Post # 93 --- Now is the Time
Dear Family
and Friends
I hope this
post finds each one of you healthy and happy this week. For today’s post, I
would like to review another conference talk with you. In his talk he is
talking of reflecting upon our lives. This is something that we may convince
ourselves that it isn’t a necessary thing that we need ever do, but don’t you
believe it. Elder Gerard shares some great counsel with us.
Of the Seventy
If there is anything
in your life you need to consider, now is the time.
Several years ago, while preparing for a
business trip, I began to experience chest pain. Out of concern, my wife
decided to accompany me. On the first leg of our flight, the pain intensified
to the point that it was difficult for me to breathe. When we landed, we left
the airport and went to the local hospital, where, after multiple tests, the
attending physician declared us safe to continue our travel.
We returned to the airport and boarded a
flight to our final destination. As we were descending, the pilot came on the
intercom and asked me to identify myself. The flight attendant approached, said
they had just received an emergency call, and told me there was an ambulance waiting
at the airport to take me to the hospital.
We boarded the ambulance and were rushed to
the local emergency room. There we were met by two anxious doctors who
explained that I had been misdiagnosed and actually had a serious pulmonary
embolism, or blood clot, in my lung, which required immediate medical
attention. The doctors informed us that many patients do not survive this
condition. Knowing we were far from home and not sure if we were prepared for
such life-altering events, the doctors said that if there was anything in our
lives that we needed to consider, now was the time.
I remember well how almost instantaneously in
that anxious moment, my entire perspective changed. What seemed so important
just moments earlier was now of little interest. My mind raced away from the
comfort and cares of this life to an eternal perspective—thoughts of family,
children, my wife, and ultimately an assessment of my own life.
How were we doing as a family and
individually? Were we living our lives consistent with the covenants we had
made and the Lord’s expectations, or had we perhaps unintentionally allowed the
cares of the world to distract us from those things which matter most?
Now, I don’t believe that we each
need a close call or a bear death experience in order to take stock of our
lives. I think it is something that we should do on a fairly regular basis, so
that we can make the little changes as needed as we go along. That way we won’t
get to far off course before we notice that changes need to be made in order to
correct our course😊
I would invite you to consider an important
lesson learned from this experience: to step back from the world and assess
your life. Or in the words of the doctor, if there is anything in your
life you need to consider, now is the time.
Assessing Our Lives
We live in a world of information overload,
dominated by ever-increasing distractions that make it more and more difficult
to sort through the commotion of this life and focus on things of eternal
worth. Our daily lives are bombarded with attention-grabbing headlines, served
up by rapidly changing technologies.
Unless we take the time to reflect, we may not
realize the impact of this fast-paced environment on our daily lives and the
choices we make. We may find our lives
consumed with bursts of information packaged in memes, videos, and glaring
headlines. Although interesting and entertaining, most of these have little to
do with our eternal progress, and yet they shape the way we view our mortal
experience.
It is so easy to get distracted
and not necessarily by bad things either, it is easy to get distracted by good
things as well, so we need to be careful that we are keeping our focus on our
eternal home. If we can keep our focus on our Savior, Jesus Christ, we will not
be swayed too far by the distractions of this world. Remember that you are a
child of God, but you are also only human too.
I have plenty of moments, hours, even
days, I’m afraid when my human side shines far too brightly. But because of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can each repent and begin again down the straight
and narrow path – with our Savior leading our way😊 I love this next part –Lehi’s
dream – if you haven’t had a chance to study Lehi’s dream, you should take this
opportunity to do so, it is really very interesting and you will learn quite a lot from studying it. you can find it here: https://www.lds.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/8.31-33?lang=eng#30
These worldly distractions could be likened to
those in Lehi’s dream. As we progress down the covenant path with our hand
firmly affixed on the iron rod, we hear and see those “mocking and pointing
their fingers” from the great and spacious building (1 Nephi 8:27). We may not consciously intend to do so, but
sometimes we pause and shift our gaze to see what all the commotion is. Some of
us may even let go of the iron rod and move closer for a better view. Others
may fall away entirely “because of those that were scoffing at them” (1 Nephi 8:28).
The Savior cautioned us to “take heed … lest
at any time your hearts be overcharged with … cares of this life” (Luke 21:34). Modern revelation reminds us that many are called, but few
are chosen. They are not chosen “because their hearts are set … upon the things
of this world, and aspire to the honors of men” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:35; see also verse 34). Assessing our lives gives us an opportunity to step back
from the world, reflect on where we stand on the covenant path, and, if
necessary, make adjustments to ensure a firm grip and a forward gaze.
Recently, in a worldwide youth devotional,
President Russell M. Nelson invited the youth to step back from the
world, disengaging from social media by holding a seven-day fast. And just
last evening, he made a similar invitation to the sisters as part of the
women’s session of conference. He then asked the youth to notice any
differences in how they feel, what they think, or even how they think. He then
invited them “to do a thorough life assessment with the Lord … to ensure that
your feet are firmly planted on the covenant path.” He encouraged them that if
there were things in their lives that needed changing, “today is the perfect
time to change.”1
I challenge
each one of you to give this a shot --- I know this sounds a little funny
coming from someone who writes a blog for you to read and then asks you to take
a social media fast for seven days. It is just a really good way for each of us
to see exactly where the focus of our daily life is. So just as soon as you
finish reading this blog you can begin your fast from all of your social media outlets😊
In assessing things in our lives that need to
change, we might ask ourselves a practical question: How do we rise above the
distractions of this world and stay fixed on the vision of eternity before us?
In a 2007 conference address entitled “Good, Better, Best,” President Dallin H. Oaks taught how to
prioritize choices among our many conflicting worldly demands. He counseled,
“We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better
or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our
families.”2
May I suggest that the best things in this
life are centered on Jesus Christ and understanding the eternal truths of who
He is and who we are in our relationship with Him.
I will have to agree with Elder Gerard
– I have found that the best things in this life truly are centered on Jesus
Christ and in understanding the eternal truths of who He is and who we are in
relation to Him. Once we have these important truths firmly understood all else
in our life either falls into place or falls out of our lives. I know that once
I grasped the fact that I am a daughter of our Heavenly Father and that He
loves me – no matter what I have done or will do in my life, I also learned
that I am good enough!!!
I am as good as the others and
they are no better than I am, I am no better than they are. This knowledge has
been empowering for me and has helped me to navigate some pretty troubled
waters throughout my life. This knowledge that Jesus Christ is my Savior, that
He freely gave His life for me, that He willingly paid the price of my sins,
simply empowering😊
Seek Truth
As we seek to know the Savior, we should not
overlook the fundamental truth of who we are and why we are here. Amulek
reminds us that “this life is the time … to prepare to meet God,” the time
“which is given us to prepare for eternity” (Alma 34:32–33). As the well-known axiom reminds us, “We are
not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings
having a human experience.”3
Understanding our divine origins is essential
to our eternal progress and can free us from the distractions of this life. The
Savior taught:
“If ye continue in my word, then ye are my
disciples indeed;
President Joseph F. Smith proclaimed,
“The greatest achievement mankind can make in this world is to familiarize
themselves with divine truth, so thoroughly, so perfectly, that the example or
conduct of no creature living in the world can ever turn them away from the
knowledge that they have obtained.”4
I believe that this is something
that we all should aspire to in this life. I am not very knowledgeable, but I
am trying to learn more so that I can be more – better prepared to meet my
Savior when my life on this earth is done. How will it be for each of us to
achieve this the greatest thing that we can do?”
In the world today, the debate over truth has
reached a fevered pitch, with all sides claiming truth as if it were a relative
concept open to individual interpretation. The young boy Joseph Smith found
that “so great were the confusion and strife” in his life “that it was impossible
… to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong” (Joseph Smith—History 1:8). It was “in the midst of this war of words
and tumult of opinions” that he sought divine guidance by seeking truth (Joseph Smith—History 1:10).
In April conference, President Nelson taught,
“If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the
philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation.”5 We must learn to rely on the Spirit of Truth, which “the world cannot receive, because it
seeth him not, neither knoweth him” (John 14:17).
As this world moves swiftly to alternative
realities, we must remember the words of Jacob that “the Spirit speaketh the
truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and
of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto
us plainly, for the salvation of our souls” (Jacob 4:13).
As we step back from the world and assess our
lives, now is the time to consider what changes we need to make. We can take great hope in knowing that our
Exemplar, Jesus Christ, has once again led the way. Prior to His death and
Resurrection, as He was laboring to help those around Him understand His divine
role, He reminded them “that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Of Him I bear witness in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I too, would add my voice to Elder Gerard in
that I have experienced this peace of which he speaks. It is the peace that can
only come from the Savior Himself. It is an amazing thing to experience. It is
worth any sacrifice you go through to attain it. When the world around you is
crazy, you can remain at peace through it all, when that peace comes from the
Lord😊
Let’s review
the counsel given to us through this conference talk:
1.
We were asked to step back from the world and to
assess our lives. As Elder Gerard’s
doctor told him – “If there is anything in your life you need to consider, now
id the time.”
2.
Elder Gerard said that in assessing our lives it
gives us an opportunity to step back from the world, to reflect in where we
stand on the covenant path, and then, if it is necessary, we can make the
adjustments we need to ensure that we have a firm grip on the path and a firm
forward gaze toward our goal.
3.
Elder Gerard said that unless we stop and take
the time to reflect on our lives and where we are at [ and I would say we
should do it periodically] we may not realize or recognize the impact of this
fast-paced environment on our daily lives and the daily decisions that we make.
4.
Then there was the invitation from President
Russell M. Nelson to the youth and then to the sisters. The invitation was for
each of us to take a step back from the world, and then to disengage from our
social media by holding a seven day fast from that social media.
5.
Along with the invitation to engage in a social
media fast, he asked the youth to take not of any differences in how they feel,
what they think, or even how they think during their fast.
6.
The next think he did was to invite them “to do
a thorough assessment with the Lord … to ensure that your feet are firmly
planted on the covenant path.” He also encouraged them that of there were
things in their lives that needed changing, “today is the perfect time to
change.”
7.
Elder Gerard said: “In assessing things in our
lives that need to change, we might ask ourselves a practical question: How do
we rise above the distractions of this world and stay fixed on the vision of
eternity begore us?
8.
President Dallin H. Oaks taught us how to
‘prioritize our choices among our many conflicting worldly demands. His counsel
was, “We have to forego dome good things in order to choose others that are
better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and
strengthen our families.”’
9.
Then Elder Gerard said that “the best things in
this life are centered on Jesus Christ and understanding the eternal truths of
who He is and who we are in our relationship with Him.”
10.
He reminded us that “as we seek to know the
Savior, we should not ov3rlook the fundamental truth of who we are and why we
are here.”
11.
The counsel from President Joseph F. Smith was
that the greatest achievement mankind can make in this world is to familiarize
themselves with divine truth so thoroughly, so perfectly, that the example or
conduct of no creature living in the world can ever turn them away from the
knowledge that they have obtained.”
12.
Then another teaching from President Russell M.
Nelson was that “If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of
voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive
revelation,” we must learn to rely on the Spirit of Truth, which “the world
cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him.”
I
hope this recap has been as helpful for you as it has been for me in reviewing
it with you. I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I get to the end of the
page I am reading or the end of an article, a chapter, etc., you know what I mean?
Anyway, when I get to the end point of my reading I often have to go back to
look for key points that I want to remember. I didn't want you o have to go back so hopefully this recap has been helpful
to each of you as well😊
well
I guess we have reached the end of this post. I hope and pray that I have shared
something that has uplifted you in your reading of this post. And as always, I hope
and pray that all of you are healthy and well. Until my next post may each of
you make it a spectacular week😊
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