This time last year I was serving an LDS mission in England. To be specific I was in Basildon, Essex. Our mission president extended an invitation for us to evaluate ourselves and come up with some sincere resolutions for the year to come. I took this invitation to heart and prayerfully considered some resolutions that if I keep to them would help me become that person that I want to be. As I was pondering last night what my principle are these resolutions came strongly to my mind as the answer. Within these resolutions are the principles that govern my life. Here they are:
I will be reliable in whatsoever sphere I am in. Reliability is huge to me in my life. I have had many opportunities to be a leader in one sort or another. Whether it be a sports team captain, church quorum president, or a mission leader the basic principles of leadership are the same. A leader must be reliable. He must do what is expected of him and what he says he will do or else he will fail. Like wise a leader needs the people he leads to be reliable or else through their neglect he also becomes a failure. I stand for reliably.
I will live in an environment of the Spirit. One of the greatest blessings I enjoyed while being a missionary was a clarity of mind that I have not been able to find anywhere else. It seemed that I could just see and comprehend things so clearly and that inspiration was constantly flowing to me. I was a productive thinker and could more easily work through my problems. After serious reflection I came to the conclusion that this was because I was living in such a way that I was always worth of spiritual inspiration from God. With out God I feel that my mental powers are seriously diminished. As I reflected on it more and more I could see interesting trends in my life. The times that I was closest to the Lord were the times that I did best in my school work and excelled in other areas. I am an easily distractible person but it seems that as I dwell in an environment of the Spirit I can focus on things that matter. Now I'm not talking of a physical environment like living in a church building. I'm talking about living my life in such a way that at any given moment of the day I can receive spiritual inspiration. Yes there are a lot of things that I will have to sacrifice to live this way but honestly it is completely worth it. At times I am jealous of people who can have all these said perks but still gallivant around in a impious manner but deep down I am thankful that I have to hold myself to this standard because I feel so much more happy living this way. I stand for spirituality.
I will be sensitive to the weak and suffering. My dad has always complemented me on my standing up for the underdog cheering on the weak. I guess I naturally have a soft spot for those that need help. I have my parents to thank for teaching me to be the first one to stand up and serve. Not only that but that have created a mentality within me that not only to you stand up to serve someone who needs it you do it when it is inconvenient to you. I really want to better develop an keen eye for service opportunities. I want to be able to be the first one to notice the hands that hang helplessly down. Those that are often to tired to even be raised as a signal of distress. I love serving people I feel in some why it counts as me paying back a debt to my Savior. With this is being a good friend to those who simply need support or someone to talk to. It may seem like a little thing but I feel it is one of the greatest services that we can provide. Every one deserves to feel the tangible love of a friend who can empathize, listen, and support. I stand for service.
I will choose to be happy by living in a spirit of gratitude. I went to a leadership meeting once where I received one of the most intense spiritual rebuking of my life. It seemed like from the moment that the presiding officer opened his mouth to begin the meeting until the last 'Amen' was said the Lord was just handing me all my weaknesses, shortcomings, and sins on a silver plater. Needless to say I was feeling horrible on the ride home. My companion on the other hand had a great experience, it being the first meeting of its kind for him. He was really excited to talk about it but soon my short and sarcastic comments burst his bubble. (sorry Elder Potts) Then we were driving in silence. I was reflecting and wallowing in self pity when I came to a realization. Elder Potts didn't deserve this. He had a great experience and I ruined it because of my attitude. Right then I made the decision to be happy, changed my attitude, apologized, and we talked the rest of the way home. This was a neat experience for me. I had completely changed my attitude in a moment just by making the decision. From this I discovered that our happiness is internally motivated. Our attitude is largely determined by our perception. This became the focus of all my ponderings and studies for a month! In the end I decided that I could always be happy even in the hardest and saddest times but focusing on what I have to be grateful for. Despite set backs we can always be happy. I stand for happiness!
I will feast on the scriptures daily. Over the last couple of years I became a bit obsessed with efficiency, every time I was put in a new situation the first thing I would look for would be how to be more efficient. One day I was thinking about thinking... Deep I know. I asked myself how much percent of our thought are unproductive and idle. I realized that the percentage was much much higher then I would have liked it to be. So I set out on a mission to find a way to be more mentally proactive. The counsel in the Doctrine and Covenants keep coming to mind where the Lord tells the saints to 'Let the solemnities of the eternities rest upon your mind' or something like that. And also from Romans and 2 Nephi we know that to be spiritually minded is life eternal. Solved. Be more mentally productive by being more spiritually minded. OK but how? Read the scriptures! Holy writ is the perfect food for thought. Each verse is like a well done chunk of steak that to get the full meaning and understanding of we need to meticulously chew and chew and chew and chew then digest. I figured that if I feasted on the scriptures daily I would think more about heavenly things. Not just read but study. Search for questions, draw similarities, seek insights, and uncover mysteries. Doing this daily would soon transform my mind into a proactive shop for principles, legend for symbols, a solvent to dilemmas, and a pool of wisdom. What more could I ask for? I stand for studying scriptures daily.
I will be the first to defend the standards of the Lord. Some body has to and I'll be damned if I don't. (quite literally) I was always the killjoy in my group of friends that said 'Maybe that isn't the greatest idea, I'm out.' and I received a lot of flak for it. But I am a better person for it. One of the most digesting things to me is when people compromise their principles and forsake their standards. All to often it is because of peer pressure or an imagined need to conform to the common trend of forsaking virtue and goodness. My hope is that by being the first to stand for what is right and true I can help someone else find the strength/motivation to do the same. I stand for standing when everyone else yields to temptation.
I will be prepared through pre-mediation and planning. Of all the many words that can describe me impromptu is not one of them. Yes I can be spontaneous at times but of the most part I can only function at my best when I have a plan and I know what is going on. Also I don't work well under pressure so having a plan is a great way to avoid unnecessary anxiety. I love when calculated thought our decisions work out and I have noticed that the more often I plan out my day the better it goes and the more productive I am, and I am all about that! I stand for planning and preparation!
At the end of the list of my creeds are three general statements that I so dearly hope will one day sum up who I am and what I stand for.
Above all else I will be:
Pure in heart
Strong in Spirit
Loyal in all things
