© 1992 Laurie Ashton
Based on an April 1992 Conference talk given by Elder William R. Bradford of the Seventy.
Life is as hectic as usual. The bishop stuck me in this calling in the Relief Society that takes up oodles and oodles of my. I'm still working long hours at my beloved job. I'm taking classes at NAIT, with 2 oral presentations and 3 written reports all due by the end of next week. My apartment is a mess. My sister is sick. Half my friends are having problems with their love lives and I'm busy playing Dear Abby or Cupid half the time. My car is dying and I can't handle it any more. I want my life back!!!
Elder William R. Bradford, in an April 1992 Conference Talk titled "Unclutter Your LIfe", stated:
"A cluttered life is a life that you do not have control of. It is a life in which the things you have surrounded yourself with, and allow to use up your time, are controlling you and negatively influencing your happiness and eternal progress."
Goethe has said, "Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least."
In an article written by Steve F. Gilliland in the August 1987 Ensign entitled “A Matter of Balance: Winning The Decathlon Of Life”, he states that:
Sometimes when others request our help, we are truly stretched beyond our capacity. In such cases, we are justified in saying no. The kindest approach is to acknowledge the need, describe our limits, and kindly decline. Although we often feel inadequate when we cannot say yes to every request of family, committees, or friends, it is better to realize that we don't have the resources to help and say no. What is essential to realize is that when we say no to one thing, we are saying yes to something that may be far more important.”
How do we know whether we are recognizing our limits or just being selfish? As I tried to answer this for, I prayerfully considered President Harold B. Lee's statement, taken from Bishop's Training Course and Self-Help Guide, pp.126, that our priorities should be:
- Spiritual and physical health
- Family
- Church responsibilities
- Career and community responsibilities.
If I am to serve my family and others in a meaningful way, I need to be spiritually and physically fit. In Mosiah 4: 26-27, it says:
I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their want. And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength.”
We frequently surround ourselves with the material things to the extent that we have no time for the spiritual. We can work long hours to the point we have no time for relationships or scripture studying. We can be too tired to get up in time for church. We fill our lives with too many things that take up too much time that crowds out the really important stuff. We must keep in mind that we give our lives to that which we give our time.
Being better organized is nice, but that is not enough. Much in our lives will have to be discarded.
We need to organize and execute around our priorities. There are three basic steps.
- Prioritize
- Organize around these priorities
- Be disciplined to execute around our priorities.
1. PRIORITIZE
We need to develop a list of the basics, a list of those things tjat are indispensable to our mortal welfare and happiness and our eternal salvation. This list must follow the gospel pattern and contain the elements needed for our sanctification and perfection. It must be the product of inspiration and prayerful judgement between the things we really need and the things we just want. It must represent our best understanding of those things that are important versus those things that are just interesting or fun.
2. ORGANIZE AROUND THESE PRIORITIES
Trying to change outward attitudes and behaviours accomplishes little in the long run if we do not examine the basic pattern from which those attitudes and behaviours flow. We need to examine how we use our time: work, ambitions, affiliations, hobbies, and our habits. As we examine our lives, we will gain a better understanding of how we should be spending our time. The way you spend your time is a result of the way you see your time and the way you really see your priorities.
3. BE DISCIPLINED TO EXECUTE AROUND OUR PRIORITIES
Stay with your priorities and organization. As Stephen R. Covey says in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, (1989, pp146, 182.) a centre of correct principles and a focus on our personal objective empowers us with wisdom to make those judgements effectively. We are always saying "no" to something. If it isn't to the apparent things in your life, it is probably to the more fundamental, highly important things. Even when the urgent is good, the good can keep you from your best, keep you from your unique contribution, if you let it.
Do I make time for prayer? Do I actively seek communion with my Heavenly Father? Do I try to communicate with Him spirit to spirit, or am I just doing time? Do I have time for scripture study? Am I really trying to learn my Heavenly Father's will and gospel plan better? Do I follow my Heavenly Father's commandments as best as I understand them? Am I making a real effort to live my life as worthily as I can?
As we make efforts towards becoming closer to our Heavenly Father, we must remember that we have to start where we are. Start by following those commandments that you presently know. As you follow the commandments that you know, you will gain a greater light, a greater understanding. You will learn more about His gospel plan. And as you continue to follow the gospel principles as you learn them, you will become closer and closer to our Heavenly Father and you will become more and more Christlike.
In 2 Nephi 28:30, it says:
“For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom, for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
In Mosiah 4:30, we read:
But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of your Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not. Let us not put off to another day that which is important.
I found a poem that summarizes these thoughts beautifully. The author is unknown.
TOMORROW
He was going to be all that a mortal should be, tomorrow.
No one should be kinder and braver than he, tomorrow.
A friend who was troubled and weary he knew,
Who'd be glad for a lift and who needed it, too.
On him he would call and see what he could do, tomorrow.
And thought of folks he would fill with delight, tomorrow.
It was too bad, indeed, he was busy today.
And hadn't a minute to stop on his way.
More time he would have to give to others, he say, tomorrow.
The greatest of workers this man would have been, tomorrow.
The world would have known him had he ever seen tomorrow.
But the fact is he died and he faded from view,
And all that he left here when living was through
Was a mountain of things he intended to do, tomorrow.
None of the exciting and entertaining and fun things are worth it if they take you off from the path that will lead you back home to our Heavenly Father. I would like to bear witness to you that this gospel is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Contained in it is the fullness of His gospel, everything that we need in order to get back to our Father in Heaven. There is nothing wanting in it. It is perfect. Only as we follow Christ's teaching will we find an abundance of joy and happiness. |
