The Cares of the World

One day last fall, at the end of a work day, I made a list of tasks I wanted to accomplish that evening. Then I said a prayer. During the prayer, I had a distinct impression: set aside the list and visit a friend who was preparing for surgery.

I had a short but meaningful visit with my friend and then went to work on my list. He passed away shortly afterward due to complications from surgery.

As I look back on that evening, I can’t remember a single item from my to-do list. I only remember the visit. I’m deeply grateful for the inspiration to prioritize something of lasting value over fleeting demands on my time.

In His interpretation of the Parable of the Sower, Jesus describes a group of people who fail to nourish a seed representing the word of God because “the cares of the world” strangle and suffocate it. (See Matthew 13:22, Mark 4:18-19, Luke 8:14.) The Greek word for “cares” in this passage is merimna (μέριμνα), which refers to anything that causes anxiety or worry.

How often are we consumed with worry about things that really don’t matter much in the end?

In January 1831, Joseph Smith received a revelation on behalf of a new convert named James Covel. The Lord candidly identified some of James’s weaknesses, even as He spoke positively about his opportunity to serve:

I say unto thee, thine heart is now right before me at this time; and, behold, I have bestowed great blessings upon thy head;

Nevertheless, thou hast seen great sorrow, for thou hast rejected me many times because of pride and the cares of the world.

But, behold, the days of thy deliverance are come, if thou wilt hearken to my voice,

Doctrine and Covenants 39:8-10

One day later, when it had become clear that James would not accept the assignment he had been given, the Lord gave Joseph Smith the following explanation:

The heart of my servant James Covel was right before me, for he covenanted with me that he would obey my word.

And he received the word with gladness, but straightway Satan tempted him; and the fear of persecution and the cares of the world caused him to reject the word.

Doctrine and Covenants 40:1-2

The prophet Alma rebuked people who “are puffed up in the vain things of the world,” people who “have professed to have known the ways of righteousness nevertheless have gone astray, as sheep having no shepherd” (Alma 5:37).

Modern prophets have warned us about the dangers of being distracted by worldly concerns. Elder Neal A. Maxwell observed:

Many individuals preoccupied by the cares of the world are not necessarily in transgression. But they certainly are in diversion and thus waste “the days of [their] probation”

“The Tugs and Pulls of the World,” General Conference, October 2000

More recently, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave the following sobering counsel:

Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. …

Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light. … It comes from paying attention to the divine things that matter most.

“Of Things That Matter Most,” General Conference, October 2010

Today, I will avoid being distracted by the “cares of the world.” I will strive to nourish the word of God, rather than let it be strangled in a thicket of ordinary tasks.