Focus and Priorities

We of this generation have been preserved to come forth in this period of time in the worlds history, during the approach of the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord.

Because we have been blessed to live upon the earth at this time, there are certain blessings and advantages which we enjoy. Some of those blessings include:

• Living while the Gospel is upon the earth in its fullness.


• The Priesthood Authority has Been Restored


• Having modern Prophets and Apostles who minister among us today


• The wealth of knowledge that comes to us from the scriptures, especially the increased light and knowledge we gain from our Latter-day scriptures.

We share these gifts with everyone who has taken part in this last dispensation from Joseph Smiths day, until now.

There are many blessings that we enjoy today, that our brethren earlier in this dispensation did not have. We have many modern conveniences and inventions which not only save us time and labor, but which bring vast amounts of information at our fingertips.

A Wealth of Information

Today we live in a world which is literally flooded with information. With the advent of computers, mass storage devices, and the Internet there is more information available the ever before! So much of what we do in our work, at home, and even in the church is based on information, and information technology.

President Brigham Young once said:

Every discovery in science and art, that is really true and useful to mankind, has been given by direct revelation from God. ...We should take advantage of all these great discoveries ... and give to our children the benefit of every branch of useful knowledge, to prepare them to step forward and efficiently do their part in the great work (Deseret News, 22 Oct. 1862, 129).

Information technology has been a great blessing to us. Many of us make our living based upon the collection, processing and analysis of information. For the church, information technology helps to maintain the records of church members, and church units. As the church continues to grow, so will the information processing needs of the church grow as well. In addition, through the Church Web site, we now have access to the scriptures, and all of the general conference addresses and church magazines for the past 30 years! What a wealth of information this is to assist in our gospel study and to help us with talk and lesson preparation as well.

Perhaps one of the greatest impacts of information technology on the mission of the church is in regard to family history research. Think of the records of ancestors, first copied by hand, then microfilmed, then placed on compact disks, and now on the Internet. Instead of having to go to a centralized library to view and research records, now anyone with a computer can access much of the genealogical information possessed by the church. Plans are underway to continue capturing genealogical and temple ordinance information in electronic form, so as to make it as widely available as possible. Software programs that help us collect, organize, and share family history information are also a great boon.

With all these advances in information technology, also comes a responsibility, to use them wisely, and for good and righteous purposes, that will have an eternal impact.

In our efforts to search out information, we can find vast quantities of various kinds. Teachers can download bales of information on any subject. But a bale of handouts can detract from our attempt to teach gospel principles with clarity and testimony. Piles of supplementary information can blur the focus of what we were trying to teach in the first place, and divert students away from prayerfully considering what has been taught, and to apply it in their own lives.

Even good information can have varying levels of importance. Elder Dallin H Oaks stated:

Consider the comparative value today of the advice Brigham Young gave to an audience 140 years ago with what President Hinckley and other servants of the Lord are saying to each of us right now, in this conference. Or compare the value to each of us of some other facts or advice from the distant past with what our stake president said at our last stake conference or what our bishop counseled us last Sunday.
Overarching all of this is the importance of what the Spirit whispered to us last night or this morning about our own specific needs. Each of us should be careful that the current flood of information does not occupy our time so completely that we cannot focus on and hear and heed the still, small voice that is available to guide each of us with our own challenges today. (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Focus and Priorities, Ensign, May 2001, 82.)

Ultimately, the highest priority knowledge is not found through the use of technology. Rather, the highest priority knowledge is what we receive in the temple. That knowledge is obtained from the explicit as well as the symbolic teachings of the endowment, and from the whisperings of the Spirit that come as we are desirous to seek and receive the revelation available to us in that holy place.

Beware of the Dangers

While all of this information can be a great blessing to us, Satan also desires to use these same tools, for his own purposes as well. There is opposition in information technology, as in all things. We need to avoid that which may be harmful. There are those who would seek to destroyfaith, hope, and light and truth. There are those who would seek to degrade us through pornographic images as well. That which was once hidden away under store counters, is now readily accessible, almost without effort, and without having to leave the privacy of ones home or room. The Internet has also facilitates those who would prey upon our children for evil purposes. We need to be aware of these dangers, and take whatever steps necessary to prevent these evils from coming into our homes. These steps can be in the use of filtering and blocking technologies, and perhaps even more important, in the placement of where computers are located. If a computer monitor is located in a place where other family members can easily see the contents of the computer screen, it will greatly lessen the temptation to view those things which are objectionable.

This is not to say technology is bad, or that it should not be used. Only that these technologies should be used with wisdom and care, avoiding that which is evil.

Using Our Time Wisely

We have been discussing some of the modern conveniences we enjoy today, that were unavailable to our brethren earlier in this dispensation. Another great privilege that we enjoy is that we have more time than they did. That may be hard to believe, in our busy world, but lets think about it for a minute.

We have literally been given more time to complete our labors upon the earth. With the advancements in science and medicine (and modern revelation) our life expectancies are more than double what they were in 1830, when the church was organized.

Not only do we have more years in which to live, we also have more discretionary time in each day as well. We have many modern conveniences which allow us to spend our time on pursuits other than the hard manual labor that was required of most people to provide for their families. The nature of their work was physically demanding, such that exhaustion often would set in when they completed their work for the day.

Most of us work in far more controlled settings. Many of us work in climate controlled offices, doing work which is not nearly so physically taxing. For those who work in more physically challenging jobs, there are many workplace rules now in place that restrict the number of hours to be worked, as well as rules to help ensure health and safety in the workplace.

With our increased life-spans, and our increased discretionary time, over that which our forebears enjoyed, comes a greater accountability for how we use the time that we have. Where much is given, much is expected.

We werent given these privileges and blessings so we could just idle away the hours self-indulgently. The Lord has commanded: Thou shalt not idle away thy time (D&C 60:13), and Cease to be idle D&C 88:124.

The Hymn, Improve the Shining Moments speaks the fleeting nature of time:

Time flies on wings of lightning, we cannot call it back. It comes, then passes forward along its onward track. And if we are not mindful, the chance will fade away, for life is quick in passing. Tis as a single day (Improve the Shining Moments, LDS Hymns, no. 226).

Why does it not seemthat we have all of this free time on our hands. The fact is, we have chosen to fill that time with various activities. Have we chosen wisely in how we prioritize our time?

How are we doing on the things in our lives that are really important? The things that will last beyond our mortal lives.
When we make major decisions in our lives, are we seeking for personal revelation, and the guidance of the Spirit? Some of these major decisions in life would include: education, occupation, place of residence, marriage, and childbearing. Some decisions that may seem desirable for mortality have unacceptable risks for eternity. These decisions should be made carefully, and with personal revelation, with all due consideration to what impact of these decisionswill have on our lives, and upon the lives of our family, and posterity to come. Both in the here and now, and throughout the eternities.

When we consider how we use our time and resources, we should also give consideration to what the eternal implications might be from our actions, and the way we spend our time. We may need to re-set our priorities, if we are spending too much of our time for that which will not be of benefit to us eternally.
Lets examine some areas in which we should be devoting our time towards:

Family Relationships. Are we building the kind of relationships we should with our children and our spouse, or do we spend too much of our time transfixed before the television, or surfing the Internet. Is everyone off in their own little world, on their personal computer, personal TV, or Personal Music Player, being isolated from one another, while living under the same roof? None of these things are necessarily evil (although theycan be), but do they seize hold upon us, and divert our attention to that which is trivial and temporal, instead of that which is divine and eternal.

Spiritual Nourishment.Are our diversions keeping us from doing those things which will nourish our spirits, such as: reading the scriptures, attending the temple, and having meaningful prayer.Are we taking time to examine our lives, and giving thoughtful prayer and pondering as to what the Lord would have us do to continue our progression toward him? Do we have a few quiet moments in which the Spirit can speak to our hearts and minds?

Family History. How is our family history work coming along. Do we say to ourselves that we just dont have time for family history at this stage of our lives. What if we carved out just hour or two a week away from our TV viewing, to spend on family history. If we did, real progress could be made over time.

Missionary Work.What about our missionary efforts. Do we know our neighbors by name. Have we reached out the hand of fellowship toward them, even if they are not yet ready to embrace the gospel? We have been commanded to let our light shine before men, that they may glorify, and come unto our Father In Heaven, and his Son. How can our neighbor look to that light, if they dont know who we are?

Home and Visiting Teaching.We have home and visiting teaching families as well. Are we taking the time to visit them each month? If we are visiting them, do we ever think about them between visits? Are they a part of our prayers. Do they know of our love and concern for them, over and above making the obligatory monthly visit?

Magnifying our Callings.What of our church callings? How well are we magnifying and fulfilling those callings? Do we spend the time requisite to properly prepare for our talks and our lessons. Did you think to pray, as you made your preparations? Did you ponder the lesson materials? Did you allow yourself some quiet, undistracted moments to allow the Still, Small, Voice to communicate with you what the Lord would have you teach?

To What Are We Devoted

The truth is, we can tell what our priorities are by how we use our time. That to which we devote our time, is that to which we are devoted.Look at how you spend your time. If you were to analyze how your time used, you would learn rather quickly to what, or to whom you are devoted. Then we can discern if we have set proper priorities for ourselves, or if we might need to us more self-discipline in the way our time is spent. We can determine if our priorities are good ones, based upon their eternal impact.
Based on howwe use our time, you might ask yourself if you are devoted to the Lord, or to some other god. King Benjamin Said:

For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and in tents of his heart?(Mosiah 5:13)

Time, at least in this life, is a scarce resource. Someone has said, Three things never come backthe spent arrow, the spoken word, and the lost opportunity. We cannot recycle or save or borrow time allotted to us each day. With time, we have only one opportunity for choice, and then it is gone forever. Each day is rife with a myriad of decisions and choices. With each choice, we either stay on course, or we are diverted from our eternal goals. Our progress is always moving, it never stands still. Either we are truly pressing forward, with a steadfastness in Christ, or we are not. And if we are not, then we are going the wrong direction, and a course correction isin order.

Dont get me wrong. Im not saying there is not time for diversion, recreation and entertainment. These things all have their place. However, they should not be the dominant pursuits of our lives.

In the end our priorities should rest upon two areas:

1) First we must seek to understand our relationship to God the Eternal Father, and to his Son, Jesus Christ. We need to secure that relationship by entering into their saving ordinances, and by keeping our personal covenants.

2) Second, we seek tounderstand our relationship to our family members, and to secure those relationships by the ordinances of the temple, and by keeping the covenants we make I that holy place.

These relationships, secured by the ordinances of the gospel, provide eternal blessings that are available to us in no other way. No combination of science, success, property, pride, wealth, prominence or power can provide these eternal blessings.

Let us focus on that which is most important. That which will bring us true hope and joy in this world, and a fullness of joy in the next.