An Audio Message From the Publisher:
This is Hank Scott, for The Pure Truth Restored...
What is the missing link to your spiritual success?
Having brought eight children into this world, and seeing most of them forget nearly all of their religious upbringing over the years, I searched for an answer.
The reason why they did not retain what I struggled so hard to teach them over the years....
First of all the concept of value is integral to spiritual retention.
If I were to hand you a valuable diamond, ruby, a gold or silver coin, or something else of tremendous known value, I can pretty well guess what you're going to do.
You'll either sell or spend it, or you'll find a safe place to store it, where you'll be certain to find it when you need it, or just to admire and feel safer and more secure in this uncertain and difficult world.
You certainly wouldn't just toss it aside in a dusty corner and then forget where it was, unless I miss my guess.
Neither would you leave it laying out where others might see it and easily make off with your treasure, would you?
So the problem with succeeding in any true spiritual quest revolves around two key features in common with this analogy.
First, you must know the real value of what you've got, and second, you must find a way to safely store that valuable and precious commodity for later use or recall.
Some might object to the word "commodity" in reference to real spiritual value, but this is just how the Savior Himself spoke in parables about the hidden treasure and the priceless pearl of great value (Matthew 13:44 and 45-46), the oil for the lamps of the ten virgins awaiting the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-13), and the talents given to servants (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27).
A Spiritual Perspective
So how do you store up spiritual treasure in your heart, for instance?
How do you make use of spiritual training to actually do what you once learned?
Let's look at the problem from a slightly different perspective.
How do you have any concept of what spiritual truths are available for you to learn, and how do you learn them?
If your first thought was "reading the scriptures," congratulations; for even if you learn from someone else, eventually they -- or whoever taught them -- had to learn it from a prime source, usually a written record.
This is why those who wish to debunk spiritual wisdom usually start by attempting to discredit the historical word that comes down to us in the form of scripture.
Their task is made all the easier by those who ignore the obvious and, in some cases, even glaring faults the preservation of any written record over many generations is bound to entail.
This sets up believers for doubt, disillusionment and disbelief once these errors or mistakes are pointed out by those with the agenda of corrupting or changing their beliefs to embrace a new and different source of supposed authority.
Essential Value of The Written Word
Abandonment of religious training is easier the less you rely upon a written record, due to the volatile and transitory nature of memory, or social customs built upon historical memory.
So one of the most important, key techniques you must use to ensure your spiritual success, beyond obeying and relying on the true Savior and His Sacred Spirit Father in heaven, is to write everything you learn down, and keep this written record organized, safe, accessible and review it often.
This is the only way to make everything you have personally learned retainable and to never lose sight of what is much more valuable than all the riches of this world combined.
Take notes, and be diligent in your studies, and these good practices -- once they become habit, which only takes about three weeks of consistent effort -- will stand you in good stead the rest of your life.
That's what I learned as a young man, and this one principle alone has meant more to me in life than just about any other.
The next is to actually do something positive with what you have learned, such as by actively sharing it with others.
Teaching is the very best form of learning, if you keep studying and applying it the rest of your life, without stopping or getting sidetracked.
Put these simple principles into effect, and -- providing you have chosen the correct spiritual path and Savior to follow -- you can and will succeed spiritually!