Thursday Thought

Alright, the blogging funk continues. But at least it's easy to find a good thought or two, right? So until I can come up with something wonderful to say, a Thursday Thought will have to suffice.

I've been reading MEE Thinks. What a fun book. Mary Ellen Edmunds is just a crack up. I love how much she enjoys life. I think I could listen to her all day. In this book she shares random thoughts she's had throughout her life. In one she shares a quote by Elder Marion D. Hanks where he likens manna to the Spirit. This quote is kind of long, but it's a good one:

"Gather the manna daily. Do you remember the great lesson the Lord taught the children of Israel in providing manna for them which they had to gather daily? They had been slaves in Egypt and had forgotten their relationship with the Lord. To teach them and prove them, the Lord required that they gather the manna every day except over the Sabbath. They could not collect it or store it. It had to be gathered every day. (See Ex. 16.)

"Spirituality, that condition of closeness with the Lord through his Spirit, is like manna to us. We cannot live well without it, and it must be gathered every day. It isn’t enough to have known, to have read, to have given, to have prayed, to have obeyed. That great series of verses in Alma 5 that move me so much begins with, 'If ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?' (See Alma 5:26–31, emphasis added.) " Marion D. Hanks, “An Attitude—The Weightier Matters,” Ensign, Jul 1981, 67

It comes back to that whole consistency bit. We have to work hard and gather our spirituality every. single. day. We may have had wonderful, spiritual experiences in the past, but unless we are continually striving for more, we may be found lacking. It really is our choice whether or not we choose to be spiritually nourished, or whether we remain hungry.

Mary Ellen Edmunds concludes her thought by saying, "I want to arise every day and experience a hunger for my spiritual nourishment at least as strong as my desire for physical food. Maybe stronger. As much as I love bread, and I really do, I know I can't live with just bread. I need the sweet nourishment of the Spirit, the guidance and companionship of the Holy Ghost."

I want that too.