Which Is The Way We Ought To Go?

I have found many times that the most successful ventures we have in life are those we take the time to plan and prepare for.  We can plan for homework; we can plan for our days.  Planning is a principle for us to find success in our lives.  It is when we neglect to plan that the hopes and aspirations we have are not able to come to fruition.  Planning is nearly impossible if we do not have a goal or objective we are planning for.  I feel many times planning helps us to realize the goals we have and helps us focus on achieving them.

I am reminded of Alice from Alice and Wonderland by Lewis Carroll:

"Cheshire-Puss," she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider.
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where---" said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
"---So long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

As the Cheshire cat says, when we don’t care where we are going “it doesn’t matter which way we go.”  Does each of us know where we are going in our lives?  Do we know what our purpose is and are we planning on going there?

Better Than Digging Diamonds

Looking back on myself ten or twelve years ago, I wonder what my past self would have thought if I knew some of the things I value now in my life.  One in particular is maintaining a clean living place.  I know for a fact I am able to work harder and more effectively as I keep the things around me clean and organized.  I know the habits I have developed come mostly from the persuasion, perseverance and diligence of my Mom.  Just about every Saturday growing up, before we were allowed to do any other activities, my Mom would give each of us some chores we had to do.  While it is something I value now, it often seemed more of punishment growing up and nearly impossible to get everything done in one day.  Now, I think I could have gotten many of the things done in 30 minutes if I had really just started working on it.  As it was, it usually ended up taking me all of the morning and most of the afternoon as I would drag my feet with everything I did.  I very much appreciate my mother having the patience and dedication to help instill in us these habits.  I am sure it would have been easier for my mom to just do everything herself, but because of her taking time to do the extra work, I have found the value of working. 

I have found with many things in life, we seldom value things as much as when we have taken the time to work for them.  Learning to develop a habit of working is vital to us finding lasting satisfaction, joy and peace in this life.  In a recent conference address, Elder Christofferson talked about the value we can find in our own lives from work – “Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self-worth.  Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and God.”  I know many times we think how nice it would be if we could just spend a day doing nothing.  But take some time to remember how you feel on those days.  As we take time to do nothing, many times we feel like nothings.  As we learn to work, we learn to achieve, and as we achieve we can find value in our lives. 

With work, I am reminded of the Seven Dwarfs from the Disney Classic Snow White.  As they work, they sing this song;

A Goal in the Hole

I have really enjoyed the Christmas Holidays!  As a missionary I feel it has been an exceptionally blessed time for me as everything has seemed so much more simplified.  I have not had to worry about getting gifts or decorations or any of the usual things which come with the season.  But I feel it has been a very blessed time for all of us here to experience a little more what the real meaning of the Christmas Season is.  It has led me to ponder a little more about the future, it seems this Christmas season I have gotten a lot of warnings about preparing for the future, and establishing a sure foundation on Jesus Christ as the scriptures teach us.  Even the board game my parents got for us to play here seems to teach this principle.

The game is called “Feast and Famine.”  It is basically playing out part of the story from Joseph and the Old Testament.  The first part of the game players are trying to collect pieces and tokens during a time of plenty to prepare for the impending famine.  The next half, players try and use the preparation they have done to save the house of Israel.  As is logical, the person who has acquired the most in the first round is able to be most successful in the second round, it is about preparing and planning ahead.  While the game is quick and fun, it has led me to think about how we can establish a sure foundation for the hard times in our lives. 

An Incredible Introduction

So . . . recently we got a new addition to the referral center mission!  This is Elder Ahlstrom whom I am privileged to be working with now. He is an awesome missionary, and I love working with him.  With the recent changes we have had and with the inspiration from General conference I have found it a good time to make some changes and set some goals.

Learning to set and work toward goals is a practice I think which can bless and help us throughout our lives.  As we learn to set a goal for something higher, and then as we make the effort to work toward them I think we are able to find those things which help to stretch and grow our character.  Some goals I succeed at, others have stagnated or passed by.  Having a goal to get straight A’s in High School is great . . . but having a plan to actually sit down and take the time to study I think would have helped me a lot more.  As I have been here as a missionary I have learned as we set goals, with every goal we need to develop a plan for accomplishing our goals.  As we have larger goals, we set smaller goals to work toward them.  We have the Ultimate Goal of helping people find a testimony on their own.  We start a testimony through first doing little things.  We need to pray to God, we need to read His words in the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  We need to go to church.  As we make the small steps God is able to help lead us, and help us know what changes we can continue making through our lives to find the church is true.  I talked a little about this in one of the Prezi presentations I made; The Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know Jesus Christ lives, I know He loves us, and I know He blesses us as we make the time to come closer to Him in our lives.