Based on the movie “The Rocket” and a talk by Rebecca L. Craven
The young woman was struggling to find her way.
In frustration, she questioned a trusted leader and asked one day:
“How can you know anything about the gospel is true?”
“How can I be confident and full of faith like you?”
The girl had felt no spiritual promptings during her formative years-
the spirit had not fallen onto fertile soil, nor overcome her doubts and fears.
The leader felt she knew the problem and so inquired:
“What are you doing to seek truth in your life and come to know God?”
“How is your communion with God through your study of the scriptures?
“What do you feel when you seek God in your earnest and sincere prayers? “
The young woman replied that little effort had been given.
Any real effort to build her own faith had been omitted.
The wise leader then gave this advice to this inquisitive young woman:
“If you want to know anything, you will have to do something”.
(Rebecca L. Craven, April 2022)
Christ had given a similar message many years before:
we must be “doers of the word and not only hearers”. (James 1:22)
At another time in another day, a young man’s dream had fallen apart.
An injury had waylaid his plans to play his favorite sport.
He found another interest but at first did not excel,
until he was reminded of a concept he had used before so well.
If you put in the time, the results will eventually show-
hard work can make the difference between the fast and the slow.
There is no substitute for effort and a desire that is unrelenting.
There can be no defeat for a mind and heart that are ready and willing.
What makes the difference between mediocrity and excellence
is usually the effort applied and the determination to be your very best.
When we make God our partner, He can magnify our gifts and talents
and consecrate our minds and bodies for any worthwhile project.
January 2023
Rebecca L. Craven, “Do What Mattereth Most”, April 2022
“Being a disciple of Jesus Christ involves more than just hoping or believing. It calls for effort, movement, and commitment. It requires that we do something, being “doers of the word, and not hearers only.”.....Conversion won’t come while doing nothing. It comes through the power of the Holy Ghost as we intentionally make an effort to know by asking, seeking, and knocking. It comes by doing.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord occasionally says, “It mattereth not.” It makes me ponder that if some things matter not, or matter less, there must be things that matter most. In our efforts to do something or do anything, we might ask ourselves, “What mattereth most?”.....It takes effort to stay focused on what is truly essential for lasting joy. Satan would love nothing more than for us to misplace our eternal values, leading us
to waste precious time, talents, or spiritual strength on things that matter not. I invite each of us to prayerfully consider those things that distract us from doing what mattereth most.”
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