you would like to experience an amazing power in your life--consider this challenge...

PART 1 CHALLENGE:
As soon as you get the magazine (yes you can do the online version (click here) but I would HIGHLY recommend you spending the 1.50 and getting your own copy of the magazine, for 37 days (call it the 40 day challenge to give you a little buffer room), read/study/ponder one talk per day. (Or you could do two each Sunday.) But for 40 days/or your choice of the week day to study a couple talks (about 1.2ish talks will a week will have you complete the magazine before Oct Conference). Highlight/circle/use dictionary.com--however you like to study--but devour each talk. I like to pray before reading and asking God to help me get out of the talk/scriptures what he would have me get out, and then Pres Eyring suggests that after we have read/studied/pondered to pray again in gratitude and relay back what God has taught your heart (praying after I study is a new habit I am going to work on.)

Why take apart of this challenge?! The Prophet says we do this, and I for myself did this with the Oct conference Ensign and it was an AMAZING experience for my soul. More power, more strength, a greater desire to be more kind and more quick to forgive or to want to serve. More desire to give love to strangers... the power that came from taking "in" the general conference talks has been life lifting/sustaining/satisfying. It has been life giving!

PART 2 CHALLENGE:

Just about 40 days before the October Conference this year, watch for a reminder blog. But at that time, I would challenge you to go over a talk a day again--being reminded of all the highlighting/insights you had before... and let this be a preparation and a feast again for your soul as it will prepare you to hear the words of the prophets at the Oct General Conference. Ryan from work said his Stake President challenged the Stake to do a 40 day read before conference for preparation and I thought the idea was pretty inspired.

What you may find, at least for me, as I have gone back through and have seen what things I highlighted or what impressions I wrote in my magazine some times I have been floored by what impressions I had and I am always reminded of the great truths taught. And often new impressions and items I had not marked before will jump out again.

ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?!! :) You are welcome to join me!

And just for fun....if you have any insight you would like to share or impression(s)/experience(s) that tie back from you studying or something you learned, you can click here and share your experience in this Google doc. If there are things you would like to share, paste your thoughts impressions/ in there and I will check the doc periodically and post your thoughts here. For quick access I will add a link to the document at the top of this blog right above the Book of Mormon picture on the right hand side.

Don't worry, you don't have to do this! ha ha, I could say, don't worry, you don't have to bless your life...! :) At least it has been true for me! Happy reading/studying and pondering!
"Our humility and our faith that invite spiritual gifts are increased by our reading, studying, and pondering the scriptures. ...But reading, studying, and pondering are not the same. We read words and we may get ideas. We study and we may discover patterns and connections in scripture. But when we ponder, we invite revelation by the Spirit. Pondering, to me, is the thinking and the praying I do after reading and studying in the scriptures [general conference talks] carefully." -- Henry B. Eyring
You don't have to join me. But if you want to--I promise an amazing journey!

Yeehaw! :D