Resolutions

Now that my New Years resolutions have mostly disappeared into the rear-view mirror, maybe it's time for me to make some more --

Elder Joe J. Christensen:

"To a degree, we all understand the gospel and know what we should be doing in our lives. Very likely, we know more than we apply. 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, 'Sam, you know that now we use something called contour plowing.' He went on to also expound on the benefits of hybrid strains of grain and crop rotation. About the time he got to the benefits of milking the cows three times a day rather than two, the old farmer said, 'Hey, sonny, just a minute. I'm not farming half as well as I know how already.'

"Isn't that the way life is? We seldom perform to the level of our knowledge. This brings me to the subject of resolutions -- resolutions to conform our lives more closely to what we already know about the gospel. While many of us take seriously our New Year's resolutions, some of us may not have made any because of our prior problems in keeping them. We must not overlook the power that making good resolutions can have in helping make our lives happier and more successful -- regardless of our past performance....

"I am convinced that if we make and keep resolutions in those four areas, we will have a happier and more successful new year this coming year and every year for the rest of our lives. Let's consider the nature of such resolutions and the benefits that can be ours if our resolve to improve ourselves is firm.

"Resolution number one: I resolve to expand my intellectual horizons, to increase in wisdom....

"Resolution number two: I will be resolute in preserving and strengthening my physical health....

"The third major resolution: I resolve to be a truer friend and to become more socially acceptable to people of high standards....

"The fourth resolve: I will grow spiritually -- I will increase in favor with God."

("Resolutions," BYU devotional, January 9, 1994)

The last two remind me of Luke 2:52: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Mind & body, sociality & spirituality. I know *what* to improve, I think I just need more motivation (energy?) to *do* it.