TODAY IS THE DAY

I plan to catch up on our Christmas happenings soon, but in the meantime I thought I'd share what I spent some time working on last week.

"Do what is right, the day-dawn is breaking. Do what is right, angels above us are silent notes taking. Do what is right, chains of the bondsmen no longer are bright. Do what is right, eyes that are wet now ere long to be tearless. Blessings await you in doing what's right."

We all have things we need to stop doing and other things we need to start doing in our lives. Why is it we sometimes struggle with doing or hesitate in doing what's right? After studying and pondering this topic, I've come up with a few common excuses and some rebuttals from others wiser than I.

Excuse #1-I cannot do what is right today, because now is not the time. We could be caught in the mindset if we are young, that we can always do it later. Or if we are busy, when can do it when our children are older or our jobs are less demanding. Or if we are older, we could think we've already done enough or its too late to start. So now is not the time.

Answer-Actually it is.

Days are like many things we have that are taken for granted, they are gifts. We don't know how many are left and we don't know what is coming.

Elder Gonzalez of the Presidency of the Seventy has said, "We don't know when or how earthquakes will hit us. They likely won't be literal shakings of the earth... but rather quakes of temptations, sin, or trials, such as unemployment or serious sickness. Today is the time to prepare for when that type of quake comes. Today is the time to prepare-- not during the crisis."

Because days are gifts they come with responsibilities, despite our circumstances. If we don't act today, we may miss opportunities that may never come again. Opportunities to serve someone, teach our children, get something out of a lesson.

There are times when I can be lazy and think today I can be frustrated or angry and just go to bed-- tomorrow I will feel and do better. But after studying this, I realize that I would be full of sorrow to stand and tell the Lord that I missed a chance to lead my children aright or strengthen my marriage because of emotions. Or that I didn't hear a message intended for me because I was unprepared to hear it.

Consider the following quote from Elder Marvin J. Ashton, "Wishing things were different in our lives, or waiting for a roadblock to be removed or an attitude altered, can cause us to mark time rather than to move forward straightway. William Shakespeare wrote, 'Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.' "

Now may not be the ideal time, but now is the time to try.

Excuse #2- I cannot do what is right today, because it is too hard.

Answer- It is supposed to be. That is part of the plan.

President Henry B. Eyring teaches us, "God's purpose in creation was to let us prove ourselves... The temptation to delay comes from our enemy, Lucifer", which has been seen throughout many generations.

Elder Neil L. Andersen, "To change is difficult. It requires running into the wind, swimming upstream."

It might be hard to ask for forgiveness, embarrassing to admit a wrong. We could be scared of the consequences or paralyzed by past mistakes not believing we have been forgiven. Hard as these things may be, it is actually harder to keep on in disobedience.

President Erying teaches us this when he states, "The truth is today is always a better day to repent than tomorrow. The very faith we need to repent is weakened by delay. The choice to continue in sin diminishes our faith and lessens our right to claim the Holy Ghost as our companion and comforter." "Hard as things seem today, they will be better in the next day if you choose to serve the Lord this day with your whole heart."

We can also find comfort in the words of the scriptures. The following are found in Nephi and Alma in the Book of Mormon, "...know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the things which he commandeth them","He may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

We can do hard things in the Lord, he will help us. We should not forget what Moses teaches us by example when he personally confronts Satan (which I'd say is a hard thing),"Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten, and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee? Get thee hence, Satan."

There is great power in recognizing and remembering who we are, children of God. As we draw on that knowledge in our decision making, we will find the strength and confidence we need to do hard things.

Excuse #3- I cannot do what is right today, because I am tired of trying. When I do, I feel like I am not getting anywhere. Sometimes I don't feel much different.

Answer- Be patient. It takes time and effort.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught, "We don't acquire eternal life in a sprint-- this is a race of endurance. We have to apply and reapply the divine gospel principles. Day after day we need to make them part of our normal life. Too often we approach the gospel like a farmer who places a seed in the ground in the morning and expects corn on the cob by the afternoon. When Alma compared the word of God to a seed, he explained that the seed grows into a fruit-bearing tree gradually, as a result of our "faith, and [our ] diligence, and patience, and long-suffering. "

Consider the following from Elder Andersen, "Repentance is more a journey than a one-time event...Forsaking requires time...Sometimes in our repentance, in our daily efforts to become more Christlike, we find ourselves repeatedly struggling with the same difficulties. As if we were climbing a tree-covered mountain, at times we don't see our progress until we get closer to the top and look back from the high ridges. Don't be discouraged. If you are striving and working to repent, you are in the in process of repenting."

Personally one of my struggles is while caring for young children and their literal round-the-clock needs, is finding, making and/or taking time to be holy each day. Even on good days when I seek the Lord early, I can still be impatient or get discouraged by the end of the day. I can sometimes forget what I may have felt or learned earlier in the morning. One day when expressing these concerns to my husband, he reminded me that even when we feel our efforts are unsuccessful, we are still blessed for being obedient. As I've continued trying, I have found that to be true. We need to remember to "Do what is right; let the consequence follow." That means good consequences too.

Excuse #4- I cannot do what is right today, because I have many things to improve and so many things I want to do. I don't know where to begin.

Answer- Fear not. You are already in the right direction.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen of the Seventy has said,"If you have problems in your life, don't assume there is something wrong with you. Struggling with those problems is at the very core of life's purpose. As we draw close to God, He will show us our weaknesses and through them make us wiser, stronger. If you're seeing more of your weaknesses, that just might mean you're moving nearer to God, not farther away. "

Most are familiar with the story found in Luke, when the Savior visits the sisters Mary, who "sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word", and Martha who was "cumbered about in much serving" and was "troubled". In this story, the Savior instructs Martha (and all of us) to follow the example of "Mary (who) has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Sister Bonnie D. Parkin, who was serving as the General Relief Society President at the time said, "Like Mary, I hunger to feast at the Savior's feet, while, like Martha, I need to somehow find the laundry room floor, empty my in-box, and serve my husband something other than cold pizza. I have 15 grandchildren whose tender little spirits and daily challenges I want to better understand, yet I also have a slightly demanding Church calling! I don't have lots of time. Like all of you, I have to choose. We all are trying to choose the good part which cannot be taken from us, to balance the spiritual and the temporal in our lives. Wouldn't it be easy if we were choosing between visiting teaching or robbing a bank? Instead, our choices are often more subtle. We must choose between many worthy options."

We need not worry if we don't know what to do, because the Lord does. When we feel overwhelmed we need to pray and be still, seeking the Holy Ghost who can as the hymn states, "give us the wisdom to truly succeed."

We learn this from President Eyring, "A morning prayer and an early search in the scriptures to know what we should do for the Lord can set the course of the day. We can know which task , of all those we might choose, matters most to God and therefore to us. I have learned such a prayer is always answered if we ask and ponder with childlike submission, ready to act without delay to perform even the most humble service...When you go to sleep at the end of a day, the words may come back in memory: 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things."

We need not fix everything at once. We need not expect too much of ourselves. Instead pick one thing a day or one thing a week to focus on. Once you do, then what? I offer three suggestions.

Suggestion #1- Just get started

Elder Ashton has said, "A man must rise by his own efforts and walk by faith... One of our greatest resources for success and happiness is doing the right thing now... We need to remember that children learn to walk only because someone encourages them to take the first step. To take that first step may require great courage, but somehow possibilities and potential strengths begin to appear once the decision to act positively is made. Unsuspected courage and strength will be given to those who start forward in the right decision."

Suggestion #2- Set a goal. Write it down. Make a plan and put it into action. (And possibly make a back up plan.)

Elder M. Russell Ballard stated,"You must cultivate a desire to develop the skill of setting personal worthy and realistic goals. I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the technique of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When you learn to master the principle of setting a goal, you will then be able to make a great difference in the results you attain in this life."

Suggestion #3-Exercise self-discipline and keep at it.

Elder Ballard continues quoting Benjamin Woodson, "...the factor which lifts one man to every achievement to which he reasonably aspires while the other is caught in the slough of mediocrity for all the years of his life-- is not talent, nor formal education, nor luck, nor intellectual brilliance, but is rather the successful man's greater capacity for self-discipline."

Today is the day to do what is right. Today is the the day we can start on something. Consider this invitation to improve from our Savior, found in 3 Nephi 9 of the Book of Mormon,"...Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life...Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."

I know that happiness and peace come through the Savior as we repent and are obedient. I have felt that throughout my life. I testify that blessings do await us in doing what's right. May we all choose to do so and do so today.