Skip to main content

Time

Time is a mind-boggling concept. The scriptures reveal that our time and God's time are greatly different. We obsess over it, because we know that our earthly time is a gift. Most of us are appreciative of this gift, understanding that each day on earth is precious and can be taken away at any moment. However, with so many distractions and things to do, we usually do not use our time wisely.

The Lord advised us, "Let every man be diligent in all things. And the idler shall not have place in the church, except he repent and mend his ways" (D&C 75:29). We can be more diligent by being better organized, not being lazy, and quitting our addictions to less important things. I believe that last one is vital. Most of us do not struggle with excessive laziness--we are very busy and deserve the few breaks we get. I think the biggest problem we must overcome is dedicating our time to things that don't deserve it.

In Conference of October 1979, before Facebook and YouTube and "Lost," Elder William R. Bradford said regarding time, "If you have a twenty-hour-a-week television habit and would repent and convert it into a gospel-study habit, in one year you could read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the entire Bible. In addition, you could read Jesus the Christ, The Articles of Faith, Gospel Principles, the basic priesthood manual, the basic women’s manual, the basic children’s manual, all three volumes of Doctrines of Salvation, The Miracle of Forgiveness, The Promised Messiah, and Essentials in Church History, and could then reread the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. This would still leave time to read the Ensign, the New Era, and the Friend each month and the Church News each week. This is based on your ability to read only ten pages an hour. The average person can read twenty pages or more an hour. If you are average, this leaves you with ten hours a week to govern yourself in other kingdom-building activities, such as keeping a personal journal, genealogy and temple work, improved home teaching, welfare services, civic and patriotic involvement to protect our freedom, and much more."

What an eye-opening statement! We have no right to complain about diminishing spirituality and happiness when it is a result of our own poor time management. We must give our salvation, which includes family and Church, first priority. This means more than just working on it first; we also have to give it its fair share of time. The scriptures command us to (see D&C 60:13, 2 Nephi 9:27, and D&C 88:124), and we covenanted in the temple to dedicate our time and talents to building up the kingdom. We need to measure an activity's importance by its relevance to that commandment and covenant. If we do, we will find greater peace and enjoyment in life.

Challenge: Find something to help you manage your time better: use a planner, have weekly family council, get up or go to bed earlier, limit your TV or computer time using a timer or alarm clock, pray for strength, etc.
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
i am about to embark on a major shift in time management- some of it due to early church time and other due to request of my presence earlier at work
DAD
January 2, 2010 at 3:01 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New URL Coming Soon To Avoid Using "Mormon"

photo by ilker In light of President Nelson's talk in October 2018 general conference , I will be changing the title and address of this blog very soon to eliminate the use of the word "Mormon." Because I won't be buying a domain name, I don't know what the new URL and blog name will be yet. I'm not very literate in the website world, so please bear with me as I roll out these changes. I'm trying to learn as much as I can quickly to reduce broken links and errors. Thank you, and I hope you keep reading my blog!
Post a Comment
Read more

Little Girls No More

Read this article . And we wonder why girls as young as eleven are losing their virginity and why there are so many sexual predators out there. The company argues the padding is for modesty. On the one hand, that is understandable. My little sister went through puberty very early, and my mom had a hard time finding a little-girl bathing suit that covered my sister completely. On the other hand, if parents are so worried about modesty, why are they letting their little girls wear bikinis, especially if they are starting to blossom at a young age? Why can't little girls just be little girls? They'll have the rest of their lives to be grown women. Childhood lasts only for a brief moment. And once it's over, most everyone wishes at some time or other that they could go back. I apologize this isn't actually a doctrinal post. But this problem of sexualizing our little girls really bothers me. As members of the Church, we must set the example and dress our children modestly fr...
2 comments
Read more

I Am Hannah

lds.org This was the part I wrote for my role in the pageant for our stake women's conference on women from the scriptures and Church history.  I am Hannah, mother of the prophet Samuel, from the Old Testament. I was in a polygamous marriage, and as if that wasn’t hard enough, my husband’s other wife, Peninnah, could have children, but I could not. Peninnah would tease me for being infertile because she was jealous that our husband loved me more than he loved her. Every year we went to the temple. One year, Peninnah was so cruel, I wept bitterly and couldn't eat. My husband tried consoling me by asking, “Am I not better to thee than ten sons?” Of course he was a good husband to me, but the love a woman has for her husband and the love she has for her children are not quite the same, and I wanted to experience that motherly love more than anything. I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I went to the temple alone and poured out my soul in prayer and tears. I vowed ...
1 comment
Read more