hello everyone welcome to another follow him favorites my name is Hank Smith I'm here with the amazing and incredible and perfect John by the way if you been following follow him favorites this year you know that we take a single question from each week's lesson and try to talk about it for the following favorite well John the question for this week is from Jeremiah chapter 36 this is out of the come follow me manual it says the scriptures have power to turn me away from Evil that talks about how Jeremiah was recording his prophecies in a roll of a book on a scroll and it says so it may be that they the people may return every man from his evil way that I may forgive their iniquity so tell me how did the scriptures turn someone Away From Evil I want to read my scriptures and I also want to turn away from Evil I think sometimes it's not even exactly the words that we read some of these chapters in the Old Testament as well
 learning are you really have to slow down there hard to understand if you ever heard that old saying if you want to talk to God pray if you want to call to talk to you read your scriptures just the fact that you're opening your heart to God by reading the scriptures that right there is going to bless you we all know that when Satan tried to tempt the Savior that the Savior answered each of those Temptations with a verse of scripture and I quoted scripture yeah sometimes those verses really will help us fight Temptation will remember things but I think they're very active just trying to have God in your life it just gives you the Holy Ghost gives you the spirit Lord and that will always help you whether what you read necessarily is exactly what helps you or the act of trying to understand what the large trying to say to you that itself will help you too what do you think I think you're absolutely right I did a talk one time called Temptation killers and Temptation killer number one
 was scriptures I use that example you use from Jesus's life that he quotes scripture in the face of Temptation and so I encouraged the audience to find temptation killing scriptures and memorize whatever those might be like when Moses says who art thou I am a Son of God that's a great one from the book of ether & More on did that which was wicked in the sight of the Lord so it helps you go I don't want to be like moron and I don't want to it's wicked in the side of the Lord or Joseph of Egypt when he said how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God so find some Temptation killers in your scriptures and memorize a member Elder Scott saying that a memorize scripture can become like a close friend and there when you need it when the time of need it will show up next to you and I was needed more friends in high school then I had so I was really helpful a couple close friends at my side and I think you were right about that maybe it's not about understanding every word but
 it's trying to get into that same spirit that the author had when they wrote the scripture if you can try to get into that same feeling and I kind of call it like being in the zone when you're reading your scriptures and your baby you don't understand every word but you're feeling something I think that feeling can carry you through the next day of I want to keep the spirit that you remember Oliver cowdery in section 6 Oliver cowdery had to get a revelation to tell him that he'd already received a revelation which tells us that sometimes you don't understand Revelations sometimes you don't understand the scriptures but the very act that you were there trying to understand is a protection I love what you said have some verses in your head that help you have some positive ones too not just to say don't do that but like one of my favorites is 1st Corinthians 2:9 I have not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man the things that God has for
 care for them. It just has no matter how wonderful are beautiful you can imagine it it's better what God has prepared for them that love him and that motivates me is I love God and part of loving God is if you love me keep my Commandments yeah I think so I think the more you can get in tune with the spirit and that comes from Reading scripture and again when I was first reading scripture I remember John when I was young it was mostly me just looking for good thoughts good quotes I didn't really understand every verse every word but I would find a good phrase and I would Market you see on every page you could find a good phrase a good quote to wear a sermon in a sentence as you like to call it and as you do that over and over and over you're going to get more in tune with the spirit and if you get more in tune with the spirit believe it or not then he's going to look less and less attractive to you remember what the people King Benjamin said we have been changed by the spirit we have no more disposition to do evil it'll change the way
 you look at send you look at something and do you know what that doesn't seem as good as it once did to me that's because of the Holy Ghost the Holy Ghost can actually do that for you so I would say get into the scriptures look for those words and phrases if you've never done it before look for those power words and phrases keep doing it every day and as you do you'll become more aligned with the spirit you'll feel that attractiveness towards things that are really good yeah I had a class from Gerald Lund who was Elder Gerald Lund member 74 at a time and he talked about some of our approaches to try to get people to read the scriptures he's bribery there's guilt there's he called it the medicine approach you're not going to like this but it's going to be good for you but the one thing it just came to me that I loved was he called it there's another approach and that is the approach the scriptures themselves using he called it promises and I actually have a handout I gave to some of my classes and say fill in the blank what is the Pro
 must hear of scripture study and the fun thing that they all recognize they're not read the scripture so someday in the next life you'll have a rewards it's right now type of things that word is a lamp unto my feet when I read the scriptures my path is lighted I know better where I should be going what I should be doing when it comes to mind first Nephi 1524 Nephi's explaining to his brothers lehi's dream Nephi's vision of Lehigh stream right what is that Rod of iron is the word of God in whose sword to hold fast on to it they would never perish and never is a strong word is neither could the fiery darts this year anniversary overpower them I mean fiery darts how'd you like people shooting arrows that you would you like it any better if the arrows were on fire but if you're holding us you'll never perish what a strong promise and those can build us up so Elder lunch approach was there are promises from
 social studies that instead of guilt shame bribery medicine there are promises and look for those those are kind of fun too often times we save read the scriptures and it'll help you stay away from Evil and you might not understand it but keep doing it it's kind of like the farmer who plants a seed the Savior says and doesn't know how it works but but he keeps doing it and he knows that at the end it works he eats so don't give up on it even if you don't know exactly how it works you'll learn more about how it works as you do it as you keep at it as you keep getting back into those scriptures and I would say just add one more little thing John is that you can write your own scripture as you pick up your pain and Ponder the things of God and start to write in your Journal perhaps that could become scripture for you to become the things of your stall so I'll add that into just think about writing your own well we hope you'll join us on our full podcast we're with dr. Michael Wilcox we'll just absolutely love for the SEC
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