My Soul Delighteth

In 2 Nephi 4:16, Nephi makes a statement that is a great example of what it means to be holy. He says, "my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard." When I read this today, I had to take a step back and ask myself if I have the same attitude. I have listed just a few things that we might ask consider in answering this question for ourselves:

• Is Sunday a blessing or do I wish that I could be on the golf course instead of Sacrament meeting?
• When that new movie I want to see comes out, do I go anyway even though I would feel uncomfortable if the Savior sat in the seat next to me?
• Do I look forward to the time that I study my scriptures each day or do I find myself forcing myself to read them because it's what "I'm supposed to do?"
• When there is a service project, do I cheerfully give up my Saturday morning or do I stay home and do what I would "rather" do?

As I asked myself these questions, I realized that sometimes it is easy to be doing the right things. I believe that the Lord will bless us beyond what we could imagine simply for doing what we are supposed to do. As I pondered more, I was reminded of the Pharisees in the New Testament. They were perfectly obedient (at least they claimed to be) to the letter of the law. However, they missed out on the greatest blessings of obedience because they were simply going through the motions.

I know that as we strive to "delight" in the commandments, not only do we find greater joy but obedience becomes easier. This is so because as we delight in the things of the Lord, we understand that the commandments are to help and guide us to return to live with Heavenly Father. Nephi was able to "delight in the things of the Lord" because he understood this simple principle. He understood that even though it might be difficult and a lot of work now, it would pay off in the long run.