All These Things

During a particularly busy time in the life of President Russell M. Nelson, he was called to serve in a challenging and time-consuming leadership position at church. The leaders who invited him to serve said, “If you feel that you are too busy and shouldn’t accept the call, then that’s your privilege.” President Nelson answered that he and his wife had decided many years earlier that they would accept any calling they might receive from God. “We made a commitment” he said, “to ‘seek … first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,’ feeling confident that everything else would be added unto us, as the Lord promised” (Russell Marion Nelson, From Heart to Heart: An Autobiography [1979], 114, quoted in Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Our Heartfelt All,” General Conference, April 2022, footnote 7.)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned His disciples not to let fears of scarcity overcome their willingness to serve God. “Take no thought for your life,” He said, “what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on” (Matthew 6:25, 3 Nephi 13:25). He didn’t mean to say that these temporal needs are unimportant, but rather that we can trust God to help meet them. “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things,” He said (Matthew 6:32, 3 Nephi 13:32). Then came the admonition:

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33, 3 Nephi 13:33

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf explained that much of what makes us busy is included in the phrase “all these things:”

“Spending time with loved ones, going to school or preparing for an occupation, earning a living, caring for family, serving in the community.” He explained that as we prioritize God’s work, everything else will fall into place:

As we seek to purify our lives and look unto Christ in every thought, everything else begins to align. Life no longer feels like a long list of separate efforts held in tenuous balance.

Over time, it all becomes one work.

One joy.

One holy purpose….

When we look at our lives and see a hundred things to do, we feel overwhelmed. When we see one thing—loving and serving God and His children, in a hundred different ways—then we can work on those things with joy.

“Our Heartfelt All,” General Conference, April 2022

Today, I will put God first. I will follow the guidance I receive from Him and contribute to His work with faith that He will help me meet the demands on my time and obtain “every needful thing” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119).