it takes work to learn to walk

So I have discovered recently that great things take work. In the last week specifically, I have realized that spirituality takes work. Now that may seem like a duh- but when you pause to think about how much spiritual potential we aren't reaching, it makes that concept just a little more real. Last week at church we talked about the experience of Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith was 14 and he had some questions, like most 14-year-old boys do. Except his question was spiritual- he wanted to know which church was God's church. There were a bunch of churches and he was confused as to why they all said they were God's church, but taught different things. So he started to study the Bible, and he visited different churches, and he asked questions. Simply put- he searched. Then one day, after all this thought and study (a year's worth!) he decided to take it to God and get an answer because he couldn't figure it out on his own. So he prayed- and then Satan, just like he always does, tried to intervene, but it didn't matter- Joseph Smith wanted an answer. And he got one. A very powerful one that changed human history (for more info see mormon.org or drop me an email). What sticks out to me though is the process he went through- he searched, he pondered, he worked, and he prayed. then it got hard and the devil tries to mess up the master plan, but it doesn't matter- he wanted an answer so he fought through it all- the fear, the frustration, the want to just let it go and settle for no answer. That amazing experience and amazing answer came in part because he showed the Lord that he was serious about this- he wanted an answer.

I went to the temple tonight and I prayed and asked to feel the Spirit and for revelation- I asked for a spiritual experience. But then ya know, my neck hurt, and I was tired and kept yawning, and I was hungry, and I got a little distracted by all the stuff I have to do... after an hour or two I realized that spiritual experience wasn't happening for me. Why? Becuase God didn't want me to? Because the Spirit wasn't there- no it certainly was. The problem was that I wanted a spiritual experience but when those temptations came- whether from the devil or just human weakness- that desire for a spiritual experience was overridden by my tiredness, etc. So how bad did I really want that spiritual experience? Life is about progress and there are points where the Lord just hands us things to help us along... but there's other times where he's encouraging us to become a little more, to be a little better. It's sort of like when a child is learning to walk- the parent lets go a little longer each time to allow the child to progress. But the child can never learn to walk as long as the desire to sit overrides the desire to work to learn to walk.

Sometimes I'm focused on learning to walk and other times I get so distracted by everything, that I just sit and aimlessly wonder why I don't seem to be getting anywhere. I need to exercise my spiritual muscles more often and more regularly.

How grateful I am for life, for the path Christ has set, and for the mercy I receive every day in my efforts to learn to walk.