Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Prepared in a Manner That Never Had Been Known


Get the full text here

This is the first talk that I've re-watched on my quest to prep for the upcoming April 2015 conference. I was going to just start from the beginning of the list on LDS.org, but Elder Packer's talks always seem so daunting! Starting with the general women's session seemed like a much easier bite to chew to begin. :-)

Sister Burton's talk recontextualizes the Parable of the Ten Virgins through the lens of preparing to enter (or re-enter) the temple. I love the immediacy that this gives the parable. It's a very powerful paradigm for daily spiritual preparation, I think, to think of it as the "drop by drop" additions of oil to our lamps that we need to enter the house of the Lord, not just to prepare for the second coming. The thing that I think is hindering my spiritual progression the most at the moment is the consistency that she talks about. I tend to work in bursts of energy (often after far too much procrastination): All-nighters to write a college essay, paint a room of my house, or finish a book seem to pockmark my life. I would be set if I could feed myself spiritually that way, ha. Sister Burton's reminders of the importance of the "Sunday school answers" of daily prayer and scripture study, sacrament meeting attendance, and the other small bits that make up a gospel-centered life come as the perfect bit of chastisement for me.

No time to watch the full talk? Get a 90-second highlight here:




Help me out in the comments!

What did you get out of this talk?

How do you build consistency in your prayer & scripture study habits? (Seriously, I could use any and all ideas here...)