Jesus counseled:
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
3 Nephi 13:19-20; Matthew 6:19-20
What are these treasures in heaven? In 1843, Joseph Smith identified two things we can take with us into the next life: knowledge and relationships.
- “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19, emphasis added).
- “When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves. And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:1-2, emphasis added).
If knowledge and relationships endure beyond the grave, how can we ensure that we are investing in those eternal treasures each day?
A few years ago, I heard a presentation by David Rusenko, founding CEO of Weebly. David said that he and his team had an unusual strategy for sequencing their work. Instead of prioritizing the most important tasks each day, they began with activities that would maximize their learning. As they learned more about what they were building, their perception of which tasks were most important often changed, enabling them to continue their work with a richer perspective.
That approach may be especially vital for a startup facing a huge number of unknowns, but the same principle can apply to all of us. After creating a task list, ask yourself: Which of these tasks do I know the least about? Or what learning activity should I add to the list? It’s tempting to focus on the familiar, but growth comes from stretching ourselves to gain new skills and knowledge.
Another way to look at our to-do list is through a relationship lens. Which activities on our list will strengthen relationships, especially those that matter most? President Thomas S. Monson said, “What is most important almost always involves the people around us” (“Finding Joy in the Journey,” October 2008 general conference). And Elder Clark Gilbert recently counseled young men to prioritize marriage because it will pull them “out of themselves and into something far bigger than themselves, [reducing] excessive time spent on solitary leisure, often linked to depression and social isolation, and [replacing] it with structured, reciprocal commitments” (“Finding the Savior in the Proclamation,” Brigham Young University—Idaho Devotional Address, 23 September 2025).
When I heard Elder Gilbert’s counsel, I recognized an opportunity to realign my own priorities. When I am working on a personal goal, I am sometimes disappointed when an unexpected opportunity for family service arises, demanding my immediate attention. Rather than viewing these events as distractions from my real goals, I would be wiser to view them as an upgrade: a chance to dedicate time and energy to priceless relationships.
Today, I will lay up treasures in heaven by investing time and energy in eternal priorities. I will prioritize learning and building relationships over lower-value activities.
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