Do not exceed the time allotted to us

Years ago, I remember Ben Stevenson during a teacher development class. He said that we should not "exceed the time allotted to us". That the attention of those in a class will begin to wander. Better to focus in on what you feel inspired to teach or lead in discussion. When the time is up, close the meeting.

Thank, Ben

What do you really, really want?

My wife was praying tonight that our children would be inspired to do their homework and chores.  A couple weeks ago she said that electronics were no longer available from Sun-Thu.  Now that means no playing Wii, and no entertainment-only flash games on the computer or on the iPad.  Instead, our kids have actually played more with their physical toys.  The problem seems to be that they also have not been as diligent about their chores and piano practice.  Before, we would use electronics as a carrot or a stick for chores or piano practice.  Now that they are off limits, the motivation also seems to be gone.

Two thoughts came to me when I heard her pray.

I remembered this clip from the movie The Count of Monte Cristo. Edmund has been in a political prison for five years when a floor stone pops up and Abbe Faria comes up. He has been in prison for 11 years. For the last five years he has been digging a tunnel to what he thought was the external wall. Abbe had narrowed down the possible directions to the external wall to two and had chosen the wrong one. This is where the clip (0:45-1:30) picks up.

"With two of us, we could dig in the opposite direction. And with both of us together, then of course we could possibly do it in um...oh...8 years. [Edmond laughs] Ohh... and does something else demand your time? Some pressing appointment, perhaps?" Edmund helps Abbe dig for years in return for lessons in reading, writing and more advanced learning.

The second thought was something I learned from "7 Habits of Highly Effective People".   I remembered the difference between dependence, independence and interdependence.  If my children can learn to be independent, for their physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs, they can then freely give of their particular talents and develop more and more talents.  We can join together in a perfect harmony of the music of our lives.  Forever learning new things, sharing what we have learned.  And experience a richness of life we never knew before.

I know that there are many times that I feel how I imagine my children feeling.  That it is not necessarily fun to have to go to work again.  Or have to do my chores.  But what would I rather do instead?  At the end of the next 6 months would I rather have watched 300 hours of TV or would I rather have developed a talent.  Or overcome a weakness or become substantially more like God in any way?

What do I really really want?  Because one thing that I know for sure is that we usually get it sooner.  And it seems we always get it later.

Some pressing appointment, perhaps?

We all have the same amount of time in each day. Each person is equal in this. What is it we use our time for?

I am reminded of a scene in the Count of Monte Cristo. Edmund has been in a political prison for five years when a floor stone pops up and Abbe Faria comes up. He has been in prison for 11 years. For the last five years he has been digging a tunnel to what he thought was the external wall. Abbe had narrowed down the possible directions to the external wall to two and had chosen the wrong one. This is where the clips (0:45-1:30) picks up.

"With two of us, we could dig in the opposite direction. And with both of us together, then of course we could possibly do it in um...oh...8 years. [Edmond laughs] Ohh... and does something else demand your time? Some pressing appointment, perhaps?" Edmund helps Abbe dig for years in return for lessons in reading, writing and more advanced learning.

What does it matter if I decide to take up a project that takes 20 years? As long as it is worthwhile. There is a calculus that occurs in my life whether I want it to or not. I eventually get what I want. The trick is to choose that which will bring lasting happiness instead of only immediate pleasure. 1 2

"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;" D&C 58:27

Thou Shalt Not Idle

Last night my wife was listening to "Righteous Warriors: Lessons from the War Chapters in the Book of Mormon" with our son. John Bytheway quoted Harold B. Lee when he was asked what is the most important commandment. President Lee said that it is the one you are having the hardest time obeying.

I tend to procrastinate. I have found some talks and scripture passages that I hope will help me get moving and stay focused on the most important things.

D&C 60:13 "Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known."

Phillippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

D&C 88:124 "Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated."

Alma 34:31 (Emphasis added.) "Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you."

D&C 128:22 "Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing."

Henry B. Eyring, “This Day,” Gen Conf Apr 2007.

Donald L. Staheli, "Achieving Your Full Potential", CES Fireside for Young Adults, 2 March 2003

Henry B. Eyring, “Do Not Delay,” Gen Conf Oct 1999. There is no mp3 currently available for this talk. I used Freecorder to record the asx file to mp3. Maybe lds.org will make a mp3 format available someday. I have posted the mp3 I recorded on my sky drive and my Google pages account. This part jumped out to me:

We know from our own experience that President Spencer W. Kimball was right when he wrote, “One of the most serious human defects in all ages is procrastination,” and then he defined it: “an unwillingness to accept personal responsibility now” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], 48; emphasis in original). And so Satan works on both our desire to think we have no cause to repent and our desire to push anything unpleasant into the future. He has tempted you and me, and those we love, with thoughts like this: “God is so loving; surely He won’t hold me personally responsible for mistakes which are simply the result of being human.” And then, if that fails, there is the thought that will almost surely come: “Well, I may be responsible to repent, but this is not a good time to start. If I wait, later will be better.”

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"You'll never rise higher in all your lives"

I agree with this

"Behold how great is your calling” (D&C 112:33). How great is your calling! You are not sent here to take pictures. You are not sent here to play. You are sent here to find and teach. That's our opportunity, our challenge, and our responsibility. You'll never rise higher in all your lives than you will do while you are in the mission field. That may sound like a strange thing. I said that once in Argentina many years ago, and about ten years later I received a letter from a young man who said, "When I was on a mission in Argentina, you came there and you put a hex on me. I haven't been able to lift it. I have been no good ever since. I failed in school, I failed in my work, I failed in my marriage." I didn't put a hex on him. I simply told him that he would never stand taller, never rise higher, than while in the service of the Lord, and his subsequent life demonstrated that.

This is the great day of your opportunity to establish within yourselves habits of work that will bless you throughout your lives. Said the Lord, "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you." (D&C 88:67.) If you concentrate on the work of the Lord, if you give it everything you have, your whole body shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you. Gone will be the darkness of sin. Gone will be the darkness of laziness. Gone will be all of these negative things. That's the word of the Lord to you and to me.
(Belgium Brussels Missionary Meeting, June 12, 1996) As quoted in (Gordon B. Hinckley, The Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997, p. 362)

And this

If we want to keep the Spirit, we must work.

There is no greater exhilaration or satisfaction than to know, after a hard day of work, that we have done our best.

I have often said that one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work! If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy. Work, work, work—there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work.

We must not give Satan an opportunity to discourage us. Here again, work is the answer. Missionary work brings joy, optimism, and happiness. The Lord has given us a key by which we can overcome discouragement:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28–30; italics added.)

In the Savior’s time, the purpose of a yoke was to get oxen pulling together in a united effort. Our Savior has a great cause to move forward. He has asked all of us to be equally yoked together to move His cause forward. It requires not only a united effort; it requires complete dependence on Him. As He said to His early Apostles, “Without me ye can do nothing.”

Our work will be light and easy to bear if we will depend on the Lord and work.
(Ezra Taft Benson, “Keys to Successful Member-Missionary Work,” Ensign, Sep 1990, 2)

The Mathematics of the Infinite and Eternal

On the way home from Utah, my wife and I listened to a new album from Kenneth Cope, "All About You". As I listened to the song "Him, and Him Alone", I thought of my calculus classes at Ricks college my freshman year.

How could I think it's mine to merit

Or speak of my share in it

This saving work he wrought alone

I've been a fool to believe I'd earn it

Or suppose I could deserve it

By words and deeds I'd call my own

From this day on

I know I'm saved by Him alone

Comparisons between the infinite and the finite is comparing apples to oranges. Anything that has bounds turns to zero when compared to something that goes on and on. How can my compassion compare to His when my compassion ends with my impatience? Also consider that any compassion I have comes from His grace. All that I have, all that I am comes from God. Anything divine in me comes from Him.

There is another hand. He has said that we are saved by grace after all that we can do, 2 Nephi 25:23. What is all I can do, when compared to His payment for my sin? Amulek said, "there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world", Alma 34:12 (see also 2 Nephi 9:7). If I choose not to accept his sacrifice, He will not force it upon me.

Nephi taught, “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.” (2 Nephi 33:1; emphasis added) Elder David A. Bednar noted the use of the word unto: “Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. … Ultimately, … the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter.” Seek Learning by Faith (Gerald N. Lund, "Opening Our Hearts")

So here is the paradox. God requires that I allow Him into my heart. That I excercise my faith unto repentance. That I allow Him to change my heart from carnal to spiritual. He requires all that I can do. Yet this effort, is insignificant when compared to the saving power He offers. I am saved by Him alone because of this comparison. Yet my effort is not insignificant. If I do not strengthen my faith by my prayers, and good works His saving power is limited.

I believe God will save us from any sin we allow Him to. Be that anger, greed or complacence or impatience. He wants every joy to be ours. If I follow Him, if I ask for His help, He will continue to save me from the sin in me. I will live happily in the uplifting of others around me. By living my life as He would if He lived it. Each day, that is the challenge. To willingly give away my own desire, to do His instead and gain the rewards.

Update 2015-03-12
This article seems to jive with what I believe and seems to explain it from another angle. \
"The Salvation Equation"

Studied and Taught

"Studied and taught" stood out to me as I listened to Mosiah recently. Abinadi used it to describe the focus of the wicked priests and King Noah on iniquity.

And now I read unto you the remainder of the commandments of God, for I perceive that they are not written in your hearts; I perceive that ye have studied and taught iniquity the most part of your lives. (Mosiah 13:11)

I teach my children more by what I do than what I say. Last Sunday our High Councilor told a story. He was doing yard work in his back yard with his little son. He wanted to turn on his sprinkler but the switch for it was on the other side of the lawn. He explained carefully to his son to stay by the house and he would be right back. That way his son would not get wet. Even though he was sure his son understood him, he followed his dad to the sprinkler switch.

Sometimes our kids may not fully understand the consequences when we instruct them with words. Or perhaps our kids love us so much, they want to be with us so they follow. To be sure little children and older and adult children easily see an example. When dad loses his temper while getting the kids ready for church, what is the lesson most impressed on their mind that day? Or perhaps dad has a good day. In spite of the chaos he feels while eating dinner and conducting scripture study, he keeps his cool. He appropriately disciplines his children in a way they feel respected.

He goes the whole evening
governing by kindness and never by force,
All cheering and bright, like the sun in its course;
Obedience will spring from each child with a bound,
And brotherhood flourish the household around

That was a little poetry. We have watched Disney's Movie Enchanted twice so far this week. My wife enchanted me long ago towards happy musicals. "That's How You Know" is a great example of a fun musical number we love. My wife is rubbing off on me.

I can replace taught in the scripture with practiced. If I go my whole life incrementally improving. If I persist in doing good. Be determined in changing my nature by partnering with my Master. My nature will be changed. My hope that I can live the gospel of Jesus Christ will increase. I am gradually gaining "an actual knowledge that the course of life which [I am] pursuing, is according to [God's] will" (Lectures of Faith 3:2-3). I can become a "man who receiveth salvation"

There is a calculus that occurs in my life whether I want it to or not. I eventually get what I want. The trick is to choose that which will bring lasting happiness instead of only immediate pleasure. If I keep practicing good and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I will prevail. He is mighty to save. He has said, "I am able to make you holy" (D&C 60:7) *

Update Feb 2015
This passage brought the lesson of this post back to my mind.

Matt 7:22-23 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

It does not matter what works I do in the name of the Lord if I am studying, teaching, practicing and working iniquity. The spirit will guide me in knowing what that is. I should focus on listening to those whisperings with the intention of following it. Even if it is a stretch for me to do it.