New Year's Resolutions

This past Sunday I taught the lesson in Relief Society (our women's group) at church. It is so much harder for me to create a lesson from scratch rather than using an outline or topic from a lesson manual. However, I feel it went well, though I was only able to share about half of what I came prepared with. The following is a summary of my lesson which I typed up for our monthly newsletter.

At this time of year many of us think about writing New Year’s resolutions. Many popular resolutions include losing weight, getting fit, eating better, managing finances, reducing stress, getting a better job, traveling, etc. While these are worthwhile things to work on, I hope that we do not lose sight of those things that are most important. In the gospel resource True to the Faith we read, “As you seek to be happy, remember that the only way to real happiness is to live the gospel. You will find peaceful, eternal happiness as you strive to keep the commandments, pray for strength, repent of your sins, participate in wholesome activities, and give meaningful service.” We learn this same principle in Mosiah 2:41, where we read that those who keep the commandments are happy and are blessed both temporally and spiritually.
As we set goals to change our behaviors let us keep in mind that we need the help of our Savior Jesus Christ and his Atonement. He can help us overcome our weaknesses and repent of our sins, and change our very nature. As we pray in faith we can gain insight on those things that are most important for us to work on. For some it may be focusing on your family history; for others it may be having more regular scripture study, more meaningful personal prayer, or holding regular family home evening. President Thomas S. Monson said, “When we remember that each of us is literally a spirit son or daughter of God, we will not find it difficult to approach our Heavenly Father in prayer. He appreciates the value of this raw material which we call life…. There is a teacher who will guide our efforts if we but place our faith in Him—even the Lord Jesus Christ. He invites us: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’” (“Your Eternal Home,” Ensign, May 2000, 52).
I hope that you will prayerfully select one or two things to work on this year that will help increase your faith in the Savior. Do not be discouraged with all of the things that you are not doing perfectly. Rather, recognize the good things that you are doing already, know that the Lord loves you as you are, and that he will help you become more like Him as you put your trust in Him. President Gordon B. Hinckley encouraged us in our efforts saying, “Changes may not be measurable in a day or a week or a month. Resolutions are quickly made and quickly forgotten. But, in a year from now, if we are doing better than we have done in the past, then the efforts of these days will not have been in vain” (“An Humble and a Contrite Heart,” Ensign, Nov 2000, 88-89).

If I took the time to really think about everything I would like to see myself doing differently this year (you know--exercising, blogging more, organizing my photos, sending out a Christmas card sometime this year, writing more personal thank you notes and birthday cards...) the list would be overwhelming. Even the example which I just shared is overwhelming. Rather, I plan to focus on one important goal this year: holding Family Home Evening every week, most likely on a Sunday evening (since I still plan on singing with my chorus group which meets Monday nights). I think the most difficult part will be finding a system for planning our "lesson" each week that will be easy for me to keep up with. Once I find out what works (through trial and error) I feel confident that I will be able to keep it going.

So don't be surprised if you never get that thank you note, birthday card, or Christmas letter and photo this year. Know that I am working on strengthening my family in the gospel but still thinking of you all in the process.