To Buy For Ourselves

One of the purposes of the new shortened Church schedule, as explained by Elder Quentin L. Cook in this past general conference, is that it “allows more time for a home evening and to study the gospel at home on Sunday.”  It is meant to better allow “strengthening individuals and families through home-centered, Church-supported curriculum that contributes to joyful gospel living.”  Surely the Lord is accomplishing many different purposes with this change, but as I understand it one of the most important is to motivate and inspire us to improve our personal study of the gospel.  Three hours of listening to instruction at Church is, this change seems to suggest, of less worth to us than two hours of instruction at Church and one hour of personal and family study of the gospel in the home.  But if our study of the gospel in the home does not increase and improve with this adjustment to the Sunday schedule, then surely we will have missed a great spiritual opportunity to strengthen our conversion to the Savior.  

               One of the principles that this change teaches us is described in the first week’s lesson of the new home study manual: “I am responsible for my own learning.”  One of scriptures referenced to support this idea is the parable of the ten virgins.  In that parable the five foolish virgins said unto the wise, “Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.”  But the five wise responded, “Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves” (Matt. 25:8-9).  The point was of course not that the five wise women did not want to share, but that in matters of conversion and spirituality and gospel knowledge, they could share.  We cannot really transfer our own conversion and spiritual understanding to another; we can only testify and invite others to obtain it for themselves, just as the five wise virgins did, “Go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.”  In one sense I feel that with this change we are being invited in the same manner—we need to go “buy for ourselves” spiritual knowledge and conversion to the Lord by studying more the gospel in our home.  We cannot obtain everything we need spiritually from listening to a talk or lesson or discussion in Church—as valuable as those can be—but we have to “buy” that with our own effort and seeking and sincere searching.  In the Church it of course has always been emphasized that we should study the gospel in our homes, and this is a more emphatic invitation for us to do so.        

            Isaiah gave us this invitation, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1).  I believe that he was telling us that there is no monetary requirement for salvation; it is for poor and rich alike.  I don’t think, though, that he was saying that there is no effort at all required, for we do have to “buy wine and milk,” where buy is an action word.  This change each of us with our families to seek the Lord more earnestly together, to buy for ourselves the spiritual food the Lord desires to bestow upon us.