Lessons Learned and Unlearned

This week in a couple of my classes we discussed the need to put our priorities into order. I feel that this is one of my strengths, but I want to write about it to make sure I keep it that way when life gets more difficult, as I know it will. My first priority is and always will be the Lord and His church. I will always choose to serve Him and do His will before my own. This is the only thing I would allow to take precedence over my family. My church callings and assignments will always be my first priority, no matter how busy, tired, or overwhelmed I am. My second priority is my family, bot current and future. I am not currently married, but I plan to be in the future, and I want to be in the habit now of prioritizing my relationships with my wife and kids before anything other than the Lord. I also truly believe that the Lord will never take me away from my family more than I or they can bear. He wants us to be with and love our families, so He will provide the way for us to do so a...

This week I've had a few opportunities to face my fears and do things that scare me, and these experiences have reminded me of some important lessons I've learned from some amazing people that I want to record and write about. First, my first mission president, President M. Tim Welch taught us the importance of facing our fears in becoming effective disciples of Christ. We will always be faced with fear when we are going to do something that will improve our life or that of someone else, specifically in a spiritual sense. Satan wants to stunt our growth, and the natural man hates change and wants comfort. So, we have two forces fighting against us when trying to be better. But, does that mean we should not make that change? NO! It means we need to charge at it full force and let the Lord work miracles in our lives! As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said in the October 2020 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we can't expect to become like God by...

This week has been a challenging one for me. On Sunday night, a mandate was made in the state of Utah to not see anyone outside of your own household (with the exception of work and church) for two weeks. I know this doesn't sound like much, but it has really been a challenge for me. I have struggled to stay positive, specifically with not being able to see my girlfriend with the exception of short phone calls and video chats. At the beginning of this week, I was really frustrated with myself, and I still find myself getting down or sad, and then I try to cheer myself up. This cycle has gone around and around many times just in the last few days, but I listened to a podcast by Brene Brown called "Unlocking Us" that has helped me come to terms with this challenging time during this global pandemic. The thing that helped me was her description of what she calls TFTs- Terrible First Tries. She explained that everyone really struggles with things the first time they go throug...

This week I have learned, in multiple facets of life, the importance of moderating oneself. I have found that one of my many weaknesses that the Lord has given me to overcome is a tendency to go all in at once. This weakness applies to relationships, projects, assignments, work, and pretty much everything else in life. At face value, this can be a huge positive. I don't struggle to get motivated to start things, I'm able to sustain my energy for a time, and those around me usually benefit from it. However, the problems start to come after the newness wears off. I start to tire quickly because of the excess of energy I put in all at once. It's as if I drank a gallon of water all at once, but after a while, I have none left. I will continue with that analogy in a moment. This weakness has led to a lot of stress and anxiety, not just in myself bu also in the lives of those around me whom I care about very deeply. My energy starts to die and I suddenly have less energy to help ...