Spiritual Sleep Deprivation and Feasting on the Words of Christ, Sacrament Meeting Talk June 22, 2019




Note:  This is roughly what I prepared and spoke about in my ward last week.  I tried not to look too much at my notes and I had to cut out a few of the longer quotes for time's sake.  

Fundamental Habits to a Happy Life

When I was a new mom twenty years ago, a friend gave me a copy of a book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. The book presented research about the importance of sleep to a child’s healthy physical and emotional development. I devoured the book and was determined that my baby would grow up with healthy sleep habits.

I’ve now been a parent to little ones for two decades. I’ve read a lot of parenting books and seen a lot of advice about the best ways to raise children. And yet, I would estimate that 80% of parenting a small child is making sure that they are well-rested. A toddler who constantly melts down might need distraction, boundaries, or empathy. But more often, he just needs more regular sleep. When moms ask me what to do about a problem they are having with a young child, I always ask about their sleep habits.

Getting enough sleep won’t solve all a child’s problems, but not getting enough sleep will make all the problems worse.

 

I’ve been thinking about that principle this week as I have pondered about how to approach the topic of feasting on the words of Christ. There are some things that are fundamental and foundational to a healthy spiritual life just as there are some that are foundational for a physical life. Our spirits, like our bodies, have need for constant, regular nourishment.

That nourishment comes in the form of regular gospel habits of studying the scriptures and praying. They are the so-called “Sunday School answers” because they are so key to having a healthy spiritual life. We need those gospel habits the way a toddler needs sleep. Reading the scriptures and praying daily might not solve all of your spiritual problems, but not doing those things regularly will make all of them worse. I propose that we could write another book about spiritual health and growth and call it Healthy Gospel Habits, Happy Soul.

I don’t have a lot of experience of going without food for long periods, but I do know what it is like to be chronically sleep-deprived. Most of my eleven children didn’t sleep through the night until they were nine or ten months old. Maybe I should have read that sleep book more carefully! Those were hard months and years. When I am sleep-deprived, I find that my ability to function decreases. Making decisions is harder and handling the regular stresses of life can seem overwhelming. I lose perspective and small problems become insurmountable. I become irritable, depressed, and anxious. My reactions are not rational and it is easy to wallow in self-pity and resentment. I lose will power and start eating more junk food.

Are you spiritually sleep-deprived? Without regular nourishment from feasting on the words of Christ, I think something similar can happen to our spirits. Our spiritual function decreases. Receiving revelation is more difficult and handling the regular stresses of life is more difficult. Small challenges to our faith can become devastating crises in our lives and challenge our testimony. We lose perspective. We lose the Spirit’s influence and are more depressed and irritable. We give into temptation more readily.

In his talk from last conference called Feasting upon the Words of Christ, Elder Takashi Wada outlines the importance of regularly feasting upon the words of Christ. He shares three blessings that come from feasting upon the word: First, they help us to increase our capacity to receive revelation. Second, they help us understand our identity. And third, they help us lift the lives of others. I’d like to focus today on the first blessing, that of receiving revelation through our regular habits of feasting on the words of Christ.

What does feasting look like?

Elder Wada says, “When I was young, I thought that feasting was simply having a big meal with rice, sushi, and soy sauce. I now know true feasting is more than enjoying a delicious meal. It is an experience of joy, nourishment, celebration, sharing, expressing love to families and loved ones, communicating our thanksgiving to God, and building relationships while enjoying abundant, incredibly delicious food. I believe when we feast upon the words of Christ, we ought to be thinking of the same kind of experience. Feasting upon the scriptures is not just reading them. It should bring us real joy and build our relationship with the Savior.”

Feasting creates relationships. Brothers and sisters, are we really feasting on the words of Christ? If someone invited you to dinner and prepared a beautiful meal for you, would you sit down and take the time to savor it? Or would you rush in, grab something from the bread basket, and then rush out, ignoring the host? Russell M. Nelson has said, “Spend more time—much more time—in places where the Spirit is present. That means more time with friends who are seeking to have the Spirit with them. Spend more time on your knees in prayer, more time in the scriptures, more time in family history work, more time in the temple. I promise you that as you consistently give the Lord a generous portion of your time, He will multiply the remainder.

Are you giving God a generous portion of your time? What priorities do you need to reorganize in order to feast at Christ’s table? Are you satisfied that you are feasting? Or are you doing the spiritual equivalent of grabbing a pop-tart on the way out the door to more important things?

How can we use our scripture study to increase our capacity to receive revelation?

1. We can study, really study!


President Nelson said: What will your seeking open for you? What wisdom do you lack? What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand? Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph. Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.

Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation.
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I have loved the opportunity to study more in depth this year.  I'm learning so many new things about the New Testament and my testimony has grown.  We can all do better with our study.  Sometimes just changing the way you study opens up new ideas. 


2. We can search for answers to our questions.


I’ve been thinking recently about lost items at our house. My husband and I have two opposite approaches. When something is missing, he wants to upend the house and search every corner until it is found. I take the approach that since we regularly straighten the house, the item is likely to turn up, so why waste time looking unless the item is something we need right away?
I forgot to make sure our "lost item approach" was compatible, but we've made this marriage work for 22 years now anyway.

I think my approach to my scripture study is usually the same as in finding lost items. I ask my questions and then expect that sometime in the course of my regular study the answer will turn up. Indeed, Boyd K. Packer once suggested such an approach:   Put difficult questions in the back of your minds and go about your lives. Ponder and pray quietly and persistently about them.  The answer may not come as a lightning bolt. It may come as a little inspiration here and a little there, “line upon line, precept upon precept” (D&C 98:12). Some answers will come from reading the scriptures, some from hearing speakers. And, occasionally, when it is important, some will come by very direct and powerful inspiration. The promptings will be clear and unmistakable.
I can testify that many of the answers I have sought have indeed turned up as I have continued my regular study and allowed the answers to appear line upon line. But I think I am missing something in not sometimes applying my husband’s approach to lost items to my scripture study. I recently read an article about a talk Wendy Nelson gave in the Pacific.

“These are glorious days, but they are also days filled with turmoil and heartache, said Sister Nelson during her remarks. “Can you think of one thing in your life that you wish were different? Can you think of one question you wish you could have answered?”

She invited the congregation to write down a question and then kneel in prayer. Express gratitude for the scriptures, share the question, and “ask Heavenly Father to be with you as you read.”

Then, she said, open the scriptures anywhere and read until you have the answer. “Does that seem to simple? To simple to even try? It is my testimony ... that you won’t have to read very far.


I have put her advice to the test and I can testify that I have received answers to my questions in the focused seeking, as well as in the patient waiting for the answers to turn up. Which approach will you use in your study?

3. We can learn to recognize how the Spirit speaks to us and we can follow the Holy Ghost’s promptings.

In Elder Wada’s talk, he shares the story of his mother, who joined the Church two years ago. She followed a prompting to attend Church and was touched by the kindness of a four-year-old boy who brought her a hymn book from across the room even though there was a hymn book right next to her. In that boy’s act, Elder Wada’s mother felt the love the Lord and an invitation to follow the Savior.

Like the boy, we can be humbly in tune with the Spirit and follow its promptings. I think we often want to be a hero and be given special, important assignments from the Lord. However, it is my experience that the small things are the big things. If we can learn to be led, we can, through our simple acts, be the hand of the Lord in someone’s life. My friend had a difficult time a year ago. She was dealing with a heavy load already when she miscarried the baby she had been carrying. The next day, a ward member called her and asked uncertainly, “I’ve been feeling all day like I should call you and ask if your son needs a ride to Scouts?” It wasn’t much, just a ride, but it brought my friend the love of the Lord and the knowledge that He knew her and loved her enough to prompt a small kindness from someone who was in tune.

We need to feast upon the words of Christ so that we can recognize and be in tune with the promptings of the Spirit. We need to ask how we can be the Lord’s hands and then bring what we can to the work. The Lord can take our few loaves and fishes and make them enough to feed a multitude. But we have to choose to act.

4. We can learn to see God’s answers, whatever they may be.

Elder David E. Bednar said, “The stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon (see Alma 53;56–58) prayed earnestly that God would strengthen and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies. Interestingly, the answers to these prayers did not produce additional weapons or an increased number of troops. Instead, God granted these faithful warriors assurance that He would deliver them, peace to their souls, and great faith and hope for their deliverance in Him (see Alma 58:11). Thus, the sons of Helaman did take courage, were fixed with a determination to conquer, and did go forth with all of their might against the Lamanites (see Alma 58:12–13). Assurance, peace, faith, and hope initially might not seem like the blessings warriors in battle might want, but they were precisely the blessings these valiant young men needed to press forward and prevail physically and spiritually.

"Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals. And when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties, He may increase our resolve and resilience."


I have a testimony of the joy that comes from making the words of Christ a regular part of your life.  I encourage you to evaluate your current study habits.  Give the Lord a generous portion of your time, and He will magnify the rest.

Comments

Birrd said…
This is a wonderful talk. I really enjoyed reading it. I love the comparison of sleep deprivation to Gospel study deprivation. Thank you for sharing!
Handsfullmom said…
Thanks, Sarah! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Marcie said…
Awesome talk! Thanks for sharing. I wish I could have heard you speak it, I bet you did a wonderful job.