What Matters Most

Christmas presents us with the opportunity to more easily remember what is truly important in our lives. But then the time comes when we have to go back to normal life once again - bid farewell to the family that we've traveled to visit and go back to work and the regular routine.

It's important to make the most of the regular routine because it is, in fact, regular. We make the most of it by remembering what matters most in our lives. During the holidays we were (hopefully) able to put our focus on what matters most to us, and we now have the opportunity to maintain that focus as much as possible. As we make the effort to give God and our loved ones the time they need, and that we need to give, Father in Heaven will make us more able to give of that time. And thus will our lives be enhanced, as we find joy from being able to spend time with the people who are truly important to us.

I realized that this is very similar to my last post - I suppose it's been on my mind lately. There are more and more things to distract us from the important, and it will only become more difficult to maintain that they are only things, and at most a means to enable us to spend our energy on the important.

Spirit of Christ

The older one becomes, the more one grows to understand what is truly important to himself or herself. When I was younger, the biggest thing about Christmas was the presents that I received. I had the joy of being able to spend Christmas this year with some of my siblings and their families, and it was glorious. I didn't receive much by way of presents, but the presents I did receive were more than enough, because just spending time with them was the important thing. 


Where do I spend my time and energy? Do I focus my life on the things that are truly important to me? If someone asked me what is most important in my life, I would readily tell them that my God and my family are the most important to me. But is that where I focus the majority of my time? Right now, it's not possible for me to spend the majority of my time with God and family, because work and school simply take a lot of time. So that is something I need to work out, to make the most of the time that I do have available for God and family.


I'm grateful for the perfect example of my Savior, Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. He understood what was most important, and placed His efforts appropriately (see Luke 10:38-42). I believe that He rejoices when He sees us focus on that which is important to Him - those things of eternal significance. 

What Am I Thankful For?

I love Thanksgiving. The holiday itself is wonderful for the time it allows for loved ones, the food and the break from school. But most importantly for the reminder that we have so much to be grateful for. I love how King Benjamin puts it in the Book of Mormon:

I say unto you ... that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has gratned that ye should live in peace one with another--
I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another--I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

Mosiah 2:20-21

King Benjamin goes on to explain that all God asks of us is to keep His commandments, and when we do so He immediately blesses us, so that we are in debt to Him again. His point is that we have no room to boast of ourselves, but only to be full of gratitude for all He has done and continues to do for us.

There's so much I'm thankful for. On the top of the list is the knowledge I've been given of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I've come to know my Father in Heaven and the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son far better than I otherwise could, if I did not have the words of the prophets He has sent both in ancient and modern times. I'm also grateful for my family, and knowing that I can live with them throughout eternity. That understanding has helped us to work harder on our family relationships now, because we know it is an eternal investment. There are many more items on my list, but I'll keep it at that for now.

The Holy Scriptures: A Catalyst for Revelation

I love studying the scriptures. I love to do so because they are the direct word of God, and learning His word is a wonderful experience. Another reason I love studying the scriptures is because doing so gives Father in Heaven an opportunity to speak directly to me. Or rather, doing so puts me in the correct frame of mind so that I may receive the revelation He wants to give me.

Earlier this week I was asking Him for help with a particular matter, and He answered with the simple thought, "Alma 32," which is found in the Book of Mormon. Now, I've read this chapter perhaps hundreds of times. It contains a beautiful allegory on faith, comparing it to a seed which must be planted and nourished in order to grow. I decided that even though I was very familiar with the discourse, I should read it again and see if I could pull anything new out of it.

Father in Heaven taught me a great deal as I read the chapter this time. I didn't learn any new principles or doctrines - they were all just as I had understood them before. But I had never before applied them to the question I then had at this particular time, and it turns out that they were extremely applicable. I was filled with gratitude for the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it applies to every aspect of life. But I was even more grateful for my Father's love for me and being willing to teach and comfort me. He wants so badly for us to learn of Him so that we can become the type of people that can return to live with Him again. The scriptures, His word, provide such an opportunity for us to learn His ways and His doctrine, but perhaps more importantly they provide the opportunity for us to feel His love as He gives us very personal and direct revelation.