"Nourish the seed"

Have you ever noticed a change in your life when you miss a few times of scripture reading, or even just one day? The scary thing is that sometimes we don't! This isn't to say that there is no actual difference, there definitely is, but it can be difficult to perceive and attribute to a lack of scripture reading. This fact is pointed out in Alma 32 where he talks about "nourishing the seed" or nourishing our testimonies with the word of God on a regular basis. We are promised that "if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life (the love of God)." In fact, the seed (our testimony and spirit) will most definitely dry up and die if it does not receive nourishment (talking with and hearing from God.) So although we may not be able to see the subtle changes in the health of our spirit as we neglect to study our scriptures, Alma makes it clear that it will deteriorate -- just like a growing plant would if you stopped giving it water. And I don't know about you, but there is nothing worse than feeling like you have an empty, weak spirit. So I encourage you, on those days when it is hard to open the scriptures, to do it anyway. Our spirits need the strength and love of God that comes with reading His word.