Study Recap: The Power of the Word of God by Elder Michael John U. Teh

Title: The Power of the Word of God
Author: Elder Michael John U. Teh of the Seventy
Source: March 2013 Ensign
Link: https://www.lds.org/liahona/2013/03/the-power-of-the-word-of-god?lang=eng
Summary: Few other activities will bring us greater spiritual benefit than the daily, consistent study of the scriptures.
Rating: 3.5/5
Favorite Parts

• I later concluded that perhaps for most of them, hopelessness allowed them to believe they were consigned to this fate.
• I believe that few other activities will bring us greater spiritual benefit than the daily, consistent study of the scriptures.
• The Book of Mormon tells us, “The preaching of the word … had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them” (Alma 31:5).
• President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has taught: “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.”
• President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) said: “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”
• ...we live in an age when access to the scriptures is unprecedented. Never in the history of the world have God’s children had the opportunity to enjoy these sacred materials as they do now. Written copies of the scriptures can be readily purchased in bookstores or online. Electronic copies can be accessed instantaneously through the World Wide Web and downloaded to numerous devices. Preparing talks, writing articles, and searching for information has never been easier.
• I believe that neglecting to study the scriptures on a regular basis is a form of hardening our hearts. I fear that if we persist in that course, we will be given a lesser portion of the word and eventually know nothing of God’s mysteries. Drinking daily from the scriptures, on the other hand, will help us build spiritual strength and knowledge, unmask the deceptions of the devil, and discover the snares he has laid to catch us.
• As you ask yourselves the following questions, I invite you to allow the Holy Ghost to speak to your mind and heart: 
  Do I take time to study the scriptures every day?
  If not, what excuse do I have for not doing so?
  Will my excuse be acceptable to the Lord?
• God has given us this new technology for a wise purpose. The adversary, however, has stepped up his offensive and uses technological advancements—intended by God to help us—to further his purpose of making us “miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27). Hence, we have a responsibility to learn to use what our Heavenly Father has given us in an effective, consistent, and proper manner