hello hello hellooo! How is everybody's weekend going??? Mine is going wonderfully. I am much better now since (a) I've been eating today and (b) there's no seminary so I can sleep in😆
one of the counsellors in our ward's Young Women's presidency asked us to read/listen to a talk given by President Nelson in October of 2019. (ah...when life was simple.) It's entitled "Spiritual Treasures," and I just got done listening to it. I highly recommend you do the same. Even though I'm pretty sure it's from the women's session of general conference, I feel like everybody could learn something from it. After all, what the Lord says to one, He says to all.
so...with that being said, I wanna share my thoughts on the talk. President Nelson pulled a lot of his counsel to the women from section 25 of the Doctrine and Covenants, where the Lord gives counsel to Emma Smith (Joseph Smith's wife). The teachings in this section helped Emma (and can help us) draw the Lord's power into our lives.
One of the things that I wrote down that was said is to "lay aside the things of the world." Am I the only one who thinks extremely drastically when I hear that? "Okay, I've gotta give up everything I like so I can just focus on God's will for me."
Which is great and all, and is probably the ultimate goal, but, uhh...we're humans. We like ultimately worthless stuff. Like sports. And books. And cell phones. And wasting time. And a lot of other stuff that's just so much fun...how the heck are we supposed to lay those things aside??? What's the catch here?
The "catch" is that God knows we're not perfect. He knows that there's a lot of stuff we enjoy right now that won't matter later on in this life (or the next one). And He's okay with this! Because He knows the same thing I know: letting go of some things is how we grow. It's totally okay if you think one thing is super duper awesome and that you will never think otherwise...and then in five years you've forgotten about it completely. That's another one of the things that makes us human! We're forever changing.
Sooo, that's great- can we get back to the point, Emma? How are we supposed to lay aside the things of this world? You said you'd give us an answer...
I did, I did- hold your horses. As I've just clarified, laying aside the things of the world isn't quite so drastic as we can make it sound. It just means laying aside things that prevent us from reaching God's power and everlasting joy, no matter how small those things may be. We can do this by asking ourselves a series of questions:
"Is this bringing the Spirit into my life or driving it out?"
"Is there something better I could be doing other than this?"
"Is this helping me accomplish the work God has for me?"
"Does this bring me joy?"
Really, laying aside the things of this world just means constantly playing a game of "good, better, best" in our heads. This game is very simple to play because it has simple rules: we are here to be happy. We're also here to help God gather Israel. And we're here to keep the covenants He has put in place for us.
So, if you're wondering whether or not something in your life should get kicked to the curb, first ask yourself, "Does this make me happy- really happy?"
If it doesn't, that's a surefire sign it's got to go.
Another key thing to remember is that sometimes God's view of happiness can be much bigger than the world's view of happiness. Sometimes something can make us "happy," but it isn't quite in line with the commandments and covenants God has given us. So the next thing to ask yourself is, "Will this make me happy- really happy- in the long run? Will this help me keep my covenants? Is doing this helping me keep the commandments?"
If the answer is no to any of those, kick it to the curb. Even if it makes you "happy," I can promise you that the longtime joy you will get by not letting that worldly thing into your life will far surpass any short-term "happiness."
I know- I really do know!- that by playing this game of "good, better, best," we make ourselves truly happy. And when we're happy, we're in a better place to do the work God has prepared for us. It's a win-win all around!
Thanks for taking the time to listen to my thoughts! Have a lovely weekend! (Or week, or whenever you happen to read this😆)
oxoxo,
blissfully yours,
Emma (Greenstreet, not Smith)💚🌱
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