(find the talk here)
It has been a while since I have studied the conference talks (or the scriptures in general) and my strength has suffered for it.
Elder Richard G. Scott’s talk about faith and character was probably the best thing for me to read right now. I’ve been discouraged lately about the direction my life is going, and I’ve been trying desperately to find my new normal – how I want the pattern of my life to be. I’ve tried several different “plans” but nothing seems to bring me peace and comfort. I still feel disoriented, stressed out, overworked, and a distinct inability to manage all of my responsibilities.
Elder Scott teaches us “We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day.” I want to be a great wife, a great mother, and a great teacher. So, if I want to become these things, I need to consistently be these things each day. It’s like eating an elephant – one bite at a time. We build character one day at a time. Testimony is “the very essence of character woven from threads born of countless correct decisions.”
As a wife and mother, there are many choices that I have to make. Choices about how to use my time. Choices about how to respond to others’ actions (probably one of the most difficult aspects of being a wife and a mother is that I don’t have any control over how my husband and children act. I can only control my response), choices about how to teach my children, how to raise them. And then there are the more mundane choices (not to be overlooked) what to feed my family for dinner, what clothes to dress my children in, the list goes on.
However, Elder Scott reminds us that our “happiness on earth as well as [our] eternal salvation require many correct decisions, none of which is difficult to make.” Well, there go all of my excuses for poor choices. Elder Scott talks a lot about faith and acting in faith, listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and following those promptings.
There were a lot of real gems in this talk, and if I didn’t have my sweet children to take care of, I might write about more of them, but I encourage you to read the talk and ponder on its meaning for you personally.
How has faith shaped your choices? Do you feel your character growing as you follow the promptings of the spirit? As you act in faith?
I try to "liken myself to the scriptures". When I think about this, it seems difficult. But, the more I read and learn, the more I find myself in the scriptures, the more I see my own life story. We are encouraged to "cleave" to the commandments, and the more I hold on to them,the more they become the pattern of my life,the more my faith is strengthened. I feel the same way about my husband, but I try to encourage him to continue in faith and good works. If I have to hog tie him and drag him to the Temple then I will. I try to be a good example and a hopefully a good wife. I tell him and myself, to keep your eyes on the prize.
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