“Just Try Again,” Liahona, Sept. 2022.
Latter-day Saint Voices
Just Try Again
I was busy doing good things, but my relationship with the Lord suffered because I neglected something more important.
When I finished my mission in January 2019, I was sure I would easily continue my daily scripture study. At first, that was true. After work, I would come home and read my scriptures like clockwork. I was happy to still be devoted to scripture reading and learning about the Savior.
That changed in June 2019 when my boyfriend returned from his mission. We started dating right away and were engaged six weeks later.
In the busyness of planning a wedding, working, going to college, and spending time with my fiancé, my scripture study soon dwindled to a few times a week. Because I was distracted with good things, I inadvertently neglected my relationship with the Lord.
My husband and I married in November 2019. Following the holidays, I tried to pick up where I had left off in the scriptures. For a few months, my husband and I successfully studied the scriptures together. Each morning for a few minutes we would read the scriptures and discuss a Come, Follow Me lesson before we ran out the door to work or school.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Without rigid school and work schedules, we lost our routine of scripture study in the morning. We studied only now and again, and our relationship with the Lord suffered. Even after restrictions were lifted and we returned to church, we still struggled to study.
Church members often have times when they struggle to read their scriptures regularly. Our lives are busy, and we face challenges each day. But it is never too late to start again.
“The Lord does not expect perfection from us at this point in our eternal progression,” said President Russell M. Nelson. But, he added, “all of us can do better and be better.”1
My husband and I recently recommitted to reading our scriptures. We’re still not perfect at it, but we try each day to strengthen our testimonies. I am grateful for the many chances the Lord gives us to repent, do better, and be better.