I visited Crestline Ward this morning to speak on the topic of worthy goals. Crestline is a beautiful mountain town, elevation around 4600 feet. I always enjoy visiting there, and I am grateful to see the friends I have in that ward.
Dear
brothers and sisters, I am grateful to be here to worship with you today. I’m
grateful to be in the most beautiful part of our stake. And I’m grateful for
the associations I have with many of you.
I bring
you love and greetings from President Garvin and his counselors. They love you,
and are mindful of each of you and the challenges you face in your lives.
This is
still a new year, a symbolic time of new beginnings, of refocusing our
priorities and trying to improve ourselves. Resolutions are made and broken in
a long tradition that dates clear back to the ancient Babylonians.[1]
Many of us just hope to remember to write 2018.
Amidst
all these symbolic changes, members of the Church have experienced a very real
change this year as President Thomas S. Monson died, and President Russell M.
Nelson was called as his successor. Having a new prophet is a significant
change for each one of us.
I hope
that all of you had the opportunity to listen to the new First Presidency
introduce themselves on Tuesday morning. If you haven’t, please take the time
to go online this afternoon and listen to the words of our new prophet, Russell
M. Nelson.
I
testify to you that he was prepared and called of God to lead the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at this time.
I would
like to share a portion of President Nelson’s first message to us as our
prophet. After explaining the changes and the process, he gave instruction to
us as members of the Church.
"To
each member of the Church I say:” and whenever the prophet says that, I pay
attention; "To each member of the Church I say: Keep on the covenant path.
Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with him, and then
keeping those covenants, will open the door to every spiritual blessing and
privilege available to men, women and children everywhere.
"As
a new presidency, we want to begin with the end in mind. For this reason, we
are speaking to you today from a temple. The end for which each of us strives
is to be endowed with power in a House of the Lord, sealed as families,
faithful to covenants made in the temple, that qualify us for the greatest gift
of God, that of eternal life.
“The
ordinances of the temple and the covenants you make there are key to
strengthening your life, your marriage and family, and your ability to resist the attacks of the Adversary. Your worship
in the temple, and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with
increased personal revelation and peace, and will fortify your commitment to
stay on the covenant path.
“Now, if
you have stepped off the path, may I invite you with all the hope in my heart
to please come back. Whatever your concerns, whatever your challenges, there is
a place for you in this, the Lord’s Church. You, and generations yet unborn
will be blessed by your actions now to return to the covenant path. Our Father
in Heaven cherishes his children and wants each of us to return home to him.
This is a grand goal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to
help each of us to come back home.
“Our
divine mandate is to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, helping
to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. This we will do with
faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, knowing that he is in charge.”
President
Oaks spoke briefly and pledged his loyalty and support for President Nelson’s
loving and inspired leadership. It was touching to see the bond between these
two Apostles.
President
Eyring spoke of the need for growth in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He said
that “the growth will come as we each pray, work, and live to have the Holy
Ghost as our companion in our lives,” and that the blessing will come as we
“renew and remember covenants we have made in the sacrament and in holy temples
and so have the Spirit to be with us.”
It
touched me deeply when Pres. Eyring said “every association I have had with
President Nelson and President Oaks has increased my ability to remember the
Savior, keep sacred covenants, and find joy in the influence of the Holy
Ghost.” And it made me think, could I ever be that kind of person?[2]
In this
brief 18-minute meeting, I received valuable prophetic counsel: seven
suggestions that I can use as a basis for meaningful, worthy personal goals.
First:
President Nelson advised us to keep on the covenant path, to make and keep
sacred covenants, including the temple covenants of the endowment and sealing.
President Eyring also advised us to renew and remember these covenants, as we
have this morning.
Eternal
blessings were promised to each of us. The most important real-time blessings were
the promised ability to resist the power of the Adversary through our temple
attendance, and the promise of personal revelation through our temple
attendance.
Second:
President Nelson invited us to get back on the path if we have stepped off.
There is always room for anyone who has the courage and the desire to come
back. And if you have already done so, you can testify that this is no easy
task.
Third:
President Nelson reminded us of the divine mandate to help to prepare the world
for the Second Coming of the Lord, which requires faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Fourth:
President Eyring invited us to grow our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through
prayer, work, and living so the Holy Ghost will be our companion.
Fifth:
President Oaks pledged his loyalty and support to President Nelson. Are we
willing to do that as we strive to follow the prophet? Our salvation depends on
it.
Sixth:
President Eyring’s comment on his association with Presidents Nelson and Oaks.
Are we striving to be kind of people who make others want to remember the
Savior, keep sacred covenants, and find joy in the Spirit? I saw that as a
personal challenge.
And
seventh: President Nelson reminded us of the “grand goal of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,” to help each of us to return home to our Father
in Heaven. I’ll say a little bit more about that later on.
These
are prophetic instructions and counsel to each of us, if we will receive it. I
can construct many worthy goals from this to help me to stay on track. And look
at the promised blessings!
The
Savior frequently took time alone to pray and ponder, and to counsel with the
Father. I feel certain that these were times when assignments were given and
reported on. We can follow the Savior’s example by counseling with Heavenly
Father as we set our own goals.
And certainly,
the First Presidency and Apostles have spent significant time this year praying
and pondering, especially President Nelson.
Thirty
years ago, President Monson taught us that “Our responsibility is to rise from mediocrity
to competence, from failure to achievement. Our task is to become our best
selves. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no
failure ever need be final.”[3]
President
Ballard observed that “those who accomplish the most in this world are those
with a vision for their lives, with goals to keep them focused on their vision
and tactical plans for how to achieve them.” He added that “Knowing where you
are going and how you expect to get there can bring meaning, purpose and
accomplishment to life.”[4]
The
Savior’s injunction to “be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven
is perfect”[5]
can seem overwhelming to mere mortals. But if we break it down into steps,
“line upon line, precept upon precept,” it becomes more realistic.
The
Savior himself had to progress a step at a time. In Section 93, we read “And I,
John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace
for grace;
“And he
received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until
he received a fulness;
“And
thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at
the first.”[6]
In
setting goals with an eye on being like Christ, we can break it down into
activities that will help us to be “even as he is.”
As the
First Presidency instructed us this week, making and keeping sacred covenants
is an important part of that progression. So is actively seeking the
companionship of the Holy Ghost.
Even these
goals can be broken down further. Attending sacrament meeting is an important
part of making and keeping our covenants. Since I have become faithful in my
sacrament meeting attendance, now I might set a goal to improve my spiritual
preparation to partake of the sacrament each week.
In my
plan, I could take time during the week to ponder on the sacrament prayers and
reflect on the promises I make each time I partake of the sacrament, as well as
the promised blessings I would like to qualify for. I could make an effort to
be kinder and more forgiving. I could prepare myself for sabbath worship on
Saturday. I could even pray for the speakers to be influenced by the Spirit as
they address us.
Daily
scripture study has been a habit for me for over 40 years, but I have not
achieved perfection in that yet. I look to President Nelson’s example. He
reported that last year, he read, marked and pondered over 2,200 Topical Guide
references to Jesus Christ, and said that he was a changed man because of it.
He reported that he reread the Old Testament with an emphasis on the Lord’s
covenants with the House of Israel. And he reported a depth of study of the
Book of Mormon that I would love to achieve. Sometimes my study is a little
superficial.
Temple
attendance is another area that I can improve upon. And that requires goals and
careful planning.
My
family has been very active in family history work for decades. My dad feels
that there is no realistic chance of my finding any new family names, short of
receiving revelation. So, what should I do? Should I put this responsibility
aside and say my work is done? No! I could assist with my wife’s family
history. And I have been doing indexing, which will help many others do their
work.
These
are just some examples. The real lesson is that the goals must be appropriate
to our individual situations. They should be realistic, and they should not
lead us to run faster than we are able. But they should stretch us and lead us
to grow.
Small,
measurable improvements will keep us on the path (or return us to it) and will
help us to head in the right direction.
In
addition to the spiritual goals, temporal goals are also important. We make
budgets, plan vacations, and try to save for important purchases and events. We
may set career goals and other goals and President Ballard even mentioned goals
for our golf game.
But do
most of our goals have a temporal focus, or a spiritual focus? And why does
that make a difference?
We
should remember that each goal that we set must be compatible with Heavenly
Father’s plan. If it is not, we cannot expect the Lord’s blessings as we set
out to achieve it. We should seek the guidance of the Spirit as we set goals,
and ask for Heavenly Father’s help as we try to achieve them.
Jesus
said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you.”[7]
James
reminds us: “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a
city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
“Whereas
ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a
vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
“For
that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”[8]
James
warns us that we cannot take life for granted. We hope for future events, but
we can’t always be certain. This is another important reason to include God in
our plans.
And
finally, from Nephi, the familiar scripture, “I will go and do the things which
the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto
the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may
accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”[10]
A
highlight of Nephi’s statement was his willingness to go and do. We can never
achieve any worthy goal without effort. But please note that he knew that the
Lord would help him to obey the instructions from the prophet (his father,
Lehi).
We must
put forth effort to achieve our worthy goals. Nothing worthwhile in this life
can be achieved without great effort and commitment. And that can be
disappointing to some who would like to find an easy way to success.
Changing
habits requires a great deal of determination and effort. In fact, when I think
about losing weight, the Savior’s statement comes to mind that “this kind goeth
not out but by prayer and fasting.” [11]
But
seriously, as we try to change habits, or to achieve important goals, or even
our “big hairy audacious goals,” we need to do all we can with the Lord’s help. The prophets have told us that without the
Lord’s help we cannot succeed; but with the Lord’s help, we cannot fail. I
believe that if our goals are aligned with Heavenly Father’s will, and aligned
with his plan for us, we will find this to be true.
The Lord
will prepare a way for us to do his
will. It might not be in the manner we expect; it might require a significant
trial of our faith; it might not even come within our desired time frame. But
if we seek and strive to do his will, we can count on his guidance and
assistance.
Everything
in the gospel of Jesus Christ points to Heavenly Father’s ultimate goal for us:
“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and
eternal life of man.”[12] And
his plan for us to achieve that goal is his Plan of Salvation. This is the
perfect example of a worthy goal, and it should be an example, and the
foundation for all our other goals.
Brothers
and sisters, I testify that our progress is an important part of Heavenly
Father’s plan for our eternal happiness. I testify further that if we will
search the Scriptures, listen to the voice of the Spirit, and follow the
prophet, that we will be able to receive the divine assistance that is so
important in this life.
I know
that God lives, and that he is a loving Heavenly Father. He will bless us as we
include him in our plans, and as we strive to do his will through helping to
perfect the saints, preach the gospel, redeem the dead, and care for the poor.
This I
testify in the name of Jesus, Christ, amen.
[1] Mental Floss Magazine, Why
Do We Make New Year’s Resolutions? http://mentalfloss.com/article/60776/why-do-we-make-new-years-resolutions
[2] A Message from the First
Presidency. Transcript. https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/church/news/2018/01/19/2018-01-1000-a-message-from-the-first-presidency.pdf?lang=eng
[3] General Conference, April 1987.
[4] General Conference, April 2017.
[5] Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 12:48.
[6] Doctrine & Covenants 93:12-14.
[7] KJV, Matthew 6:33.
[8] KJV, James 4:13-15.
[9] KJV, Philippians 4:13.
[10] Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 3:7.
[11] KJV, Matthew 17:21.
[12] Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:39.
