I was recently reminded of the value of praying before scripture study and the blessings of daily scripture study. A couple of Sundays ago there was a stake training meeting scheduled for 5:00 pm in a town about a 50 minute drive from where I live. I found this problematic because many, if not most, Sundays I don’t get home from church until 3:00 pm or sometimes after. I do a daily workout bike ride that lasts about an 60 to 90 minutes, which would leave little time to shower and meet back at the church to carpool to the meeting. I knew that I wouldn’t be home until 8:00 pm at the earliest and probably 9:00 would be a more realistic return time. I didn’t want to put off my workout until then because I knew that I would be exhausted from the day’s events and travel. 

For my morning personal scripture study that morning, I read in 3 Nephi chapter 19 of the people’s efforts to gather their loved ones and other people together to meet the next day to hear the words of the Savior as He came to minister to them.

“And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ascended into heaven, the multitude did disperse, and every man did take his wife and his children and did return to his own home.

“And it was noised abroad among the people immediately, before it was yet dark, that the multitude had seen Jesus, and that he had ministered unto them, and that he would also show himself on the morrow unto the multitude.

“Yea, and even all the night it was noised abroad concerning Jesus; and insomuch did they send forth unto the people that there were many, yea, an exceedingly great number, did labor exceedingly all that night, that they might be on the morrow in the place where Jesus should show himself unto the multitude.” (3 Nephi 19:1–3)

I had to ask myself what I was willing to do to hear the words of the Lord and His authorized servants. I committed myself to do whatever was necessary to be able to attend the meeting so that I could be in a place where I knew the Holy Ghost would be present. I made it home about the time I expected and did my workout as fast as possible and barely made the carpool and was deeply edified by the training meeting. I felt the Lord’s blessings throughout the day to aid me and uplift me and carry me to where I needed to be.

This is a testimony to me of daily scripture study and why it is so important. I read the verses that morning that I needed to read on that day that would motivate me to attend the meeting and be where I needed to be. This is just one of the more recent examples where I read the very thing that I needed for that particular day. It helped my strengthen my testimony of hearkening to the Prophet and my leaders and following their counsel of striving to have meaningful daily prayer and scripture study.