Week 9

This week I was studying about what it means to press forward, and how we can do that in our lives. I started in 2 Nephi 31:20 where it says, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God an of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure the the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." This made me think about the unique phrasing of that term, it is more than just persevering, or not giving up. The term of pressing forward to me means that there is something that we are pressing against, the world itself and it's wicked temptation is what we are moving and pressing against.

To press is to move into a position of contact with something by exerting a continuous force, and to move forward is to make progress towards a successful conclusion. We are on earth trying to move into constant contact with the Holy Ghost, as well as with our Savior, so that we can reach the successful conclusion we seek, which is eternal life and happiness. It stands out to me that the word continuous was used, we must always be exerting force on the temptations of the world around us in order to move forward. Once we let up on the force applied, things can all too quickly spin out of our grasp, sending us backwards in our journey.

College is a difficult time in life, when it is easy to be distracted. By following God's commandments and continually pressing forward we can make it through and be blessed. Reading scriptures about how the writers of the Book of Mormon continually pressed forward is something that helps to remind me that it is possible for me to do it as well, and that it will be beyond worth it in the end.