We are already a week into the new year. How are you doing at keeping your New Year’s resolutions? Have you started yet, or are you putting them off until ‘tomorrow’? Some resolutions may not matter, but others may well have eternal consequences.
The first Priesthood/Relief Society lesson from “Teachings of the Presidents of the Church” is entitled “To Live With Him Someday.” President Kimball discusses the things we need to do to return home to our Heavenly Father. As I studied the lesson, one of President Kimball’s quotes stood out in my mind.
One of the most serious human defects in all ages is procrastination, an unwillingness to accept personal responsibilities now. Men came to earth consciously to obtain their schooling, their training and development, and to perfect themselves, but many have allowed themselves to be diverted and have become … addicts to mental and spiritual indolence and to the pursuit of worldly pleasure.
Procrastination. What a human vice. Over and over we procrastinate performing unpleasant tasks. If tasks are tough, habits are far more difficult to change, and thus far easier to put off. After all, it is harder to change a single bad habit than to fold a load of laundry or weed the garden. And yet, our habits are most often more crucial to our eternal lives, and relate more to our relationships. If the habits are good, such as consistent scripture study, they will yield positive results. But if our habits are bad, such as swearing, yelling, lying, or consistently missing church, they will only hurt us and those we love.
A quick trip to the Topical Guide in the scriptures reveals what the Lord has to say on the subject – and believe me, he has a lot to say. A few scriptures in particular stood out to me, and I would like to share them with you.
My favorite of the ones I explored came, of all places, from Psalms. Turn with me to Psalms 119:58-60. I love how the author explores the way he changed his bad habits.
First, he knelt in prayer and asked for the Lord’s help. He knew that, to overcome the natural man he struggled against, he would need the help of his Heavenly Father. He himself would have to do the legwork, would have to sincerely strive to make the necessary changes, but God himself would help if asked. I have frequently used this when I am making changes. Frankly, when I am trying to eliminate a bad habit, I tend to forget over the course of the day. I neglect the small and simple steps that are a vital part of the reform. In short, the hustle and bustle of daily life makes it difficult to remember what I am trying to accomplish. And so I ask the Lord for his help to focus on the transformation I am trying to make. If perhaps those changes don’t leap readily to mind, then I ask the Lord to help me determine what adjustments I need to be making to draw myself closer to him.
Next, the Psalmist “thought on (his) ways”; that is, he considers what actions he has been taking that lead him into sin, what habits he has developed. Perhaps he considers what sort of thing triggers those reactions. If his sin is neglecting to read the scriptures, perhaps he (or she, in my case) realizes that his children are the problem, and decides to read before or after bedtime (okay, the Psalmist probably didn’t, but we can). If his sin involves raucous behavior, perhaps he realizes that he engages in it primarily with a select group of friends. And so forth. The point is, he first thought about what it was that led him to wrongdoing.
Next, he “turned (his) feet unto thy testimonies”. I envisioned a literal turning of the physical body away from sin and towards the Lord. He completely changed the direction his life was going.
The last verse, verse 60, was the part that the topical guide referred to as ‘procrastination’. Once he had prayerfully considered his sins and his actions, once he had firmly turned towards the Lord, he “made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.” There was no dillydallying, no wishy-washy attitude. There was no procrastination. There was only firm, solid, immediate commitment.
I flipped next to 2 Nephi 28:7-9, where those who live in sin assume that God “will justify in committing a little sin.” My first intention was to scoff. Then, as I analyzed my life, I wondered if I might take that attitude at times.
When I look at my life in general, it is impossible to not be overwhelmed by the numerous things that I am not doing, not to mention the ones I am doing wrong. I am not doing much with my genealogy, despite a sincere love for and desire to do it. I justify this with the excuse that I have small children. I am not focusing on food storage right now, because we have just moved into a 36’ motorhome, and I am trying to get things organized and set up, and basically find room for foodstorage. When I lived near a temple, I was lax in my temple worship – I blamed babysitting issues for this – and now, although it rates highly on my ‘to do’ list, I first have to figure out how, precisely, to do it. I’m not doing splits with or even feeding the missionaries, though I am hoping that might change when the weather improves and I can feed them outside. I have to work on my temper. I have to work on my attitude. And so on.
My first thought as I studied was, well, the Lord understands that I am not superwoman and can’t do everything at once. But then I began to question whether this was not a form of saying that the Lord will justify a little sin (though many of these are sins of omission, not commission).
The conclusion I came to was that the Lord expects us to be working on these things, but that we are to balance them. Elder M. Russell Ballard gave a wonderful talk on balance and prioritizing during the last General Conference, one that I thoroughly enjoyed and took a lot from. And so I looked at my life in general. I realized that, as I become aware of sins, whether of omission or commission, I prioritize them and give them the appropriate amount of energy. Right now, I have taken a renewed focus on detailed scripture study and sincere and earnest prayer, with the belief that these will most help me make other needed changes. Next on my list is my attitude, primarily where it affects my husband and children. These three things require the majority of my energy.
As for the rest – I’m working on them to varying degrees. I do what genealogy I can online, in what free time I have. I am working to pay off our debts so that, in the next few years, I can order the actual records as needed – part of the reason we are living in the motorhome. I am hoping to feed the missionaries as our situation changes. I am talking to sisters in our branch to see how they are handling visiting distant temples. I try to fellowship the folks that the sister missionaries bring to church, and to keep an eye out for possible visitors. And so forth. In each case, as I become aware of a particular sin, I try to find a way to improve slightly when I can’t make major efforts. I keep these things in my prayers so that, as my situation changes, I can change with it.
We read so many warnings about how we ought “not procrastinate the day of (our) repentance” (Alma 13:27) because “no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son” know when Christ shall come again (Mark 13:32). Nor do we know the hour of our death. As you study President Kimball’s lesson this week, consider what aspects of your spiritual improvement you might be procrastinating, and resolve to change and improve them.
Related Articles:
RS/EQ: The Life and Minisistry of Spencer W. Kimball
Do Latter-day Saints Need New Year’s Resolutions?
General Conference: “O Be Wise” (A summary of Elder Ballad’s talk)