GCBC - Elder Ardern

General Conference Book Club
Elder Ian S. Ardern
"A Time to Prepare"

Find the talk here. Find others' comments here.

If I had to pick a favorite talk from this conference, this one would be a contender. The subject of time management has always fascinated me (especially since that was the subject of my mom's college thesis). I wrote a lot of notes as I listened, including:

• Need to prioritize choices to match goals
• Use time to serve others
• Seek the Kingdom of God first
• Busy needs to equal productive too
• Identify time wasting activities and "grind them to dust"
• Poor use of time is a close cousin to idleness
• I can be the master of electronics, not their slave
• What am I doing today to prepare to meet God?
• Am I prepared to be happy with the accounting I will have to give?

"It is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity. For he who is faithful and wise in time is accounted worthy to inherit the mansions prepared for him of my Father" (D&C 72:3-4).

I also wrote a note to look up a couple of quotes. Here's the one by Elder Quentin L. Cook: (in October 2003, "Are You a Saint?". You won't be disappointed if you decide to read the whole talk.)

"Saints who respond to the Savior’s message will not be led astray by distracting and destructive pursuits and will be prepared to make appropriate sacrifices. The importance of sacrifice to those who want to be Saints is exemplified by the atoning sacrifice of the Savior, which is at the center of the gospel. What a wonderful blessing it is to be a Latter-day Saint. I love the words in the last lines of the hymn “O Saints of Zion”:

O Saints of Zion, tread the paths

Your faithful fathers trod.

Lift up your hearts in gratitude

And serve the living God! "

So, it takes a bit of sacrifice to use our time wisely! And here's the one by President Ezra Taft Benson which helps us realize the sacrifice is worth it** (given in April 1988 general conference):

"When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives."

Just last night I made the comment that it's so hard to be productive when you're tired. Wayne said, "And you're just learning that now!?" No, I knew that, but after reading this talk again that morning, I was more aware of trying to be productive and using my time wisely. And I was tired and sleepy and it was difficult. So, I guess one of the lessons I need to learn when it comes to time management is making sure I get the proper amount of sleep! I'm looking forward to keeping Elder Ardern's counsel in mind as I prepare for the current holiday season and New Year's Resolutions.

**I wrote about this before. I like this quote!