My random thinkings of the day

For my Institute class (which I LOVE), we read an article by Dallin H. Oaks called "The Challenge to Become". I really enjoyed reading it and I thought I'd share some insights with y'all. 

Recently my family has been having a discussion about the roles of males and females in society and in the church. This paragraph stood out to me because of this discussion:

Now is the time for each of us to work toward our personal conversion, toward becoming what our Heavenly Father desires us to become. As we do so, we should remember that our family relationships-even more than our Church callings-are the setting in which the most important part of that development can occur. The conversion we must achieve requires us to be a good husband and father or a good wife and mother. Being a successful Church leader is not enough. Exaltation is an eternal family experience, and it is our mortal family experiences that are best suited to prepare us for it.

When we die we aren't going to be judged on what callings we held or the kinds of people we looked up to or the amount of money we accumulated. Our judgement will be on which direction on the road we were going (toward or away from the Lord) and if we continually strived to become something better. I really like the last sentence because I like knowing what is coming and how to prepare for it. It's even better that I don't have to figure out the best way to prepare, He has already set it up for me. Now all I have to do is learn....easier said than done right? ;)

Another part that made me start to really think about how I can do something different was this sentence: 

I hope the importance of conversion and becoming will cause our local leaders to reduce their concentration on statistical measures of actions and to focus more on what our brothers and sisters are and what they are striving to become.

I think that is a very important difference to make. Just recently Bishop was worrying over the low Visiting and Home Teaching numbers in our ward. I agree that VT and HT are important in that they bring the ward closer together and help the leaders keep track of the members of the ward. But I have to go with Elder Oaks on this one. I think it is more important to worry about the members spiritual growth than wether or not they are doing their VT/HT every month. (Though, of course, their willingness and desire to do their VT/HT is a big indicator of their commitment to living the gospel, but it is not the only one.) I hate being the one to remind everyone of having to go VT just as much as the girls in my ward hate having to hear it. After reading this article, I've decided to change how I go about it. No longer will I come even close to mentioning percentages. Instead, I am going to ask the girls why they go VT and what they get out of it (I might even relate it all to going to church/FHE/ward activities...mmm, I'll have to think about that a little more, I think I feel a RS lesson coming into fruition...). I want to focus my attention on getting the girls to become something better, not because the numbers tell them to, but because that's what the Lord wants for them. 

The last point I want to make has to do with the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. I love the way Elder Oaks explains it. Alas, it is too long to type up (it's about the last half of his talk) and this won't let me copy and paste (which is really annoying). I strongly suggest you look it up and read the whole thing, it's just awesome. So, I'll just try to explain as best I can what I got out of it :) Elder Oaks is talking about how we receive our heavenly rewards and he says it doesn't matter "how long we have labored in the vineyard....What is essential is that our labors in the workplace of the Lord have caused us to become something." In the margin I wrote this: "This life, this test, this body, everything is the way it is for a reason. It is my job to find that reason and become something." The Lord has something wonderful in store for me, but He's not going to just hand it to me. I have to work and strive for it. That is what this life is all about, becoming what He wants me to become. I only hope I can make it :)