Everybody who is active in the church at one point or another gets bored with the church. After a while we often hear the same messages and doctrines. At this moment we usually either just go through the motions or just stop going all together. Both are about equal in spiritual enlightenment. This is because at some point we have to take it upon ourselves to be doctrinally fed and seek out the gospel messages for ourselves. We have to take responsibility of our salvation.
Growing up in Utah, you can sign up for seminary classes that teach the fundamentals of LDS teachings to youth. I first became so excited about this seminary class that I started going to church on my own and reading on my own. I often stayed after class with questions on the subject and liked my teachers. Then I had a teacher that I didn't really like. He wasn't exciting. He was very strict. I stopped going and caring about Church in general. I made the classic mistake of not taking it upon myself to keep being entertained by what the Lord could teach me.
Sometimes the medium is the only way to keep from falling into disinterest and often new members will go inactive after the missionaries who taught them initially go home or to a new area.
There is a parable of the Ten Virgins and I don't really know the cultural context of it. But they had lamps fueled by oil and some of them were foolish and didn't prepare by getting extra oil for later so they could have lamps lit. Anyway, the oil and the lamp represents our own understading and testimony of the Church and we don't prepare and work out our own salvation then we won't be able to borrow from other people's testimony. Basically, you are in charge of your righteousness and testimony of God. Other people may help you initially but you must be able to be self reliant in a sense of relying on the Lord.
The church talks, lessons, classes, books, magazines, movies, and music can be entertaining but can also get old unless we take it upon ourselves to personally seek out the Lord and seek to get something out of all the messages ourselves.
Scriptures repeatedly tell us "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."-Alma 37: 6. And "children given words that confound the wise. "-Alma 32: 23
I believe anything true is of value to our souls and we can find things to help us personally by all the mediums the Lord has of preaching His gospel, especially the Holy Ghost which will give us a way of understanding things we've heard a hundred times but in a new light that will be applicable to our lives.
I know the Lord speaks to us by His servants, by the Holy Ghost, and to us directly in a way that if we are looking and asking with real intent He will make it known to us. There are so many simple truths in mediums of all kind, if only we will tune in to the Holy Ghost.
