Why Do You Travel So Far for Church? (3 Nephi 19)

by | Nov 13, 2019 | Scripture Study | 0 comments

Long_Road.jpg

For quite a few years, my family lived in the town of Thorndale, Pennsylvania, and we attended church services in the town of Levittown, Pennsylvania. If you look on a map, you will see that these two towns are both located in eastern Pennsylvania, but they are in fact 60 miles apart! Yes, every Sunday, my parents and my sister and I dutifully piled into the car by 8:45 a.m. to make the hour-plus trip to Levittown for Sunday school and the worship service and then traveled the same distance to return home, arriving home sometime in the mid-afternoon.

Every so often, one of us would be in a conversation with someone about the church, and when we mentioned where the church was, the same questions would be asked. Why do you travel so far for church? Isn’t there a church in this area that you can attend?

Many of you have probably experienced something similar to this at one time or another — perhaps you still do — traveling farther than what would be considered “normal” to attend church services.

So, what do you say when someone asks you why you travel so far for church? Why not select a church the way you select a favorite grocery store? Would anyone travel 60 miles to buy groceries? I doubt it. So, why do you do it for church?

In 3 Nephi 19, Jesus ascends into heaven after His day with the Nephites but indicates that He will return the next day. The people are filled with excitement. The word passes quickly even before it’s dark — Jesus is coming back tomorrow! The homes of many of the people are a great distance from where Jesus will be. Do the people say it’s inconvenient to travel or they’ll just worship the Lord near their home? No, their response is — If Jesus is going to be there, then I’m going to be there too!

“Even all the night it was noised abroad concerning Jesus; and…there were many, yea, an exceeding great number, [who] did labor exceedingly all that night, that they might be on the morrow in the place where Jesus should show himself unto the multitude.” (3 Nephi 19:3)

If you found out today that Jesus was going to be in a specific place tomorrow, wouldn’t you do your utmost to make your way to the place where He will be?

Years ago, a sister in the church had a dream in which she was speaking to Jesus, and He said in her dream that He attends all of the meetings of The Church of Jesus Christ. To the extent that that’s true, why would we want to attend church anywhere else?

Yes, there’s a certain level of comfort in worshipping at the church we’ve always attended, but we could likely become comfortable somewhere else. Yes, we love to be together with the brothers and sisters, but that probably wouldn’t be enough of a draw to travel great distances on a regular basis (sorry, folks). No, the primary reason that we make the effort — even if it is a great distance — is because we want to commune with Jesus Christ. If the Lord is going to be there, then that’s where we want to be too!

Perhaps, you may ask, “What if I don’t feel the presence of the Lord at church?” If that’s how you feel, the solution is clear: Bring Him with you! The Spirit of the Lord is within each of us, so any of us can help bring the Lord’s presence into our worship services. It doesn’t always have to be about what kind of blessing I’m receiving, but it can also be about what kind of blessing I’m bringing to church.

So, the next time someone asks why you travel so far to church, you can say it’s because you know the Lord will be there. You don’t necessarily have to go so far as to say He isn’t anywhere else — we’re not the judges of that — but if we know that Jesus is going to be in attendance at The Church of Jesus Christ, then why would we want to be anywhere else?

Bio Jerry New

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.

Author

  • Brother Jerry Valenti

    Brother Jerry lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with wife Sister Pat and daughter Maria.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further Reading

Second to God

“Do you really love me?” my father would ask. With a smile, my mother would nod.  I felt warm inside when mother replied, “Don’t you know, you come second to God”* If you had a conversation similar to the above with your spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, best...

Read More

The Fear of God

As Jesus continues to prepare His Apostles to go on their mission of spreading the gospel, He addresses any fear they may have that people they come in contact with may seek to do them bodily harm, perhaps even kill them. He tells them: “Fear not them which kill...

Read More

Never Miss a New Article

Subscribe to Our Email List
Sign up and get every new blog post sent straight to your inbox so you always have the day’s devotional at your fingertips.

We never share your email address with anyone for any reason, and we use it only to send you Gospel Blog emails. Just articles, not ads!

Your Story for God’s Glory

Share Your Testimony on Miracle Monday

We devote Miracle Monday to sharing miracle stories. From finding a lost wedding ring to healing cancer on the spot, Jesus Christ has done it all, big and small.

And we want to hear about what He’s done for you.

The Gospel Blog Is Open for Submissions

We encourage devotional-style or scripture-based articles in the ballpark of 500 words. We are open to any topic that glorifies God and unites the Church.