[President
Thomas is Monson] has shown us how to reach out and rescue the one. He has
taught us by example that taking care of people is always more important than
management of time, or meetings, or schedules.
This is our
one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the
greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they
are gone. I believe that among the
greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are
lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I
plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you
plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do
all that you want to do.
“Pay attention to
what the Lord requires of you and let the balance go.” --Brigham Young,
2 Nephi 9:27 Wo unto him that ...has all the
commandments of God...and wasteth the days of his probation.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Good, Better, Best,” Oct. 2007
The number of good
things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things
are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority
attention in our lives.
Some uses of
individual and family time are better, and others are best. 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.
Study the things you
do in your discretionary time, that time you are free to control. Do you find
that it is centered in those things that are of highest priority and of
greatest importance? Or do you unconsciously, consistently fill it with trivia
and activities that are not of enduring value nor help you accomplish the
purpose for which you came to earth?
President
George Albert Smith taught that “we are not here to while away the hours of
this life and then pass to a sphere of exaltation; but we are here to qualify
ourselves day by day for the positions that our Father expects us to fill
hereafter.
HOW TO SET OUR PRIORITIES
We can begin by stripping everything out of our lives and
then putting it back together in priority order with the Savior at the center.
We should first put in place the things that make it possible to always
remember Him—frequent prayer and scripture study, thoughtful study of apostolic
teachings, weekly preparation to partake of the sacrament worthily, Sunday
worship, and recording and remembering what the Spirit and experience teach us
about discipleship.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “The Atonement and Faith,” Ensign, June 2010
We should always put the Savior first. This powerful idea—that we must have faith and put the Lord first in our lives—seems simple, but in practice many find it difficult.
President Brigham Young (1801–1877) gave us some practical advice on how to recognize Him whom we follow. “The difference between God and the Devil,” he said, “is that God creates and organizes, while the whole study of the Devil is to destroy.” 1 In that contrast we have an important example of the reality of “opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11).
Remember that our Savior Jesus Christ always builds us up and never tears us down. We should apply the power of that example in the ways we use our time, including our recreation and our diversions.
I have a
few suggestions that I hope will be valuable to those of you concerned with
balancing life’s demands. These suggestions are very basic; their concepts can
easily be overlooked if you are not careful. You will need a strong commitment
and personal discipline to incorporate them into your life.
First, think about your life and set your
priorities. Find some quiet time regularly to think deeply about where you are
going and what you will need to do to get there. Jesus, our exemplar, often “withdrew
himself into the wilderness, and prayed” (Luke
5:16). We need to do
the same thing occasionally to rejuvenate ourselves spiritually as the Savior
did. Write down the tasks you would like to accomplish each day. Keep foremost
in mind the sacred covenants you have made with the Lord as you write down your
daily schedules.
Second,
set short-term goals that you can reach. Set goals that are well balanced—not
too many nor too few, and not too high nor too low. Write down your attainable goals and work on them according to their
importance. Pray for divine guidance in your goal setting.
ARISE EARLY AND RETIRE EARLY – KEY TO
SUCCESS AND MORE REVELATION
Doctrine & Covenants 88:124 Cease
to be aidle; cease to be bunclean; cease to cfind fault one with another; cease to dsleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may
not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be einvigorated.
Elder Boyd K.
Packer
How
can students increase personal spirituality?
You’ve
got to learn to work. The scriptures tell us to retire to bed early and then to
rise early. Both are very hard for college students — especially if you’ve got
noisy roommates. ... Practice it, and it answers itself.”
Elder Neal A. Anderson in The Voice of the Lord:
Boyd K. Packer said once:
“I heard President Harold B. Lee begin many a statement about matters involving revelation with an expression something like this: ‘In the early hours of the morning, while I was pondering upon that subject …’ He made it a practice to work in the fresh, alert hours of the early morning on the problems that required revelation.
“The Lord knew something when He directed in the Doctrine and Covenants, ‘Cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.’ (D&C 88:124.) …
“I’ve learned the power of the dictum, ‘Early to bed, early to rise.’ When I’m under pressure, you won’t find me burning the midnight oil. I’d much rather be in bed early and getting up in the wee hours of the morning, when I can be close to Him who guides this work” (Teach Ye Diligently [2005], 244–45).
Elder Joe J. Christensen, in “Observing the Laws of Physical Health”
President Romney shared some of his personal experiences from when
he was first called to serve as a General Authority in 1941. He had been
serving as a stake president at the time and had gone to general conference. To
his amazement, he was sustained as a new General Authority—an Assistant to the
Quorum of the Twelve—without his prior knowledge; no one had talked to him
about the calling before the session started. He was shocked and very nervous.
He felt that he needed some advice, so he went to Elder Harold B. Lee, a
relatively new member of the Quorum of the Twelve and a former contemporary as
a stake president.
Elder Romney asked him for advice about how to be successful
as a General Authority.
Elder Lee spoke about the necessity of receiving personal
revelation in order to be effective and said: “If you are to be successful as a General Authority, you will need to
be inspired. You will need to receive revelation. I will give you one piece of
advice: Go to bed early and get up early. If you do, your body and mind will
become rested, and then in the quiet of those early-morning hours,
you will receive more flashes of insight and inspiration than at any other time
of the day.”
President Romney said: “From that day on, I put that counsel into
practice, and I know it works. Whenever I have a serious problem, or some
assignment of a creative nature with which I hope to receive the influence of
the Spirit, I always receive more assistance in the early-morning hours
than at any other time of the day. Following that counsel has helped me a great
deal through the years.” In my own
life, I also know that is true.
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