Sunday Notes

Here are some quick quotes from Elder John B. Dickson's conference talk entitled, "Commitment to the Lord"

..."Your Heavenly Father loves each of you and has sent you to earth with a purpose. He has revealed a plan of happiness that, if followed, will ultimately bring you home to His presence, having triumphed over the trials and challenges of this world. Committing yourself now to live by the pattern the Lord has set will give you great strength in the proper use of your moral agency. The sincere commitments you make to yourself and to the Lord will be vital. We learn from the book of Psalms to "commit thy way unto the Lord; . . . and he shall bring it to pass" (Psalm 37:5)."...

..."As you commit now to do the will of the Lord, He will help and strengthen you. Your faith, trust, and desire to follow Him will be your greatest key to success. I know our Heavenly Father loves each of you and that He truly sent His Only Begotten Son to help you and that you can gloriously succeed as you sincerely commit to follow Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

This was a talk aimed at the youth of the church, but it is a lesson I think we adults need to remember and rethink every now and then. I like to think of my new years resolutions in this manner, as well. Was I fully committed when I made those resolutions, or was I just hoping that maybe I would do those things? I can tell which ones I was fully committed to because they have been the "easiest" to keep. Exercising 4 hours a week isn't easy, but I have been able to keep it up because I fully committed to it. Submitting my writing to magazines and newspapers hasn't happened yet because I didn't really, fully, truly believe I could or would (or will). After reading this talk I feel a desire to "gloriously succeed" and think it is time for me to go over my new years resolutions to find the ones that need more commitment. Then, I'm going to ponder, pray, ask for help, and RE-commit myself in the full sense of the word so that I can benefit from the "ease" of predetermined commitment.

What New Years resolutions have you been keeping? Which ones have been hard to keep? Which ones have you deliberately forgotten?