The Best Path

A few days ago during companionship study Sister Luscher and I were talking about the things we invite people to do and how they respond. As missionaries we invite people to do a lot of things (read the Book of Mormon, pray, come to church, get baptized, etc.) and one of the responses we hear quite frequently is "I'll try." Trying is good but it requires some doing and usually includes falling short a few times. The conversation reminded me of a time in my life when I thought I was trying but I wasn't doing my best.





Quick story from the life of Sister Tucker... Before I came on my mission I was in college at BYU-Idaho. The last semester I was there I was taking some pretty tough classes that I didn't enjoy very much, I wasn't particularly thrilled with my roommate situation, and I really didn't like my job. To say the least, it was hard. I got my mid term grades and realized I was failing a couple of classes and not doing too well in the others. Obviously I knew I needed to step up my game and just do the work I needed to but I was so overwhelmed with everything else going on in my life that I didn't know where to start. It was then that I realized that every talk in church, every devotional I went to focused on daily prayer and scripture study.... Oops... That's what was missing in my life and that's why nothing seemed to be going right. I had let those small but very important things slide for far too long. I made a commitment that I would start waking up earlier to read my scriptures before I got ready for class. It wasn't easy at first but as I kept that commitment and just did it I started to see the blessings. I was able to get all my homework done and I didn't dread it as much. I got better grades on tests. Work was tolerable even though I still didn't completely enjoy it. I was able to start hanging out more with someone who is now one of my very best friends and still maintain a good relationship with my roommates and other friends. And the best part...I decided that I was definitely going to serve a mission, which is the best decision I've ever made. What started out as the worst semester turned into one of the best because I committed to living the gospel and doing those small and simple things each day. It wasn't easy and I wasn't perfect at it but as I put forth my effort Heavenly Father blessed me. He will do the same for you as you truly commit to live the gospel. Christ commanded us to "be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48) but that doesn't mean He expects it all at once. It is the same way when missionaries invite people to do something like read the scriptures every day. I know that it's not the easiest thing in the world but is possible as you rely on the Lord and do your best each day.