Reflections on a New Year

With all the concerns we have in our lives, a new year is a good time to regroup and make plans. Everyone is worried about the economy, energy, health, politics, and numerous other issues. Instead of worrying yourself sick, think of things that you can control and make changes that will improve your life. This is, of course, easier said than done, but it is worth the effort. I'm certainly not perfect at making needed changes, but at least I keep trying! And instead of thinking of this post as the same old, same old, think of it as a reminder of your possibilities.

Regarding the economy, this is a good time to make needed personal changes. We all have places we can cut back on our spending and start saving a little more. Opt for free or low cost entertainments. Spend more time at home with the family. Cook at home instead of eating out. See if you can store a little extra food (rotating it so it doesn't get too old) and other household items. Try to drive a little less to cut gas expense. If you have debts, work a little harder at paying them off. Discuss these changes and enlist your family's support. You can let the kids have some input, but remember that you're the parents and can set the limits and guidelines. If it's just you, well, your inner parent will just have to be firm with your inner child!

As for health, if we can make changes that will improve our health, we'll have fewer medical expenses down the road. Many types of exercise are free--walking, riding bikes you already have, using exercise equipment you already have, working out with videos/DVDs you already have, etc. For nutrition, we can cook more of our meals to cut back on salt, fat, and calories. Buy fewer processed foods and cook more "from scratch". Again, enlist the family in your efforts. Teach the kids to cook. Teach them about nutrition. You can still eat your favorite foods, just make little changes to make them a bit healthier.

Spend time improving your spiritual life, too. This can go along way in supporting your efforts in other areas. Keep an eternal perspective and remember that this life isn't all there is and material items aren't all that important in the grand scheme of things. Pray and read the scriptures daily to keep close to God and to remember what life is really all about. You'll also get a lot of inspiration for handling your problems.

You'll be able to think of many more areas of life that you can improve. Make it fun and interesting. Look on changes as opportunities and adventures, rather than punishments or deprivations. Set priorities so that your time, effort, and money is going for things that are important to you and your family. Don't neglect service and charity. Even if you have to cut back on those things that cost money, do what you can to help others. This will help your own perspective and will help you look outward as well as inward.

You don't necessarily have to make a list of new year's resolutions, or start things on January 1 (good thing, too, since today is the 2nd!). You also don't have to overwhelm yourself by trying to work on everything at once. You could choose one thing to work on in January, then add another in February, and so on, through the year and beyond.

I'm writing this post as much for myself as for others, so I have my work cut out for me. I hope we can all look at each day as a fresh start. President Hinckley always encouraged us to be a bit better each day. That is very much within the grasp of each of us, no matter what our circumstances are. Happy New Year!

Moderation?

In the October 1994 Ensign Elder Dallin H. Oaks has an article that is excerpted from a speech he gave. It is titled, "Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall". A couple of paragraphs caught my eye:

As I conclude, I need to caution myself and each of my readers that the very nature of this message could tend to the same downfall that it warns against. The idea that our strengths can become our weaknesses could be understood to imply that we should have “moderation in all things.” But the Savior said that if we are “lukewarm,” he “will spue [us] out of [his] mouth” (Rev. 3:16). Moderation in all things is not a virtue, because it would seem to justify moderation in commitment. That is not moderation, but indifference. That kind of moderation runs counter to the divine commands to serve with all of our “heart, might, mind and strength” (D&C 4:2), to “seek … earnestly the riches of eternity” (D&C 68:31), and to be “valiant in the testimony of Jesus” (D&C 76:79). Moderation is not the answer.

How, then, do we prevent our strengths from becoming our downfall? The quality we must cultivate is humility. Humility is the great protector. Humility is the antidote against pride. Humility is the catalyst for all learning, especially spiritual things. Through the prophet Moroni, the Lord gave us this great insight into the role of humility: “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27).

The entire article is, of course, a good read and will give you a lot to think about, but these two paragraphs made me stop and think. In many cases, moderation is advisable, but, as Elder Oaks points out, that isn't always the case. There are times to be valiant and strong and committed--particularly in being committed to the Lord.

Elder Oaks does cover a number of things that can be done over-zealously, such as gospel hobbies, excessive giving, excessive service, and so forth. However, backing off of unrealistic behaviors doesn't mean that we should back off of our committment to Jesus Christ.

I liked what Elder Oaks said about humility being the answer to avoiding letting our strengths become our downfall. If we are humble, we are teachable and not prideful, and are open to letting the Holy Spirit guide us in the way the Lord would have us go.

It's an interesting puzzle--how to be committed to the Lord and yet not go overboard in some of the outward behaviors. I think this article/speech is very good in bringing to the fore some of the things we ought to consider.

Maybe it's just me, but it did seem that the article is out of order--that the first section and the last should be reversed, but it is nevertheless good reading.

Commitment

How do we become committed to the gospel so that we are fulfilling our callings, sharing the gospel, serving others, showing up for activities, and so forth? I have been surprised to learn that some of the young women in our ward won't commit to a meeting or activity even just two days ahead of time because they "don't plan that far ahead." Sometimes teachers just don't show up on Sunday. Is that because people like to leave their options open in case they want to sleep in or something "fun" comes up to do instead? Is it poor planning, or no planning? Poor time management?

An eternal perspective and regular prayer and scripture study can help one realize the importance of the gospel and help one to set priorities. Still, we have to want to do those things and put our lives in order. We have agency and choice. So what do we do to want to commit and to make good choices?

I think about what Alma said about faith in Alma 32. He talked about nourishing even just the desire to believe and encouraging it to grow. That is what we can do about commitment--nourish even just the desire to be a committed Latter-Day Saint. The prayer, scripture study, and being open to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost can give us the knowledge about the gospel that we need in order to be committed to it. Perhaps, too, we need to teach ourselves and our children to make and keep commitments even in small everyday ways. We can commit to daily prayer and scripture study, commit to do our daily chores, commit to go to work or school or church, or other routine matters in our lives. How well do we already keep such commitments? Can we do a little better?

Do we need to learn how to manage our time better? Maybe we just need to sit down and think through a day or a week and make some notes to ourselves about what we need to do and when.

Those things will help with the mechanics of commitment, but ultimately we need to learn to know and trust our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we grasp the importance of commitment and of what we should commit to.

I don't have all the answers and I am certainly far from perfect, but it concerns me that people today don't seem all that committed to things. What do you think would help turn this around?