I had a great week! First off, at my meeting on Wednesday nights I realized that Spiritual Goals need to be an integral part of my daily, weekly and lifelong plan.
11.18.08 As I was saying, Spiritual Goals are such an important part of using the Atonement Today! Thinking about goals and the Plan of Happiness, I feel like this is Heavenly Father’s Mission Statement:
For behold, this is my work and my glory —to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39 )
I feel the reason my week last week was so good was because I studied the words of the prophets on Monday and Tuesday, I went to my meeting on Wednesday, I went to the Temple for Initiatories on Thursday, I served a lot on Saturday, helping Becky around the house without being asked. This spiritual nutrition invited the Spirit; having the Spirit inspired me to do more. I did more this weekend for Becky and the kids than I probably have in our entire marriage – all because the Spirit was there to guide me and give me ideas.
So, my question to myself is:
How can I hold myself accountable to set and achieve Spiritual Goals every week?
Elder Joseph B. Withlin gave a talk in 2007 titled: Life’s Lessons Learned he talks alot about goal setting and knowing where you want to go in your life.
I urge you to examine your life. Determine where you are and what you need to do to be the kind of person you want to be.
I really feel this is part of the Moral Inventory we’ve been talking about in our meetings. A Moral Inventory is tied to Honesty: honesty with myself, with my family, and with the the Lord. I need to really recommit to continue working on my Moral Inventory and then keeping it up to date. It will helped me stay focused and centered on what’s most important. Elder Wirthlin goes on to say:
It’s easy to get distracted and lose focus on the things that are most important in life…
Create inspiring, noble, and righteous goals that fire your imagination and create excitement in your heart. And then keep your eye on them. Work consistently towards achieving them.
Like I said earlier, "I realized that Spiritual Goals need to be an integral part of my daily, weekly and lifelong plan." If I’m all about setting temporal goals and working hard to achieve them, where is my heart really? What am I giving most attention to?
The Light of Christ helps us to discern right from wrong. When we allow temptations to drown out the still voice of our conscience—that is when decisions become difficult.
Last night, as I took care of the kids while Becky was teaching aerobics and then at book club, I felt something unique. I noticed that my patience were thin with Caleb. I noticed that, probably because I have DEDICATED the appropriate time each day to be "spiritually fed", that Light of Christ, or the Holy Ghost, wasn’t there to calm my impatient temper. As the previous quote states, if I let the things of the world drown out the still small voice, decisions and actions become more difficult.
For the first time in a long time last night, I recognized it directly. If I’m not feeding my soul, the world becomes more difficult to deal with; the challenges of life are more heavy on my shoulders.
…whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man…And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man. (Matt. 7:24,26 )
How do we know if we are wise or foolish? When we hear inspired counsel, we obey. That is the test of wise or foolish.
What does it profit us if we listen to wise counsel and do not heed the words? Of what use is experience if we do not learn from it? What good are the scriptures if we do not cherish the words and incorporate them into our lives?
This reminds me of Doug Manning’s favorite scripture when he went on his mission: "O be wise; what can I say more?" (Jacob 6:12 )
I’m grateful for the coucil of our modern prophets and apostles. I’m grateful how what they teach ties in perfectly with the teachings of the Savior Jesus Christ. I know that as I focus on spiritual things first and set spiritual goals, "all things will work together for [my] good." (Romans 8:28 )
Today will be a great day because of this study!
Sincerely,
Nate
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