She spoke about the Spirit, the Holy Ghost. Having the guidance of the Spirit enables us to Know and Do the will of God. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Revelation and with it we can Walk with God. How can we walk with God? We must come to know and understand what our responsibilities are. We must know how to fulfill them. We must increase our Faith and Personal Righteousness, Strengthen those around us and Prepare our children to serve the Lord. Seems like a lot to do....
So next she talked about Priorities. There are so many good things out there that we could be doing each day, how do we know which is the RIGHT thing to be doing? She gave 3 Categories.
Some things are Essential and they should be done every day, or Week or Month in some instances. Somethings are Necessary and they should be done when they need to be done. Finally some things are Nice To Do and they should be done when we have time and when the Essential and Necessary things have been taken care of.
Essential things are the things we MUST do, the things that will help us find Salvation. Personal Revelation, Reading the Scriptures, Personal Prayer, Pondering (yes finding time to Ponder) and Fasting, Keeping our Covenants, Partaking of the Sacrament and Repenting, Temple Attendance, Sharing the Gospel and Giving Service. All of these things will bring the spirit more fully into our lives and lead us closer to our Savior.
Necessary things can be even more varied. The first note I took in this sections says "Make a home where the spirit of the Lord is present- A house of Order". This is one of my secret goals. Well, my goal is to have my house in better order, I really think that the Lord will bless me for my efforts, it may not be Pristine, but when I am trying, even though it may still look like a tornado has recently hit, the Spirit is still able to be here with us, and that is a good thing. Some of the examples she gave of Necessary things were- Family Meals as they are a place to gather and to teach. Being Happy. Teaching Children and generally spending time with our children and spouses. "Lay aside the things of this world and seek for the things of a better", become self reliant. Love One Another.
Then finally there are the things that are nice to do. Crafts, hobbies, recreation, movies, time with friends. These things won't necessarily lead us to salvation, but the lord will bless us with these things if we have completed the Essential and Necessary things too. Sister Beck said that she has come to realize that as she has tried to keep her perspective and priorities in the right place there hasn't been a time that she has not been able to do the "Nice to Do" things that she wants to do. This is important to know because we as women often don't get enough breaks.
There are 3 shifts in the work day. The Morning Shift, the Swing Shift and the Night Shift. There are plenty of times in our lives that we are forced to work all 3 shifts (i.e. new babies, sick kids). But which shift is the most important. Where do we need to prioritize our time, when do we need to be at the top of our game? We must also realize that a woman, with the help of the Lord, can work 2 1/2 shifts, but not all 3 on a constant basis, there needs to be some down time. If we Prioritize and take care of the Essential and the Necessary things we will find the needed moments of rest and relaxation and renewal necessary to do all that we need to do.
This was a great way to start of the two days of Women's Conference.
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