How Following the Prophet Has Changed My Life
When President Nelson asked the women to do four things this past Women's Conference I was a bit overwhelmed, to be honest. Read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year?! Regular temple attendance, studying of Relief Society documents and active participation, and a social media fast to top it all off? My initial reaction was sadly to hold up my hands and go "no way!" How could he ask us to do so much? I looked at all of my sisters who are busy being full time mothers and was overwhelmed for them! Thankfully that moment of doubt and incredulous disbelief didn't last long. I'll admit, I still wasn't thrilled to read the entire Book of Mormon by the end of the year, but I have a firm testimony that President Nelson is indeed the prophet and because of that I knew I needed to follow his counsel. There was a reason he was asking us to do all of these things. I may not have known it at the time, but the Lord did. Essentially it was the Lord asking us to do these four things. So I made a resolve, right then that I would follow the prophet and do what he had asked with my whole might, mind, and strength. I am so incredibly grateful that I have chosen to follow the prophet because the blessings and miracles I have seen in my life have been more than I thought could be possible from just these four actions. I want to share my experiences with two of the actions that President Nelson challenged us to do.
First, I decided to embark on a 10 day social media fast starting the following Monday after Conference. I deleted Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest from my phone and I made a resolve not to watch TV for the 10 days as well. During and after my fast I realized what a tremendous blessing this was in my life. Instead of waking up and immediately checking Facebook I woke up and studied the Book of Mormon. I no longer had the constant buzz in the back of my mind and the constant itch to check my status or see what was going on in the lives of other people. I was surprised when after the 10 days I looked at Facebook, and by the end of the night I was in tears. Before this fast I had had no idea the real and damaging effect that social media had on my mental health. During those 10 days I experienced a mental freedom unlike I had experienced since I first was introduced to social media. The inner peace and joy that filled my heart was so great that I decided to continue my elimination of social media. Now I will check Facebook only occasionally for ward events or other events going on. But I no longer have to deal with the constant comparison that comes from social media.
Second, I chose to start reading the Book of Mormon, specifically looking for and marking references of Christ. My sisters and I figured out it would be about 6.5-7 pages a day. At first I was completely overwhelmed. How on earth was I going to get that much reading in each day? On top of that I had been struggling with daily scripture study for quite some time. I had no passion or desire for reading the scriptures. Doing so only made me bored, sleepy, or anxious. I didn't feel any real influence from reading them. Until now. I was confident in the prophet's promise that if we devoted ourselves to doing this that the Lord would provide the time. And He has. I found that as I eliminated social media I was much more productive, got things done more efficiently, and was able to wake up early enough to do my reading before school.
President Nelson also explained several other blessings that would come from reading the Book of Mormon: the Heavens would open to us, we would receive more inspiration and revelation, we would draw closer to the Savior, and miracles would begin to happen. I testify that I have seen these things in my life since embarking on this journey. About two weeks ago my computer crashed and it threw me for a terrible loop. I had to redo several assignments and on top of that I lost a notebook that one of my assignments was in. I called upon God and asked Him that I might claim the blessings Pres. Nelson had promised me according to my obedience. Somehow I was able to accomplish everything I needed to, and I finally found my notebook after searching in a place I had searched several times before. He has blessed me with happiness, peace, and health. He has blessed me with support from friends and family.
He has blessed me with an increased desire to be like Him: to be kind, selfless, and patient. I used to go through work everyday grumbling to myself about how much I didn't want to be there. Now, after following the prophet's counsel I am more patient and kind. I actively look for ways to serve people, both at work and elsewhere. And I have found more joy in that service.
First, I decided to embark on a 10 day social media fast starting the following Monday after Conference. I deleted Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest from my phone and I made a resolve not to watch TV for the 10 days as well. During and after my fast I realized what a tremendous blessing this was in my life. Instead of waking up and immediately checking Facebook I woke up and studied the Book of Mormon. I no longer had the constant buzz in the back of my mind and the constant itch to check my status or see what was going on in the lives of other people. I was surprised when after the 10 days I looked at Facebook, and by the end of the night I was in tears. Before this fast I had had no idea the real and damaging effect that social media had on my mental health. During those 10 days I experienced a mental freedom unlike I had experienced since I first was introduced to social media. The inner peace and joy that filled my heart was so great that I decided to continue my elimination of social media. Now I will check Facebook only occasionally for ward events or other events going on. But I no longer have to deal with the constant comparison that comes from social media.
Following the prophet helped me overcome my dependency on social media.
Second, I chose to start reading the Book of Mormon, specifically looking for and marking references of Christ. My sisters and I figured out it would be about 6.5-7 pages a day. At first I was completely overwhelmed. How on earth was I going to get that much reading in each day? On top of that I had been struggling with daily scripture study for quite some time. I had no passion or desire for reading the scriptures. Doing so only made me bored, sleepy, or anxious. I didn't feel any real influence from reading them. Until now. I was confident in the prophet's promise that if we devoted ourselves to doing this that the Lord would provide the time. And He has. I found that as I eliminated social media I was much more productive, got things done more efficiently, and was able to wake up early enough to do my reading before school.
President Nelson also explained several other blessings that would come from reading the Book of Mormon: the Heavens would open to us, we would receive more inspiration and revelation, we would draw closer to the Savior, and miracles would begin to happen. I testify that I have seen these things in my life since embarking on this journey. About two weeks ago my computer crashed and it threw me for a terrible loop. I had to redo several assignments and on top of that I lost a notebook that one of my assignments was in. I called upon God and asked Him that I might claim the blessings Pres. Nelson had promised me according to my obedience. Somehow I was able to accomplish everything I needed to, and I finally found my notebook after searching in a place I had searched several times before. He has blessed me with happiness, peace, and health. He has blessed me with support from friends and family.
He has blessed me with an increased desire to be like Him: to be kind, selfless, and patient. I used to go through work everyday grumbling to myself about how much I didn't want to be there. Now, after following the prophet's counsel I am more patient and kind. I actively look for ways to serve people, both at work and elsewhere. And I have found more joy in that service.
Following the prophet has brought me closer to Jesus Christ than ever before in my life.
I know that President Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God. I know that he is the mouth piece of the Lord on earth. I am grateful for the four part challenge that he gave to us women, and I know that it was for a reason. I have seen a very real influence in my life from being obedient. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has given us a prophet to lead and guide us. I'm grateful for inspired leaders who are in tune with and able to receive revelation for us as a people.
Simply,
Kenzie M
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