Feasting on the Words of Christ

2 Nephi 4:15-16   2 Nephi 32:3   Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-28   Doctrine and Covenants 88:118

I've had this particular set of scriptures since the Christmas before I served my mission back in 1986.  My maiden name is engraved on the front.  There's a loving inscription from my father on the inside cover.  One page is torn -- Ephesians 6 on one side, Phillipians 1 on the other.  The page is poorly mended, so it sticks out at the edges.  The outer leather cover is starting to pull away from the binding; it's barely holding on at the back of the book.

When I thumb through the pages, they are brightly colored.  Lime green for promised blessings, purple for warnings and curses, blue for passages that sing to my heart, orange for linking topics together, dark green for definitions, red for testimony of Christ, peach for reference to other scriptures, brown for significant deaths, and yellow for my missionary scriptures.

As I stop to see what has captured my attention over the years, I see my spiritual journey.  I see that I longed for peace, that I wanted to repent and improve, that I wanted an orderly home for my family, that I desired spiritual healing long before I desired physical healing.  I see how a particular scripture has grown in depth of meaning, marked by additional colors, changing according to my changing needs.

I can see now, that when I wanted to develop a certain Christ-like quality, that the scriptures were my encouragement and cheerleader, that they helped me chart my progress, that they whispered peace to my soul as I came closer and closer to my goal.

Perhaps the greatest blessing I find in these pages is the developing relationship I have with my savior, Jesus Christ.  I came here to learn of Him, to love Him, to become His friend.

Ah, yes, my soul delighteth in the the scriptures.