Eternal Goals

I was asked to speak in church last Sunday.  The topic was centered on Elder Ballard's last Conference address, Return and Receive.  Though I love the opportunity to share a message in Sacrament meeting, I don't always love being assigned conference talks.  I am not a talk regurgitator.  

I prayerfully read through Elder Ballard's talk numerous times to try to determine what messages most stood out to me, and on which themes I felt guided to focus.  Usually I'm a master procrastinator, but when it comes to speaking and teaching (especially in church settings), I prefer to spend copious amounts of time in study and preparation.  Unfortunately, real life doesn't stop just because I have an extra assignment.  I did my best to prepare, then had to trust that God would make my offering sufficient.

In the end, I wish I'd had just one extra day of preparation.  My talk ended up being just a few minutes too short, which meant Bishop had to take a few minutes to speak extemporaneously.  That shouldn't be too big of a deal, but it's really been eating at me.

Anyway, I thought I'd share what I wrote (with a couple slight edits, mostly adding to the story of the sister I visit taught):

Eternal Goals - 

Many children and youth enjoy collecting things.  When I was a teenager, I collected quotes.  I had binders full of quotes! My favorites tended to revolve around the theme of preparing for the future.  Quotes like:

“It’s better to shoot for the moon and miss, than the aim for a pile of manure and hit.” and,

 “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

Those of you who know me well probably aren’t surprised by this revelation.  I love to plan.

Just one example: I homeschool my kids, and I love this time of year because it’s when I get to plan for next school year!

Admittedly, sometimes I enjoy planning things more than carrying out said plans.

So, when I was assigned a topic based on the themes of planning and setting goals, you’d think I’d be golden, right?

Alas, I’ve really had to take a lot of time and study to wrap my brain around the deeper concept of Eternal Goals. I pray that the Spirit attends me as I attempt to share some of what I’ve learned.

First, let me back up for just a moment and share a line from Elder Ballard’s most recent conference address that really stood out to me.  He said, “Goal setting is essentially beginning with the end in mind.”

Simple, right? Or is it?

When was the last time that you sat down and really contemplated your eternal end goal? 

God has told us what His eternal end goal is for each of us, “For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

What does that mean to you? When you think about life after this life, what vision speaks to your heart? What Heavenly promises stir your willingness to work, and to change (because, truly, this is a gospel of change, a process of transforming from a natural man to a Saint through the Atonement of Jesus Christ).

When you think of your vision of life after this life,

Do you see yourself “receiving all that the Father hath?” (D&C 84:38) Of becoming “Joint Heirs with Christ?” (Romans 8:17)

Does your heart thrill at the idea of recognizing Christ when he comes and being like Him? (1 John 3:2)

Perhaps what motivates you is being with your family in the eternities?

Do you long to hear Christ say, “I was naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison,  and ye came unto me.” (Matthew 25:36)

Or perhaps your eternal vision involves a loving embrace and hearing the words, “Well done thou good and faithful servant… enter thou into the joy of the Lord.” (Matthew 25:21)

I invite each of us to spend time prayerfully considering our personal answer to the question. 

Certainly, each of us may have slightly different eternal goals and visions. Likewise, our paths to reaching our eternal goals will be different and individualized.  That is where the doctrine of personal revelation and listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit come into play. 

As we continue to ponder the concept of eternal goals, we need to ask ourselves a few more questions. First, how might our lives look different if we truly embraced a vision of our eternal goal and made it a priority in our daily lives, in other words, if we began each day with the END in mind?

President Ezra Taft Benson once said, “When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affections, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue.”

I remember hearing Julie Beck, former General Relief Society president, draw a distinction between the essential things in our lives, the necessary things, and the nice-to-do things.  The necessary things are the things that help keep life moving (going to work, feeding and caring for our children…).  The “nice to do things” are more recreational, things that "add variety to our lives."  The “essential” things are “the things that … if I don’t take care of them, the blessings of eternal life won’t be mine nor will they be my family’s. “ Things like prayer, scripture study, personal revelation, and making covenants." Sister Beck further explains, "To walk with the Lord, we have to know what is essential, what is necessary, and what is nice to do.  There is a lot to do, but I find that it is amazing how much I get to do on my nice-to-do list.  The Lord blesses us with those mercies, but only if the other priorities are in order."

In a previous ward, I visit taught a woman who was a great example to me of putting essential things first and beginning with the END in mind.  She was a bit older than my companion and myself, and often, though we were her visiting teachers, she ended up spending our time together imparting her wisdom and experience.  Time after time, we would bring up a concern or question, and without fail, she answered first with a suggestion to turn to the Lord. I guess we’re slow learners, but every time, we were surprised by her response.     

Once we were discussing food storage and the struggles we had with affording, choosing, storing, and so on.  This good sister responded enthusiastically, "Pray about it! God will lead you to sales.  He will expand your understanding.  If you can't afford food storage backpacks for each of your kids, tell him your problem and He will provide opportunities for you to find them affordably!"

Another time I saw evidence of her commitment to putting essential things first, came after I'd moved out of that ward.  A few months after moving, my dad passed away.  I couldn't attend his funeral because I was too close to my due date with Graham. During this difficult time, my phone rang and this sweet sister was on the other line.  "Erin," she said, "I don't know why I'm calling, but when I was praying this morning, Heavenly Father told me to call you."

Honestly, there wasn't anything I needed physically that day, but knowing that Heavenly Father was aware of me in a time of grief mattered, and she was an instrument in His hands that day. 

She had eternal vision, and it guided her daily actions.  Putting the “essential” items first in her life, allowed her eternal vision to remain paramount.

Finally, we must consider the question, what has stopped or might stop me from doing these essential things and from gaining and maintaining my vision of my eternal goal?

Are we prideful? Do we think we know better than the Lord and "seek to counsel Him rather than take counsel from His hand" (Jacob 4:10)? Maybe we don’t want to change and are clinging to our weapons of rebellion. Perhaps we seek to rationalize rather than repent.  Maybe we've been hurt by grief, abuse, or affliction.  Perhaps we feel justified in our anger and resentment towards God. None of us are immune to these issues.  If we can find even a mustard seed of faith and desire, the slightest willingness to ask, Heavenly Father can take that seed and let it sprout and grow, until we can sincerely respond, "I'll go where you want me to go, Dear Lord, I'll be what you want me to be."

Are we just too busy? I think that most of us have sincerely good intentions, but we’re so busy doing good and necessary things, that the essential things get crowded out.  I’ve always identified with the story of Mary and Martha.  Martha is wonderfully hard working and productive. Sometimes, I can imagine Christ lovingly whispering, “Erin, Erin, you are careful and troubled about many things, and most of them are good things, but one thing is needful.  Please, choose that good part which shall not be taken away from you.”

Maybe we’re scared of what might be asked of us? Earlier this week, I saw a quote by CS Lewis that made me both laugh and cry. He wrote, “We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”  I think it’s important to remember that God wants us to have joy.  The life of a disciple is not a sentence of drudgery and toil, sorrow and pain! Jesus calls, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST…For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-29) 

Or maybe, we’re afraid that we won’t measure up. That we’ll fail and fall short.  Truth is, we will.  We will make mistakes.  That’s one of the few guarantees in life and the reason our loving Heavenly Father provided the Atonement for us. None of us can do this on our power, only through the “merits and mercy of Jesus Christ.” Christ teaches, “trust me,” “learn of me,” “follow me.” We must rely on His Grace and His love and learn to let go of our fear of failure, our illusions of control, and the burden of trying to be perfect through our own force of will. The call is only to faithfulness, nothing more.

Along a similar line, maybe we feel unworthy? Perhaps we think, “others people might qualify for eternal rewards, but it doesn’t apply to me.” Let me be clear. That is a lie. That is Satan’s trick. Satan condemns.   God calls and entreats, encourages and corrects. He loves us. ALL of us.  We do not need to be perfect before we qualify for help.  We do not “earn” His love anymore than we earn a sunset. Christ asks us to give what we have, small though it might be. He takes our paltry loaves and fishes and feeds the masses. He takes our water, and turns it into the sweetest wine. He is the miracle worker, and His invitation is universal.

Brothers and sisters, I hope we can spend some time, as Elder Ballard suggests, “reviewing our life’s goals and our plans to make sure they align with our Heavenly Father’s great plan for our Happiness, to help keep our eye ‘single to the glory of God.’"

As we focus on our eternal goal and vision, may we put essential things first, and receive the grace, joy, rest, and power promised to us.

Like Nephi of Old, I bear testimony that though I do not know the meaning of all things, nevertheless, I know that God loves me. I know that he loves you.  His goal for each of us is immortality and eternal life with Him. I know that His plan for me is better than my plan for me.  And, as I keep repenting and turning my heart to Him, beginning with the END in mind, someday I will get my hug and hear, “Well done thou good and faithful servant... enter ye into the joy of the Lord.”

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen