Area Leadership Message
Attacks and Counterstrategies
My faith in Jesus Christ is the foundation of my life. It is my greatest desire for me and my family to be reunited with Him and my Heavenly Father one day.
The purpose of The Church of Jesus Christ is to invite everyone to come unto Christ and to partake of salvation through Him. However, in our modern world it is not easy to strengthen our faith in the Savior. President Russell M. Nelson taught: “The adversary is increasing his attacks on faith and upon us and our families at an exponential rate. To survive spiritually, we need counterstrategies and proactive plans.”1
One of the counterstrategies the Lord gave us through His prophet is “a home-centered Church, supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.”2 Daily scripture study supported by the Come, Follow Me study guide will be essential in turning our homes into sanctuaries of faith.3
However, does studying the scriptures really have the power to do that?
A few years ago, I had to deal with a difficult problem. It became clear to me that I had to reach a higher spiritual level to cope with this challenge. Therefore, I prayed to find out what I had to do to develop more spiritual strength. As an answer to my prayers, I received the prompting to study the Book of Mormon more diligently than ever before. I had read the Book of Mormon many times before, but I set out to study it more intensely and prayerfully than ever. As a result, I could feel my spirituality increasing daily, my faith in Jesus Christ being strengthened, and I was given the fortitude to deal with my problem.
Indeed, the scriptures emanate a spiritual power that we so urgently need in our time. In the scriptures we find answers to the most important questions of our life. When we study the scriptures daily as families or friends and share our thoughts and experiences, we strengthen our connection with each other and with our Heavenly Father.
Who could have imagined that when Come, Follow Me was introduced and President Nelson told us that it was time to “remodel your home into a center of gospel learning,”4 we would find that a few months later, our ability to go to church for spiritual nourishment would be very limited? We must be grateful to the Lord for preparing us for this period!
My family and I feel very blessed by Come, Follow Me. With our busy schedules and many interests and responsibilities, it is not always easy for us to find the time and peace we need to read and to study the scriptures together every day. We had to make this a priority for it to really work. Not every time we study the gospel as a family do we experience a spiritual outpouring, but our daily study of the scriptures greatly helps us to get to know the Savior better, to invite His Spirit into our home, and to minimize the influence of the adversary within our family.
I talked to several families and asked them for their experiences with Come, Follow Me. It was interesting to realise that every family had to find their own way regarding when to study the scriptures together and how to use Come, Follow Me as a guide. However, every family that prayerfully asked for revelation on the best way to do it was able to experience the blessing associated with it.
May our daily efforts to study the scriptures help us to become truly converted, to get to know Christ better, and to become more like him.