Plugged In

One of the hardest things I did in coming on my mission was to wind up my Batman earbuds, turn off my Zune (an mp3 player), and put away secular music for 18 months. I had never been a fan of the depressing Mormon music played on the radio in Salt Lake City on Sundays, or of copious amounts of choirs singing hymns. I could only handle MoTab for so long.

I am now 11 months into this music fast. I could say that I've survived on the most meager of music meals, but I haven't. I discovered that there are some Mormons that can write good music, sing, and leave me feeling spiritually uplifted. It's more like a music feast now, but with smaller portion sizes.

Okay, before I ruin the metaphor, I would like you to think about the regular people you see every day, such as this man to the left. I can picture myself at the University of Utah in the Student Union with hundreds of students, in red, walking by in their own little worlds. Plugged into their smartphones, iPods, and ignore-the-world devices. These devices aren't evil, according to Elder Bednar. We can use them for good when we use them in moderation. These things are fun, but they can saturate and isolate.

Let's start with Saturate. Depending on what the media is that the person consumes, this could help or harm them. For instance, I found that I listened to not Good music on my Zune constantly. And when your music doesn't fall under Good, Better, or Best, it will bring you down. But when all I've listened to is uplifting music, I have a brighter, more peaceful spirit. This really matters because we're supposed to be living so that the Spirit can be with us. So pick good music to saturate yourself with.

Another danger I put myself in was isolation. In filling my world with noise, I put myself into a different kind of silence. One where I missed out on socialization, interaction with my fellow man, and opportunities to serve others. We came to this world to develop relationships with others, and we can't do that when we ignore them. I now realize why I had so few friends once I became addicted to my Zune; I didn't bother to make them.

Oftentimes, when we feel drained or heavy because of the world, we need to make adjustments to little things. For me, my music choices had to change. I have a lot of artists to pick from, and I don't have to sacrifice my taste in music. The words songwriters use can make all the difference. And now that I've had a chance to sift through some Mormon music artists, I can honestly tell you that Mindy Gledhill and Lindsey Stirling are the bomb and that MoTab is the greatest thing ever since sliced cheese.

Doctrine and Covenants 121:45 "Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven."

I'm not an academic sort of person. How do I study the scriptures?

Why don't we start a study session and work on this together? First we're going to need some materials. A Book of Mormon to start with.

Ah! Thank you!

Now we need a study journal.

This will do.

Let's get a clock as well.

I don't think Mom will mind if I borrow this.

And finally, a Spiritual Enlightenment Enhancement Device. It works best with the pointy end down.

Ooh! Let's pick the red one.

Okay. So. Let's set the clock for thirty minutes. If you don't have as much time, you can set it for 15 minutes. If you have loads of time, an hour could work. It's whatever fits with your schedule. And you do have to schedule it in. Pick a time in the day that will give you the best opportunity to learn. Why do we set a time limit rather than a chapter limit? you may ask. The Book of Mormon isn't a chapter book or a history textbook in the normal sense. We want to be led by the Spirit in what we study.

Speaking of, we need to start with a prayer too. Gotta invite the Holy Ghost.

We open our Book of Mormon, get out our journal, and have our colored pencil at the ready. Now we have two options: Study by the chapter, or study by the topic.

Study by Chapter
So you're OCD like me and would rather read in order, eh? That's cool. I like getting the full picture and being surprised by what I end up learning. I'm on 2 Nephi 32.

I may have gotten ahead of myself. SO MANY COLORS!!!!

As you read, underline or shade any words, phrases, or verses that you like or that stand out to you. There is no wrong way to highlight your scriptures. I use different colors to mean different things. You can start with just red and work your way up. Like, verse 3 is awesome. And verses 8 and 9 have some parts that make me want to pray more.

Study by Topic
Maybe you're feeling like Heavenly Father wants you to study a certain topic, like Humility. The Index has bunches of scriptures on that!

See?

Ether 12:27 looks good. Or how about Mosiah 3:19? I wonder what Alma 5:27 says? And if we look up pride, we can learn more about the opposite of humility and what not to do.

Now let's get a pen and put that blank paper to work. I guess you could use your pencil too. Maybe you can write down how Satan doesn't want you to pray, but Heavenly Father wants you to pray always. Or if you're studying about humility, write about how God has given us weaknesses to keep us humble, but that doesn't mean we're doomed to be weak.

Keep writing. Keep reading. Sometimes you'll read more than you write. Sometimes you'll write down more than you thought you read, and then some more. That's why we need to have the Spirit with us.

Our time is up, and you can get back to work. Now go about your day feeling far more refreshed and spiritually strong!