I have really loved this blog and I hope that it hasn't completely died. I just wanted to publish something in hopes that others will remember the blog and we can start posting again.
So here we go, I wanted to post my all-time favorite talk/devotional and I listen to it every year. I recently listened to it again because I need the extra help with moving and the new changes in my life. It's Elder Holland's "Remember Lot's Wife."
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey-r-holland_remember-lots-wife/
Here's my favorite quote, "I just want to talk to you for a few minutes about looking back and looking ahead. One of the purposes of history is to teach us the lessons of life. George Santayana, who should be more widely read than he is on a college campus, is best known for saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (Reason in Common Sense, vol. 1 of The Life of Reason [1905–1906]). So, if history is this important—and it surely is—what did Lot’s wife do that was so wrong? As something of a student of history, I have thought about that and offer this as a partial answer. Apparently what was wrong with Lot’s wife was that she wasn’t just looking back; in her heart she wanted to go back. [...] In short, her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future."
I love this talk! I quoted from it quite a bit for a presidency lesson I gave a couple years ago. I like to cross reference it with some of President Uchtdorf's messages, where he talks about being "in the middle." (See October 2012 Conference and July 2012 First Presidency Message.) We should learn from the past but not live in it. Similarly, we shouldn't wait to be happy until some future point. We must live and find joy in the present--no matter the circumstances. (I am sometimes guilty of looking back with nostalgia and forward with longing, so this is good advice for me.)
ReplyDeleteI've always loved President Uchtdorf's talk, especially his thought about finding joy in the journey. It helps me to remember to not live life like a checklist, but more to find the joy and blessings in each and everyday.
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