For many of our daily activities, we can be successful by simply doing two things: Showing up ("going") Participating ("doing") It sounds simple enough, but how easy is it to avoid attending the activity, going where the action is? And even when we do make it there, how easy is it to be passive and... Continue Reading →
What Are Some Things That I Can’t Delegate?
My question today was inspired by the following passage, which I also quoted in yesterday's post: The keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is... Continue Reading →
How Can I Avoid Distractions?
In Lehi's dream, he first described his own journey to the tree of life, which was a result of his own personal prayers. After he ate the fruit, and found it to be "desirable above all other fruit" (1 Nephi 8:12), he instinctively looked for his family, wanting to share it with them. He saw... Continue Reading →
How Can I Manage Time More Effectively?
We are all stewards of the resources God has given to us. One of those resources is time. I've been thinking today about how I spend my time and how I can make better use of it. Here are some thoughts which were inspired by the Book of Mormon: Don't try to do more than... Continue Reading →
What Is the Meaning of the Phrase “Sufficient Is the Day Unto the Evil Thereof?”
In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded by Matthew, the Savior cautions his disciples against excessive anxiety about the future. You can't serve both God and mammon, He says. Therefore, if you really trust God, you will focus on the present, with confidence that He will bless you in the future... Continue Reading →
What Does It Mean to Be “Easy to Be Entreated?”
After calling the people of Zarahemla to repentance, the prophet Alma traveled to the city of Gideon. He was pleased to find that the people of Gideon had humbled themselves and that they were not in "the state of dilemma" that the people of Zarahemla had been in. "I perceive that ye are in the... Continue Reading →
What Is a “Probationary State?”
When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they became mortal. As the prophet Lehi explained to his sons, everything was static before that time: "If Adam had not transgressed...he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have... Continue Reading →
Upon the Other Plates – 1 Nephi 9:2-4
2 And now, as I have spoken concerning these plates, behold they are not the plates upon which I make a full account of the history of my people; for the plates upon which I make a full account of my people I have given the name of Nephi; wherefore, they are called the plates... Continue Reading →
They Shall Not Occupy These Plates – 1 Nephi 6:6
6 Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men. (1 Nephi 6:6) As the first author in the Book of Mormon, Nephi set the tone for the authors who followed. His instruction to them was that... Continue Reading →
He Left…His Precious Things – 1 Nephi 2:2-4
2 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded my father, even in a dream, that he should take his family and depart into the wilderness. 3 And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him. 4 And it came... Continue Reading →