Sunday is the Best Day

I've always loved Sundays - they've traditionally been the most uplifting days of the week for many reasons: we don't do homework or watch TV on Sundays, we get to go to church, we spend all day with family and count the many blessings the Lord has given us. Today was no different. We had the opportunity to attend a regional conference here in Provo (and surrounding areas) and hear a few of our inspired leaders speak. Here are my highlights (from memory, since holding a baby in your arms for 2 hours isn't conducive to note taking):

Sister Linda K. Burton - General Relief Society President

She shared a wonderful story that happened to a sister that she knew. The general gist of the story is that this sister went to the temple one night to help clean it. Something you should know about LDS temples is that they're always spotless. I mean literally, not figuratively. So this sister was standing there, waiting to start the cleaning, and thought "I wish they'd send me home, they have plenty of people. They'll probably just find some menial task for me to do for the next 2 hours anyway". However, before they started cleaning the head custodial worker gave a devotional (a.k.a. uplifting meeting where spiritual thoughts are shared) on the importance of keeping the temples clean. He said something that really impacted this sister, which I will now attempt to paraphrase. He said that we don't clean the temples because they need it, we clean the temples to keep them from getting dirty. From his words, the sister made this connection: more than just deep cleaning areas of her life, she needed to keep up with those important daily tasks (i.e. prayer, reading the scriptures, attending the temple and church meetings, etc.) so as to keep herself clean from the world. I LOVED this thought and want to apply the same idea to my life. How often do I choose to check my Instagram and FB first thing in the morning instead of turning to the Lord? How often do I text during dinner instead of interacting with my husband and son? Am I too obsessed with taking and posting pictures of my son rather than actually engaging with him? Unfortunately, the answer to these questions is most often "yes". I resolved right then and there to focus more on what matters rather than on the short pleasures of the world.

Elder M. Russell Ballard - member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles

I am ashamed to say that since he was the last speaker, my attention was spotty since I was fighting to stay awake (it was almost time for lunch, and the room was warm, and I'm constantly sleep deprived... don't judge me); however, I do remember he said something that stuck with me. He said the words "don't text and drive". My initial thought was "what? Why is an apostle of the Lord mentioning texting and driving! This isn't spiritual council!" But then, he followed it up with this thought: too often we're absorbed by our own busyness. We have one event or another that we're racing to, we've put our kids in too many clubs and teams, we're on one too many committees, so we have to conduct our business in the car - in other words, texting and driving. Now, we may not all be guilty of this (I hope not since it's super dangerous and extremely stupid to do) but in one way or another we're all too busy. Once again, this thought connected with Linda K. Burton's story: we cannot allow the busyness of our lives to separate us from what matters most. It got me to ponder about the things I care about most: my Heavenly Father, the gospel of Jesus Christ, my husband, my son, my family, my friends - I can't live without any of these things.

All in all, I walked away with this message seared into my mind: don't let the small and mundane things of the world take precedence over your eternal and long lasting goals and relationships. Social media will always be there to offer trivial entertainment, but those moments you miss when your eyes are glued to the screen can never be replaced or replicated. Make time for family. Make time for friends. Make time to thank the Lord for the many blessings He has blessed you with. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Elder Neal A. Maxwell:

We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.