Goals

I make goals three times a year: On January 1st, and at the two General Conferences http://lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng.  Always, one of my goals on Jan. 1st is to read through the scriptural book that is being studied in Sunday School; for example, this year the church has been studying the New Testament in the Bible, so I am reading it.  I have a reading schedule in the front of my scriptures telling me how many pages I need to read daily in each book to finish it by a year's end.

Making goals at conference times has something that has just come to be as I have grown to love Gen. Conference so much over the years.  It is a natural result of hearing the inspired word of God that one feels inclined to change for the better. 

This year I have decided to add a goal because of this Book of Mormon Forum.  I have enjoyed picking apart Alma 37:36-37 so much, that I have decided to pick a scripture at conference time and memorize it, and "work on" that scripture for six months.  Here is my picture of it again!

This picture is currently on my phone as my background to remind me of it.  I LOVE this scripture.  So I will explore it until April 2012, the next General Conf at which time I plan to pick a new one.

LOVE IT!!  LOVE MY NEW GOAL!!

(Sorry--I am subject to occasional outbursts of enthusiasm...)  But I really do love this new thought. =)

Of course I will blog about other scriptures here, but not today.  Because I have a new thought on one of the lines in this scripture: "Yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest, let it be in the the Lord."  I blogged about this a few posts ago, and analyzed the word "let."  But since then I've examined a few other words: unto, and in.

"Let all your doings be unto the Lord" made me think of Matthew 25:40: 

"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

All my "doings" in this sense might be "unto the Lord" in this way, that my service to anyone and everyone is service to the Lord.

The next line, "Let it be in the Lord" helps me think that where ever I go, I need to have His Spirit with me--the Holy Ghost.  I will be "in" the Lord if I am in His Spirit.

Well, one final thought, and it has made a huge impact on my mind:

Since I have started this challenge, I find that I have more love in my heart for everyone.  It has been a huge blessing to look around at people and feel increased love for them.  There are some who I have felt don't like me much, and I have been able to get past the hurt and feel love now for them anyway.  I've been able to forgive the unkind words of a stranger in the store without dwelling on them.  Most importantly, our family harmony has increased, and we feel the love of the Lord more strongly in our lives.

This is something to be truly thankful for!