A Committed Child of God

One of the many joys I am experiencing in retirement that I never seemed to make the time for while working is the simple pleasure of reading. I will soon be finishing The Preacher and the Presidents; Billy Graham in the White House by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy. This is a fascinating account of evangilist Billy Graham's association with all of the U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to George W. Bush. This morning I came across this simple, but powerful lesson Graham shared with President Nixon near the end of his presidency: "To be President is a great and thrilling attainment; however, there is one thing far greater than being President - and that is being a committed child of God. There is a thrill, a joy, an adventure, an excitement, a satisfaction awaiting you in that direction, no matter what the circumstances around you, that is indescribable."

I pray that I will always remember that principle for far too often I allow my priorities and perspective of life to be distorted by the things of the world.

There are even greater books that I love to feast upon ... those are, of course, the scriptures. It has been said that the scriptures that are never read will never help us. I wonder how many of us spend as much time studying the scriptures as much as we should .... I know I must do better. There is no doubt in my mind that the knowledge we receive when reading them assists us in making correct deceisions in all areas of our life's activities and, most importantly, helps us to know God and understand his purposes.

Click on the short three minute video below entitle, The Blessings of the Scriptures." It is based on a talk given by Elder D. Todd Christopherson.

If you want to view Elder Chrisopherson's entire talk it can be found at lds.org.