Brothers and sisters, it is impressive to know that on an occasion like this with all the other places you could be and all the other things you could be doing with your time, you have chosen to be here in a Church-related setting. That tells me a lot about the kinds of good decisions you are making in your lives. You are going in the right direction, and if you continue choosing the right, you will arrive at a destination that will be good for you\u2014now and in the hereafter.<\/p>\n
For me, it is a humbling experience to be with you because there are among you some of the most impressive spiritual heroes we know. Barbara and I have learned to know about you and to know many of you because almost wherever we go, we meet people we had the privilege of seeing or knowing some place before.<\/p>\n
That reminds me of the experience of a father saying to me, \u201cSay, you were president of the MTC when our son was there. Did you know him?\u201d<\/p>\n
He told me his full name, and after thinking for a few moments, I said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I didn\u2019t know him.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he said, \u201cOh, thank heavens!\u201d<\/p>\n
I would like to speak to you tonight very personally. What a blessing it would be to have the privilege of visiting with each of you one-on-one and get acquainted with you individually\u2014to know of your background, your interests, aspirations, and concerns. Of all the young people I have met over the years, I have not met one who did not want to be happy and successful.<\/p>\n
To a degree, we all know the gospel and what we should be doing in our lives. Very likely, we know more than we apply. Right?<\/p>\n
It may be a little like the young county farm agent who wanted to put his college training to use and said to the farmer, \u201cSam, you know that now we use something called contour plowing.\u201d And then he went on to expound on the benefits of hybrid strains of grain and crop rotation, and about the time he got to the benefits of milking the cows three times a day rather than two, the old farmer said, \u201cHey, sonny, just a minute. I\u2019m not farming half as well as I know how already.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t that the way life is? None of us is performing to the level of our knowledge. This is because it is hard to farm, or perform, as well as we know how. And that brings me to the subject for this evening.<\/p>\n
I would like to visit with you about resolutions\u2014resolutions to conform our lives more closely to what we already know about the gospel. I am sure that some of us have made a bundle of New Year\u2019s resolutions, and maybe a few of us haven\u2019t chosen to make any because of prior problems we have had in keeping them. Don\u2019t overlook the power that making good resolutions can have to help make your life happier and more successful\u2014regardless of your past behavior.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s explore for a moment the term\u00a0resolution.\u00a0<\/i>As a noun, it suggests steadfastness of purpose. As an adjective,\u00a0resolute\u00a0<\/i>is characterized by firmness or determination. As a verb,\u00a0resolve\u00a0<\/i>brings to mind such terms as courage, mettle, fortitude, tenacity, backbone, and moral stamina in the face of hardship, temptations, and unfavorable odds (see\u00a0American Heritage Dictionary\u00a0<\/i>[Boston: Houghton-Mifflin]).<\/p>\n
I was anxious to know something of your concerns and aspirations, and so I had an informal survey taken of 150 young adults who were asked to list three resolutions they felt would help them to become more successful and happy during the new year. Almost everyone in the survey (98 percent) included a resolution to increase the level of his or her spirituality. Two out of three (68 percent) indicated they would like to improve their social skills. Half (49 percent) indicated a desire to increase their level of physical fitness, and half (48 percent) wanted to grow intellectually. Everyone indicated a desire to improve. After all, self-improvement is at the heart of why we are here in mortality.<\/p>\n
In the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior said, \u201cBe ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect\u201d (Matthew 5:48). In the Joseph Smith Translation (Matthew 5:50), we read: \u201cYe are therefore commanded to be perfect.\u201d The translation of the Greek word for\u00a0perfect\u00a0<\/i>means \u201ccomplete, finished, fully developed.\u201d Some biblical analysts indicate that the suggestion to become perfect is exaggerated idealism or scriptural hyperbole. That is not the way we as Latter-day Saints interpret it. We believe that the Savior meant what he said and that, for us, becoming like our Father in Heaven and the Savior is a commandment\u2014not just a suggestion. We should strive continually to become more like them.<\/p>\n
You remember that following his resurrection the Savior rhetorically asked his disciples, \u201cWhat manner of men ought ye to be?\u201d He then answered his own question, \u201cEven as I am\u201d (3 Nephi 27:27).<\/p>\n
There is only one verse of scripture in the entire New Testament that tells us what the Savior did to develop himself during his mortal years from age twelve\u2014when he had that experience in the temple\u2014until he began his formal ministry at age thirty. The verse consists of just fourteen words. Count them: \u201cAnd Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man\u201d (Luke 2:52).<\/p>\n
In other words, the Savior increased or developed in the same areas that those of you who were included in the poll indicated that you would like to improve, that is:<\/p>\n
\u2014intellectually (in both wisdom and knowledge)
\n\u2014physically (in stature)
\n\u2014socially (in favor with man)
\n\u2014spiritually (in favor with God).<\/p>\n
I am convinced that if we made and kept resolutions in these four areas, we would have a happier and more successful new year and every year for the rest of our lives.<\/p>\n
First, consider this one:<\/p>\n
I resolve to expand my intellectual horizons. I will increase in wisdom.<\/i><\/p>\n
This year, commit yourself to read good books\u2014not just when you are attending the university or college, but throughout your life. Some people learn to read but don\u2019t read. A few years ago, a disturbing poll indicated that 56 percent of college graduates, in that sample, never completely read a book all the way through following their schooling. At some point in our lives, we learned to read. But the question tonight is: Are we reading? Are we growing in wisdom?<\/p>\n
We belong to a lay Church, as we believe the Church was in the Savior\u2019s time when humble fishermen and tax collectors were called to become his designated leaders. We do not have a professional, theologically trained and salaried clergy. Leaders and teachers are called from among the membership\u2014people like you and me.<\/p>\n
In terms of learning, however, the scriptural commandment to us is: \u201cSeek ye out of the\u00a0best\u00a0<\/i>books words of wisdom\u201d and, \u201cBecome acquainted with all\u00a0good\u00a0<\/i>books, and with languages, tongues, and people\u201d (D&C 88:118, 90:15; emphasis added).<\/p>\n
Notice the emphasis on\u00a0best\u00a0<\/i>books and\u00a0good\u00a0<\/i>books. What we choose to read will make a huge difference in the development of our minds and character.<\/p>\n
We cannot justify mentally shifting into neutral and failing to exert our efforts to make progress intellectually. Way back in 1838, a member of the First Presidency addressed a group of relatively new members of the Church in which some apparently thought that all they had to do was to be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then just sit back and wait to receive the celestial glory. He said:<\/p>\n
Vain are the hopes of those who embrace the gospel, and then suppose .\u00a0.\u00a0. they have nothing more to do. .\u00a0.\u00a0. The great God .\u00a0.\u00a0. never thought of .\u00a0.\u00a0. raising up a society of ignoramuses, but of men and women of .\u00a0.\u00a0. intelligence as high as human nature was susceptable\u00a0<\/i>[sic]. [Sidney Rigdon,\u00a0in First\u00a0Presidency message,\u00a0\u201cTo the Saints Abroad,\u201d\u00a0Elders\u2019 Journal\u00a0<\/i>1, no. 4 (August 1838): 53]<\/p>\n
So whether or not you are in school, the challenge is the same. We should continue learning throughout our entire lives\u2014and, especially, learning more about the gospel. Now, with the enhanced Institute of Religion program, all of you can and should resolve to be enrolled in a religion class every term\u2014whether or not you are a college student.<\/p>\n
In the area of continued learning, my father-in-law was a real inspiration to me. He was the twelfth of thirteen children of a very poor convert immigrant family from Switzerland. After he had finished the first six years of elementary school, he, like many others in his time, was encouraged to drop out of school and learn a trade. Then one day he met Mr. Hicks, the new school teacher, who had come to Midway. He asked, \u201cAlbert, are you coming to school this year?\u201d Albert explained that he was not planning to come back to school. Mr. Hicks said, \u201cWell, why don\u2019t you come for three or four days and see how you like it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Albert came, and his future life was dramatically changed for the better. He said that this new teacher didn\u2019t just answer the questions that were raised in class, but he would write on the chalkboard the titles of the books where the students could find the answers. A thirst for learning developed in Albert that was never quenched. He was a hardworking farmer providing for a large family, but when I came to know him, I hardly remember his being in the house without having a book\u2014usually a thick book\u2014in his work-worn hands. He would circle words he didn\u2019t know and write their definitions in the margins. He was a real student of history and the doctrine of the Church. Although he never had the opportunity to go beyond the eighth grade, he read much more than most college graduates. He not only learned to read, he read.<\/p>\n
Suppose you were to read an entire book each week for the next seventy years. You would read 3,640 books. That sounds like a lot; however, reportedly, there are today in the Library of Congress more than twenty-seven million books. One futurist\u2014Tofler\u2014said that books are spewing from the presses of the world at the rate of a thousand titles per day. That means that in seventy years there will be at least an additional twenty-five million volumes.<\/p>\n
If we read continually, we would not be able to read more than the smallest fraction of the books in print. We should not waste time reading anything but that which would be uplifting and instructive. There is a lot of frivolous, useless, and morally destructive material in print that falls far short of that with which we should spend even a minute of our time. Remember, the scripture said, \u201cSeek ye out of the\u00a0best\u00a0<\/i>books words of wisdom\u201d (D&C 88:118; emphasis added).<\/p>\n
English clergyman Edwin Paxton Hood said, \u201cBe as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter\u201d\u00a0(The New Dictionary of Thoughts\u00a0<\/i>[New York: Standard Book Co., 1960], p. 65).<\/p>\n
Here is a practical suggestion: Ask a few respected people who you know are readers to share with you the titles of the five books besides the scriptures they feel have had the most positive influence in their lives. You will soon accumulate a good list of titles for starters.<\/p>\n
In addition to making a resolution that we will read only the best in print, it would be very beneficial if now we resolved not to watch even one R- or X-rated (NC-17) movie, video, or television show from now on. That may sound extreme to some of you, but I assure you that much of our future happiness and success depends on it.<\/p>\n
There is safety in following the prophet. President Benson has said:<\/p>\n
Consider carefully the words of the prophet Alma to his errant\u00a0<\/i>[and promiscuous]\u00a0son, Corianton, \u201cForsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes.\u201d (Alma 39:9)<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThe lusts of your eyes.\u201d In our day, what does that expression mean?<\/i><\/p>\n
Movies, television programs, and video recordings that are both suggestive and lewd.<\/i><\/p>\n
Magazines and books that are obscene and pornographic.<\/i><\/p>\n
We counsel you, .\u00a0.\u00a0. not to pollute your minds with such degrading matter, for the mind through which this filth passes is never the same afterwards. Don\u2019t see R-rated movies or vulgar videos or participate in any entertainment that is immoral, suggestive, or pornographic.\u00a0<\/i>[\u201cTo the \u2018Youth of the Noble Birthright<\/a>,\u2019\u201d\u00a0Ensign,\u00a0<\/i>May 1986, p. 45]<\/p>\n In our day, this is one of the most effective tools Satan has to pacify and lull us into carnal security, cheat our souls, and lead us carefully down to hell (see 2 Nephi 28:21).<\/p>\n Senator Robert Byrd has said:<\/p>\n If we in this nation continue to sow the images of murder, violence, drug abuse, .\u00a0.\u00a0. perversion, [and] pornography .\u00a0.\u00a0. before the eyes of millions .\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0, year after year and day after day, we should not be surprised if the foundations of our society rot away as if from leprosy.\u00a0<\/i>[Michael Medved,\u00a0Hollywood vs. America\u00a0<\/i>(New York: HarperPerennial, 1992), p. 194]<\/p>\n Now for the second resolution.\u00a0I will be resolute in preserving and strengthening my physical health.<\/i><\/p>\n It is impressive that more than 160 years ago the Lord revealed a health code that we call the Word of Wisdom, which can make all the difference in how we feel and perform. With good health, we can be happier and more successful. Without it, we are curtailed in almost every other way.<\/p>\n Resolve to get an adequately balanced diet.<\/i><\/p>\n Getting healthy nutrition is another area where it is hard to perform up to the level of our knowledge. Some friends of ours were having that last final parental review that most missionaries get prior to entering the door of the MTC.<\/p>\n The mother said, \u201cNow, Bronson, you have your toothbrush and your pajamas?\u201d \u201cYes, Mom,\u201d he answered patiently.<\/p>\n \u201cYou remember how to iron a shirt? Be sure to put a cloth between the iron and your suit pants when you press them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Mom!\u201d \u201cBut we\u2019d better hurry. We\u2019re going to be late.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, Son. Before we leave, just repeat back to me the four basic food groups.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, Mom,\u201d he said. \u201cThe four basic food groups for a prospective missionary are: peanut butter, Hostess chocolate cupcakes and Twinkies, chocolate milk, and Ramen noodles.\u201d (Story told by Petrea Kelly, prior to Bronson Kelly\u2019s departure to the California Fresno Mission.)<\/p>\n If this young man had continued with that philosophy on food, he could have ended up like a good friend of mine. His wife has been encouraging him to take off some weight. She said, \u201cBill, there are fifty pounds of you that I am not sealed to.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, Bronson did finish a good mission and must have learned some additional nutritional habits because, from all we know, he has been able to keep his health. In fact, I understand he is in the audience tonight.<\/p>\n Resolve to follow the do\u2019s in the Word of Wisdom: Eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains. Discover that a meal does not have to feature meat every time in order to be enjoyable. In addition to improving your health, your budget will also be benefited. It really is a \u201cwin-win\u201d situation.<\/p>\n Then, resolve to avoid\u00a0completely\u00a0<\/i>the don\u2019ts\u2014tobacco, alcohol, and addictive stimulants, coffee, tea, and drugs in any form\u2014and you will be blessed in a multitude of ways. If any of these negative practices have been, or are a part of your life, right now, tonight, resolve that in your future there will be absolutely\u00a0no\u00a0<\/i>participation in tobacco, alcohol, or illegal drugs,\u00a0ever!\u00a0<\/i>What an improved society we would live in if the whole world were to make that one resolution!<\/p>\n Resolve to get adequate physical exercise.<\/i><\/p>\n Choose some sport or other vigorous physical exercise that is consistent with your situation and physical condition and be regular in pursuing it. Get the blood circulating and give your major muscles a workout. An appropriate amount of time and effort spent in exercising will help you to be more effective in all other areas of your life.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what your choice will be. Personally, I prefer racquetball or walking to jogging. I haven\u2019t seen many joggers who look very happy while they are doing it. Of course, you need to make your own choice, but resolve to do something physical regularly.<\/p>\n Resolve to get adequate rest.<\/i><\/p>\n Really follow the counsel of the Lord where he said: \u201cCease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated\u201d (D&C 88:124).<\/p>\n Some of you are not getting the rest that you need. Some are habituated to going to bed late and sleeping much longer than your system really needs, thus missing out on some of the personal inspiration you could be receiving.<\/p>\n Adequately rested, there is great value that can come to you as an early riser. Years ago, Barbara and I were asked to drive President and Sister Marion G. Romney from Provo to their home in Salt Lake City. Along the way, President Romney shared some of his personal experiences when he was first called to serve as a General Authority way back in 1941. He had been serving as a stake president at the time and had gone to general conference, where he was called, without prior knowledge, to be a General Authority. He was shocked and very nervous. He felt that he needed some advice, and so he went to Elder Harold B. Lee, a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve and former associate as a stake president. He asked him for advice about how to be successful as a General Authority. Elder Lee told him:<\/p>\n If you are to be successful as a General Authority, .\u00a0.\u00a0. I will give you one piece of advice:\u00a0<\/i>Go to bed early and get up early.\u00a0If you do, your body and mind will become rested and then, in the quiet of those early morning hours, you will receive more flashes of inspiration and insight than at any other time of the day.<\/i><\/p>\n President Romney said,<\/p>\n From that day on, I put that counsel into practice, and I know it works. Whenever I have a serious problem, or some assignment of a creative nature with which I hope to receive the influence of the Spirit, I always receive more assistance in the early morning hours than at any other time of the day. Following that counsel has helped me a great deal through the years.\u00a0<\/i>[See Joe J. Christensen,\u00a0To Grow in Spirit\u00a0<\/i>(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1983), pp. 27\u201328]<\/p>\n You can have a similar experience in your own life. You can change, even if you consider yourself a \u201cnight person.\u201d Set the habit in twenty-one days. When it comes right down to it, it is a matter of\u00a0strong\u00a0<\/i>resolve and \u201cmind over mattress.\u201d<\/p>\n Now to the third major resolution:\u00a0I resolve to be a truer friend and to become more socially acceptable to people of high standards.<\/i><\/p>\n Learn to be the kind of person with whom others of high standards enjoy associating. We all would like to have more friends. More than fifty years ago, Dale Carnegie wrote\u00a0How to Win Friends and Influence People.\u00a0<\/i>In it, he listed some time-honored principles for making friends. You should read and reread the entire book. His suggestions are equally valuable today. Among them are:<\/p>\n Become genuinely interested in other people.<\/i><\/p>\n Smile.\u00a0<\/i>[Remember, the Lord commanded us to \u201cbe of good cheer.\u201d]<\/p>\n Remember that a person\u2019s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.<\/i><\/p>\n Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.<\/i><\/p>\n Talk in terms of the other person\u2019s interests.<\/i><\/p>\n Make the other person feel important\u2014and do it sincerely.\u00a0<\/i>[Dale Carnegie,\u00a0How to Win Friends and Influence People\u00a0<\/i>(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982), p. 112]<\/p>\n Occasionally, look in a full-length mirror. Certainly we should not become obsessed with how we look, but we should work to improve our physical appearance. President Kimball said:<\/p>\n How nice and easy would it be if we had a magic wand! But we haven\u2019t. You might take a careful inventory of your habits, your speech, your appearance, your weight, .\u00a0.\u00a0. and your eccentricities. .\u00a0.\u00a0. Take each item and analyze it. What do you like in others? What personality traits please you in others? Are your dresses too short, too long, too revealing, too old fashioned? Does your weight drive off possible suitors? Do you laugh raucously? Are you too selfish? Are you interested only in your own interests?<\/i>\u00a0[TSWK,\u00a0<\/i>pp. 295\u201396]<\/p>\n The Lord expects us to do the best we can with what he has given us. President McKay said, \u201cEven a barn looks better when it\u2019s painted.\u201d After you have done what you can to improve your appearance, forget about yourself and think of others and their needs.<\/p>\n Rather than working so hard to find Mister or Miss Right, work harder to\u00a0become\u00a0<\/i>Mister or Miss Right and you will more likely have the social life and marriage you desire. You will have good friends, and, in the end, I hope you can be fortunate enough to marry your best friend.<\/p>\n In the New Testament, Jesus said to his disciples:<\/p>\n A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.<\/i><\/p>\n By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.\u00a0<\/i>[John 13:34\u201335]<\/p>\n Our challenge is to resolve to love everyone in the\u00a0appropriate\u00a0<\/i>way. You all know there are different kinds of love\u2014the romantic, the brotherly, and the kind that enables us to love our enemies. The Savior\u00a0universally\u00a0<\/i>commands us to love our neighbors and even our enemies. On the other hand, the expression of romantic love is\u00a0anything but\u00a0<\/i>a universal commandment. The full expression of romantic, physical affection by you is designed for you and one other persononly, inside\u00a0<\/i>the bonds of marriage. If you remember that, then you will avoid the temptation to make the romantic expressions of physical affection merely a game, and you will be sure to protect and preserve yourself from the immense problems that come from the immorality that is so prominent in today\u2019s culture. You have heard so many times that your body is a temple and not a visitors\u2019 center. No tours are permitted.<\/p>\n Finally, the fourth resolve mentioned by everyone in the poll:\u00a0I will grow spiritually\u2014I will increase in favor with God.<\/i><\/p>\n In order to grow spiritually, there are a few items that are essential. Let\u2019s start with the most difficult and universally applicable to us all. If we are to increase in \u201cfavor with God,\u201d\u00a0we must resolve to overcome as much as possible the sin of human pride.<\/i><\/p>\nPhysical Resolutions<\/h2>\n
Social Resolutions<\/h2>\n
Spiritual Resolutions<\/h2>\n