Seek ye first the kingdom of God

     In Matthew chapter 6, verse 33, it reads "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." As I am nearing the end of my first 

semester in college, I have seen this verse come into play in my life over and over again. 

     One of the most important things I have learned about myself this semester is the only way I can be productive is when I stay focused on my devotion to the Lord. The most productive I had been all semester was when I would head straight to the library after classes, and read the Book of Mormon before I did anything else. It was only when I did my scripture reading first that I would feel motivated to get things done.

     There were days where I would push scripture reading to be the last thing that I would do (mostly because of pressing deadlines). On those days, everything seemed to drag. If I got everything done, it was barely. My stress levels would go up, and I would end up miserable by the end of the night. But whenever I read my scriptures first, I always managed to finish everything with the least amount of stress I could experience.

      Though college can be extremely overwhelming, I know I am not going through it alone. Not only are there 30,000+ students who are suffering alongside with me, but I know Heavenly Father is here to assist me with all the things I have been asked to do. 

Christ and His Atonement

        A few weeks ago, we talked about the Atonement and my professor reminded us the importance of keeping Christ in the equation. He mentioned to us that as members of the church, we often give all the credit to the Atonement, and not to Christ. I found this really interesting. It's not something I've ever thought about before, but it's something that became extremely important to me. Christ suffered so much for us, it is important for us to remember what He has done for us.
      A talk given by Russell M. Nelson this past weekend reiterated the idea. He expressed that "it is the Savior who suffered, it is the Savior who broke the bands of death, it is the Savior who paid the price for our sins and transgressions and blotched them out on condition of our repentance. It is the Savior who delivers us from physical and spiritual death." This quote filled me with love for the Savior and what He has done for all of us. It taught me the importance of involving Christ when we talk about the Atonement. And how it is incomplete doctrine to shortcut the phrase. I am grateful for the knowledge that my professor and President Nelson have provided me with.