Constant Connection

I recently got a used laptop. It works great; I've been using it for weeks, but it has one slight problem. The laptop doesn't have an external battery. It has an internal battery, which is strong strong enough to make sure the computer doesn't forget what time it is while it's unplugged, but the internal battery isn't strong enough to actually run the machine, even for a second. I proved this when I accidentally unplugged the laptop once while using it; it shut down instantly. What this means is that when I want to use my laptop, I need to keep it plugged in, which means I need to stay within a certain distance from an electrical outlet.

In recent General Conferences, the General Authorities have spoken about our need to "plug in" to sources of divine power to "recharge" our "spiritual batteries." The talk of "recharging" our batteries shows a fundamental difference between us and my laptop. When you recharge something, it means that you used it for a while without it being connected to a source of electricity. Thus, its battery ran down, and you need to recharge it. My laptop doesn't have the capacity to function without being plugged in, but we do - sort of.

We can function as human beings without being constantly connected to a flow of divine power and guidance. Some people live their whole lives that way. It's not the best way to live, but it's doable. We can also function reasonably well, spiritually, by functioning under a power we sometimes call a "spiritual high." That is, we can go to church, have a spiritually replenishing experience, and let our newly recharged "spiritual battery" carry us for the rest of the week.

Theoretically.

I don't know about your devices, but if I don't plug in my phone every single night, it dies on me. And I'd guess that most laptops can't go more than a few hours without plugging in, let alone a few days, or a whole week. If we treated our spiritual connection the same way we treat our cell phones, we'd want to recharge it daily, if not constantly. Thankfully, maintaining a spiritual connection is more convenient than finding and sitting by an outlet. We can connect to God at any time through prayer, and we can maintain that connection even while we're doing other things, even while we're travelling, whether we're anywhere near an electrical outlet or set of scriptures or not.

We have been counselled to recharge frequently, but why settle for that when we can stay plugged it all the time? Do we ever want to disconnect ourselves from our source of spiritual power and guidance? Of course we don't, and we don't have to. While our daily and weekly spiritual rituals are still important to maintain and improve the strength of our connection, we can keep connected to God constantly through prayer. By maintaining an attitude of prayer throughout the day, we can ensure that we never lose our connection to the Lord and that we never have to try to live without His power and influence in our lives, even for a second. Sure, we could live off our "spiritual batteries" for a while and "recharge" them afterwards, but when staying "plugged in" constantly is not only possible, but wonderfully convenient, why would we ever try to live any other way?