Hey there everybody and happy new year.
We are it's January 2023.
My name is Scott Durfey.
I'm here with Uncle David.
We're doing another season and podcast.
How are you today David?
I'm good.
Happy Christmas and looking forward to a new year Scott.
Always exciting to have a new year.
With a new year comes kind of a new lease on life for a lot of people David.
So we're going to you know maybe start to move in that direction as we go with the podcast
this year.
So hey what do you want to start with?
Well I'm excited about that as we begin a new season and as we begin a new year.
I thought it would be really helpful for all of us ourselves included if we talked about
what it means to live an intentional life.
That's been on my heart for some time.
I've noticed that President Nelson Scott this is one of his favorite words is the word intent
or intentional.
And he keeps bringing it up.
I even remember before he was the president of the church that he gave this amazing talk
and he really focused on what it means to pray with real intent from Moroni chapter
10 verse 4.
You know that if you receive these things verse 3 Moroni 10 and then you pray about
it with a sincere heart with real intent.
And I remember him really focusing on the word emphasizing the word intent and what
a prayer of real intent means.
So even before he was president of the church but since he's been president there's a few
quotes that I'd like to begin with where he invites us to be more intentional in our living
of the gospel.
Do you want to read that first one?
Yeah I've got the first one right here so this is from October 2018 in the sister session
of conference.
It says be intentional about talking of Christ, rejoicing in Christ and preaching of Christ
with your families and friends.
You and they will be drawn closer to the Savior through this process and changes.
Even miracles will begin to happen.
So just think about this quote for a minute Scott.
Being more intentional about talking of Christ, being more intentional in rejoicing in Christ.
I mean we can talk about this a little more later but what does that look like to be more
intentional in rejoicing in Christ?
What does it look like when we're more intentional in preaching of Christ and the promises that
he gives, he gives really two promises that not only miracles will happen but that will
be, does he say drawn to him?
I'm just going to read it again, be intentional about talking of Christ, rejoicing in Christ
and preaching of Christ with your families and friends.
Then here's the promise, you and they will be drawn closer to the Savior through this
process and changes, even miracles will begin to happen.
I think it's interesting here how he says you will be drawn closer to the Savior.
That makes sense to me but there's a kind of a revelatory thing for me at least there
that our families and our friends, they will also be drawn closer to Christ through my
efforts.
Yeah, yeah, that's awesome.
Well what a promise to be drawn, to be drawn closer to Jesus Christ, to have the promise
of change and miracles in our life.
I think that's one of the great promises that President Nelson has given us as our prophet.
And another one was in the April 2020 conference session when he gives this amazing talk which
I think is a classic entitled Hear Him, and he says, as we seek to be disciples of Jesus
Christ, our efforts to hear him need to be ever more intentional.
And he goes on, skipping just a little bit down here.
He says, I renew my plea for you.
Whenever a prophet says that he renews his plea or I again plea, that gets my attention.
I renew my plea for you to do whatever it takes to increase your spiritual capacity
to receive personal revelation.
What will happen as you more intentionally, that word, as you more intentionally hear,
hearken and heed what the Savior has said and what he is saying now through his prophets?
I promise you that you will be blessed with additional power to deal with temptations,
struggles and weakness.
I promise you miracles in your marriage, family relationships and your daily work.
And I promise that your capacity to feel joy will increase even if turbulence increases
in your life.
I just think that's an amazing promise.
Higher power, miracles in your relationships, even your work, and then the promise to have
increased capacity for joy even as turbulence increases.
So we've been promised by a prophet that as we live a more intentional life, that we will
be blessed.
As we consider making this year, Scott, as we begin a new year, goals and resolutions,
I've just pondered and want to discuss this with you and our listeners about, so as we
do that, how can we set goals and just tweak them or kind of redirect them to be more intentional,
being more focused on Jesus Christ, rejoicing in him, hearing him, receiving him, strengthening
our relationship with him?
How can we do that as we set goals and as we make resolutions?
I think, Dave, before we can do that, we really have to define what intent even means.
We have to discuss what does it mean to be intentional in these things, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So what does that look like, Scott?
What does it look like to live an intentional life?
What does it look like to pray with real intent or to study our scriptures with real intent
as we start a new, come follow me this year?
What would it look like to do that with real intent or ministering with real intent, serving
with real intent, attending the temple, participating in temple ordinances with real intent?
How does that all look like and what's the difference?
Well, first off, real intent to what?
I intend to what?
And so we need to talk about that too, right?
So my intention, if we're going to talk about, and I think this is what President Nelson
was talking about, in fact, I know it is when he's talking about being intentional about
talking of Christ, rejoicing in Christ and preaching of Christ, intentional means that
we have a purpose behind what it is that we're doing, right?
And we're not just floating.
And so, for example, if I go for a horse ride and I just get on my horse and I just go for
a ride, I don't know where I'll go.
But if I get on my horse and my intention is to go around the Tempe Nuki loop and come
down horse flat and come back to Tempe Nuki through Salamander flat and all that other
stuff, then I have intent and I have a plan to do that intent.
And so that's what intentional means, intentional.
And so for me, when we talk about being intentional about talking of Christ, of rejoicing in Christ
and preaching in Christ, what we're intending is our relationship with Christ.
And I think that's what President Nelson's inviting us to do, is to be more intentional
about our entire relationship with Jesus Christ.
And so as we think about and start setting and considering what goals or directions we
want to take this year as a new year, and if we are going to do that intentionally,
then we need to make sure, if that's our intent, is to be one with Christ, to be yoked with
Christ, to have our lives and His be the same, or have our will swallowed up in His will,
that intent or all of those things intentionally need to be taking us closer to Him.
Yeah, for sure.
I think that's right, Scott.
It's the focus on Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him, and also with our Heavenly Father
and with the Holy Ghost who speaks the words of Christ, as we really just focus and center
our thoughts, our efforts, our goals on exercising greater faith and developing a stronger relationship
with divinity.
I think that's what it means to do it with real intent.
Instead of just going through the motions, instead of just doing it, that we do it with
a purpose.
And that purpose, I think, Scott, is the one needful thing that Jesus told Martha in that
amazing story that's been preserved by Luke in Luke chapter 10, where He, in Luke chapter
10, if you have it there, Scott?
Yeah, yeah.
You want to begin with verse 40?
You know, we have this story that Jesus is with Martha and Mary.
These are the sisters of Lazarus, and they're in Bethany, and Jesus is staying with them
as He did, I think, frequently, even the last week of His life.
He was staying there, and we have this experience.
And Martha is busy serving.
I think it uses the word, cumbered, which literally in the Greek means distracted.
And then Jesus teaches her a powerful lesson that I think is probably at the heart of what
it means to live an intentional life.
Luke 10 verse 40, But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him and said,
Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?
Bid her therefore that she help me.
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about
many things.
But one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away
from her.
But one thing is needful.
What's that one thing?
I, you know, I've pondered that so much of my life, Scott, and I've come to the conclusion
that it just means to learn of Him, to hear Him, to be close to Him, to think of Him,
have a relationship with Him, that it's all about all of our life, really.
Our whole purpose in this life is to learn how to receive Jesus Christ in our life, to
receive His redemption, His salvation, His teachings, His atoning sacrifice, His mercy,
His grace, all of these as gifts from our loving Heavenly Father, and to receive all
of that in our life.
And we can't do it, Scott, when we are distracted by so many good things.
There are so many good things.
You know, you've heard the saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
There's so many good things that we can do, even in the church, Scott, there's so many
good things.
But if it's not the right things, so I like to think when I hear the saying, the road
to hell is paved with good intentions, I like to think the road to heaven is paved with
the right intentions, or the expedient intentions, which I believe are the ones that are centered
in Jesus Christ, receiving and administering the atonement of the Jesus Christ in my life
and in the life of my family and in the life of those that I love and serve my neighbors.
So I think that this is not a hard thing that we have to do.
It's just a refocusing.
It takes effort, but it's not hard.
It's simple, really.
It's not easy, but it's simple that we just have to look to Christ and live.
Well, and that's what Mary's doing here.
If we read verse 39, which we didn't do, which would have come before all that we read, and
this is what it says, and she had a sister, meaning Martha had a sister, called Mary,
which also sat at the feet, at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
That's what Mary was doing.
That's what was needful.
And that's the one needful thing.
As we set our intentions and as we begin to plan for the entire year, if we are able to
keep this in the forefront of our mind, in doing so, then all of our intentions will
have a higher probability of being much more pure.
That's for sure.
Yeah, I can envision that some of my goals and your resolutions, just like our listeners,
will be to do Come Follow Me weekly.
Right?
That's a great goal, to do it daily, to read Come Follow Me passages daily.
And that's great.
That's a really great goal, right?
It's a great goal.
But if we just tweak it, if we just kind of change the focus a little bit, and it is to
do Come Follow Me to strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ or to receive the blessings
of grace and mercy, forgiveness in my life, or to do Come Follow Me so that I can be a
better parent in administering the atonement of Jesus Christ in the lives of my children
or my grandchildren.
I mean, if we'll just really, when we set these goals, if we'll just think about why
am I doing this, or the who, who am I trying to get closer to by doing this?
Who cares if I do this?
How is this going to affect my relationships with my Heavenly Father, with Jesus Christ,
the Holy Ghost, and my family?
That's what it means, Scott, to be more intentional and to live an intentional life.
So when we talk about living an intentional life, I mean, we can use that as a big blanket
statement, but it might be helpful if we were to kind of break that down a little bit and
kind of, you know, we have a category, maybe subcategorize that a little bit and talk about,
okay, in what parts of our life, you know, and obviously we can say that in every part
of our life, we should be living more intentional.
We are likely to get more results and a draw closer on to Him if we focus on a few of those
things with more intent.
So for example, David, let's talk about praying.
What about praying with intent?
Well, so an intentional life is a life that is centered in Jesus Christ.
And if we are to do what President Nelson invited us to do, to be more intentional in
hearing Him, a prayer of real intent would be instead of, as I often pray, and I still
find myself praying like this, and it's a wonderful prayer and I feel the Spirit, but
it's maybe not as intentional as it could be.
And I maybe don't receive, maybe I don't receive the blessings that I could have received if
I would pray a little bit more with intent, with real intent.
So I often pray, help me.
Help me to be a better husband.
Help me to be a better dad.
Help me to be a better granddad.
Help me to be a better patriarch.
If sometimes I would pray with real intent, I might pray, how can I be a better husband?
And then listen to hear Him.
Listen for revelation from Jesus Christ for direction, specifically in my life.
Jesus Christ answering an inspired question through the Holy Ghost.
So I guess it would be safe then to probably say that when we talk about intent, we're
really also not just, but also talking about focus, right?
It's really taking time, Scott.
It takes, not hard, it just takes a little more time to maybe really think about what
do I need help with, and then crafting in our mind an inspired question.
Inspired questions to God in prayer lead to revelatory responses.
And if we want to do what President Nelson has asked us to do to be more intentional
to hear Him, we need to ask more inspired questions, which take some effort and some
time.
And I think what it really means to pray with real intent, Scott, is to pray more with the
Spirit instead of just kneeling down and going through the motions, to take really some time
– whatever that may be – in order to really think about what we're thankful for and to
what we want to really ask for, to receive revelation and direction in our life, and
to really do it under the direction of the Holy Ghost, to pray by the Spirit.
I love that this scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 46, the revelation on the gifts
of the Spirit, and verse 30 says, He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the
will of God, wherefore it is done even as he asketh.
I love that, Scott, and I love what it says under the topic of prayer in the Bible Dictionary,
that Heavenly Father knows what we need, and it's our responsibility – and I think this
is what a prayer of real intent is – it's our responsibility to be inspired by the Holy
Ghost to ask for what Heavenly Father knows that we need according to His will.
This even goes on to say, and ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for whatsoever
blessings ye are blessed with.
There's a certain power of a prayer of real intent, different than just a prayer, because
we do it under the direction of the Spirit, and we do it in order to receive revelation
and direction and to hear the voice of the Lord.
So when we've talked to a lot of our guests that we've had, that we've done interviews
with and as we've focused on it a great deal in Alma, so apparently then a real intentional
prayer might be more of a crying out sometimes, too.
Yeah, kind of a surrender.
Last week we interviewed somebody, our listeners will have the pleasure to hear this interview
maybe in another week or two with Mandy and Jorie Norton, but I remember it was powerful,
it was a powerful moment for me in that interview when he was describing his going through an
addiction and feeling like he was just digging himself out of a hole, in fact making tunnels,
going from tunnel to tunnel, and every day feeling like he was getting deeper and deeper
in this hole, and he finally reached this point where he was willing to surrender and
in desperation he cries out to God and he hears like a voice, put down your shovel and
look up.
Well it's really, that's not hard, but it takes some effort and spirit and revelation
and he looked up.
That was the key to his recovery.
It reminds me really, Scott, living a life of real intent is to just be so centered and
so focused on Jesus Christ that when we are bit by the serpents, like Moses in the wilderness,
he has this brass serpent, right, and when the people are bit by these fiery, flying,
poisonous serpents, all they have to do, then we are all bitten every day, right?
Every day we are bit by snakes of sin.
Every day we sin.
The fall is a part of our everyday life and always will be, and a life of real intent
is to go through life knowing that as soon as we do that we can look up, we can look
up to Christ, we can look at the Savior on the cross.
You know it struck me this Christmas in our sacrament meeting a message was shared and
I've thought about it ever since, that we have to reach a point where we take baby Jesus
out of the manger and now as we begin a new year we put him on the cross.
And living a life of intention is to be able to look up, not just look down at baby Jesus
in a manger, which is so sweet and tender, but to look up at the suffering Christ and
to, you know, maybe we can talk about how we do this.
He has commanded us, look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not, behold the wound
in my side and the prints of the nails in my hands and feet.
This is what it means, Scott, to live an intentional life.
I've asked this question before on this podcast, is it even possible to look unto Christ in
every thought?
Is that even possible?
I've tried to experiment with this, Scott, and I think I have not succeeded.
One day where in every thought, in every possible thought I think, I'm looking to Christ and
He's the center of it.
But it's the process, it's the effort, it's the conscious thinking about that and trying
to look unto Him in every thought that really matters and that's what it means to live an
intentional life and that's how we do it, is by looking to Christ.
Let's be clear, we're talking about living an intentional life in Jesus Christ.
We're talking about living intentionally to have the effects of the atonement of Jesus
Christ always at work in our lives as He's been demonstrated to us through the Spirit
of the Holy Ghost.
David, at some point, not you know people, I know people, in some areas, some people
have the, I don't know what else other word to use, but muscle memory.
They have just conditioned themselves because of their relationship with Jesus Christ and
when we are around them we feel that and it can intentionally become who we are.
But it doesn't happen by accident.
It doesn't just happen.
It doesn't just happen by what we do either.
We have to have intention to live our lives in alignment with Heavenly Father and with
Jesus Christ and that intention has to be there.
Once it's there and becomes a part of us, then that look unto me in every thought becomes
more of who we are.
Well here's the grand secret Scott.
The people who are like that are the people who are repenting the most.
Daily.
They are the ones who are repenting daily throughout their life.
They are the ones, the grand secret of those who appear to be pure or more consecrated
or holy or sanctified.
Those are the people who are repenting the most because they feel the greatest need.
They know that they are fallen.
They know they are wretched.
They know they are lost.
They know their need that without Christ they are nothing.
They know that they can merit nothing of themselves that only through Christ can they be saved
or redeemed.
That's the grand secret and an intentional life is to know that and to live like that.
And Scott, there are so many great kind of do it yourself gurus or positive mental thinking
and self improvement kits and books and speakers that are really popular this time of year
as we look forward to a new year and a new beginning.
Even in our own church I recently heard another podcast and even a devotional that this individual
had given about positive self talk and the power of the mind and being more mindful and
the power in that.
And I know there is power in that.
Absolutely.
But there is no redemptive power in that Scott if it is not focused in Jesus Christ.
And there is the real intent that we are talking about to live an intentional life means to
live a life that is seeking redemption, that is seeking salvation.
That's right.
That's what it means to live an intentional life means that we are living a life where
we are seeking or depending upon, relying alone upon the author and the finisher of
our salvation and our faith which is Jesus Christ.
We need to really do that before we sit down and determine, here is where I need to be
better.
We need to sit down and focus on that relationship with him so that when we approach for example
if I set a goal this year that I want to be more intentional in my scripture study.
Ok well then now that I have used the word intentional in my scripture study what exactly
does that mean?
Well for me what that means is I am looking for him.
I am looking for him.
We talk about the how as we go through here but for example in Doctrine and Covenants
section 19 verse 23 he says learn of me and listen to my words.
Walk in the meekness of my spirit and you shall have peace in me.
And so you know as we do this as we learn of him as we listen to his words as we learn
to walk in the meekness of his spirit then we can as we approach for example scripture
study well if that is what my intent is to learn of him, to learn how to walk in the
meekness of his spirit then my relationship with the scriptures is completely different
that way than it would have been if my intent and my goal was to you know what Scott you
need to go have a better scripture study.
Ok what does that mean?
You know but if I do it with intent to have the redemption of Jesus Christ alive in my
life then I have a different approach.
Well you are an elders quorum president and you do lots of ministering interviews Scott
and here is the difference instead of asking how is your scripture study if you ask somebody
how are you strengthening your relationship with Jesus Christ in your scripture study
that's a totally different question.
And one is you are doing a task and the other one is you are doing something with real intent.
So that's what we should be asking ourselves and I love the scripture that you read in
Doctrine and Covenants 19 23 it says you shall have peace in me.
There are so many people in the world that love peace, live for peace and enjoy peace
who aren't even Christian.
That is not the same level of having peace in Christ.
So everything that we are talking about today living a life of real intent is living a life
in Christ.
In fact I think it is described a life of intention or living a life with real intent
is described in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 by Paul when he writes,
For who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ.
I just really love that Scott that it is not enough to be mindful.
What's really needed, what should really be our intent is to have the mind of Christ.
It's not just enough for us to be mindful and be present, present of all my surroundings.
What's really awesome is if I can be present with Christ thinking of His atoning sacrifice,
grace, mercy, merits, blessings in my life presently in the past, in the future, looking
forward with an eye of faith to His coming.
You know that's what I think it means to live with real intent is that we have the mind
of Christ not just being mindful in the present.
And because of that all things that we approach, so let's talk about a couple more.
What about for example what would being more intentional in taking of the sacrament every
Sunday look like?
Oh yeah, good one.
So many times right we just go through the motions of that.
We do.
But if we did that with the mind of Christ our thoughts would be centered in Him for
sure and in fact I think that I don't do this enough and I know that when I do it really
makes a difference is that when I go to the sacrament table or sacrament meeting repenting,
that when I start repenting Saturday night, that when I go to church on Sunday to partake
of the sacrament it seems like that's when I really take it with real intent is that
I'm doing it to be forgiven and I believe according to my faith in Christ and my understanding
that if I have repented and I partake of that sacrament and receive the promises of having
His Spirit to always be with me that I am forgiven of my sins.
Approaching the sacrament too with having intent to have a closer relationship with Christ
the symbols become more meaningful too.
Definitely.
The bread, the water, even the covering of the sacrament, even the sacrament table, the
altar, the sacrament table itself, even the way it's administered.
You know and I also think of the Aaronic Priesthood young men in our wards if they're preparing
the sacrament having more intent to be closer to Jesus Christ or intentionally to help us
all to have the experience that we should be having I wonder what their experience might
be different, how their experience might be different.
How would it change us as parents to prepare our children to partake of the sacrament with
real intent?
How would it be different as a family setting their partaking of the sacrament?
Are our children, have they been taught what it means the symbols and emblems of the sacrament
and are they thinking of Christ?
Maybe we would share different story books or coloring books or whatever that are just
a little more focused on Jesus Christ.
So you know there's so many things that we can just tweak aren't hard.
Right.
Just with small adjustments.
That aren't easy.
They're just simple.
That's true too.
Just simple little changes that we make.
For example how would ministering change?
You know you're an elders quorum president and ministering would right instead of just
overseeing people's needs or looking out for people or taking over cookies or do and those
are there's so many good things those are all good.
All good.
All good stuff.
All right all good things but they may not be the right things or they may not be the
best things or it may not be complete.
So there you go.
Ministering to be more a higher and holier form of ministering would be to seek to administer
the atonement of Jesus Christ into the lives of people.
To seek to help them feel the love of God and the sacrifice and gift of His Son in their
life.
That would be what I would think would make ministering with real intent more powerful
in the church.
And how do we do that?
We go to Doctrine and Covenants section 19 verse 23 again.
We learn of Him.
We learn of me and listen to my words and walk in the meekness of my way.
We read that it's really beautiful the way that's written.
In fact songs have been written about it.
Deb sings the most beautiful song that's taken this verse as kind of a thesis or a theme.
But you know when we read these beautiful words sometimes we don't necessarily catch
the full meaning but he says learn of me.
Listen to my words and walk in the meekness of my way.
When we walk in His meek way our intent is no longer has to be manufactured by us.
It comes up because that's who we were born to be.
Yeah I'm thinking of an experience I had with Elder Anderson when we rededicated the Institute
of Religion as the director there at UVU Institute of Religion after a multi-million dollar complete
renovation of the building.
Because of my relationship with Elder Anderson at the time I just asked him in one of our
conversations if he would be willing to consider rededicating our building and he said well
I'll have to ask President Ballard and see if he'll give me that assignment.
I thought that was kind of a little learning lesson that how the Quorum of the Twelve operate
and how they have to be assigned to do things like that from the president of the Quorum
and he made that request to President Ballard and President Ballard gave him that assignment.
I had invited all 27 stake presidents to bring their wives to the Institute and have a moment
with an apostle Elder Anderson and to be able to hear his testimony and feel the spirit
and ask maybe some questions and Elder Anderson was more than willing to do that and all 27
stakes were represented.
Now these are 27 young adult stakes.
Yeah thank you Scott.
That's important to note.
Can you?
Can you believe it Matt 27 of them?
27 just young adults.
Just in this area.
Yeah just in Utah County.
Yeah.
Just in Utah County.
Not the state of Utah.
I know those in other countries right now are shaking their head and anyway there were
27 young adult stake presidents or a counselor in the case of two stakes and their wives
and he bore a powerful apostolic testimony and blessing and then he asked them if they
had any questions.
This one stake president asked Elder Anderson he said Elder Anderson can you help us?
We have so many young adults in our stake who are struggling with sin who are going
through a faith crisis some of them leaving the church he said even my own son how can
you help us?
What counsel would you give us to help them to not leave the church?
And Elder Anderson's answer was so simple and so powerful.
He said will you just get them to focus on Jesus Christ?
Just help them to feel close to Jesus Christ.
Help them in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Don't worry so much about their activity or their relationship in the church.
Focus on Jesus Christ and their relationship with him.
Wow.
I remember I was up front sitting with Elder and Sister Anderson as I looked into the faces
of these powerful stake president leaders.
They could feel the spirit and the power of that Scott.
They knew that what he was saying was coming to them from the spirit and that they needed
to be more powerful in not just trying to keep people in the church.
Their emphasis and their priority had to really be their intent.
They had to be more intentional in helping their young members, young adult members to
stay focused on Jesus Christ.
That's ultimately right.
That's ultimately what we all need.
That's ultimately if everything would just be focused on him, centered in him, redemption
through him, that would solve all of our problems.
Well and Dave, we've talked about so far prayer.
We've talked about the sacrament and scripture study.
Ministering, serving.
And those all have to do with spiritual things.
We can also talk about temporal things and still focus on being centered in Christ.
For example, this time of year a lot of financial goals are going to be made, especially this
year.
A lot of finance is going to be really taken care of and put.
Heavenly Father cares about that.
He absolutely cares about that and we can focus on Jesus Christ when we do that.
Heavenly Father cares about our health.
Physical needs, financial needs, social needs.
We have a whole section in the Doctrine and Covenants that have to do with our health.
He cares about that.
So if we need to lose weight, we can lose weight and we are better suited to do so if
we do it with a focus in Jesus Christ.
Yeah, the intent makes a powerful difference.
Right, right.
One of the things that I'm focusing on this year, you know, just being nicer.
And that's easier for me to do if I'm focused on Jesus Christ.
If I learn of Him and I learn to walk in the meekness of His way, being nicer to other
people is going to be, I'll be able to achieve that a lot more readily if I have that focus
on Jesus Christ.
For example.
Yeah, our motives, if our motives, they really matter.
There's more power in some motives than others.
Even in our, lots of people, all of us, right, are going to be setting goals and resolutions
on exercise and diet.
Well, how much more powerful would it be if our goal to do daily exercise, daily activities,
would be so that I might be able to more appropriately or powerfully feel the Spirit in my life so
that I'll have the health and strength that I can be a more effective instrument in the
life of my Heavenly Father in administering the atonement of Jesus Christ into the lives
of others so that I'll be healthier, live a longer, more productive life so that I can
be a better parent, so that I can become a grandparent, so that I can help others.
When we kind of see life through that lens, it changes, Scott, it changes how we eat,
it changes how we sleep, it changes how we take care of ourselves, it changes how we
treat others.
You know, that's kind of the essence of it.
Again, I think I said this when I was ordained to be a patriarch, and I felt just this incredible
need to walk and to live by the Spirit.
It changed everything in my life.
If we would just really focus and center on Jesus Christ this year in all of our goals,
in all of our resolutions, so that we can help ourselves and others to draw closer to
Him, to learn of Him, to center our lives in Him, to receive Him and the effects and
blessings and powers of the atonement of Jesus Christ in our life, it changes our life, Scott.
And what a beautiful thing that is.
You know, I think that so many of us believe, whether it's through conditioning, whether
we were taught this, whether we just observe it maybe, or think we observe it and interpret
it in others, but I think that there's a belief that we partition our lives, and that on one
side of our life we have our relationship with Heavenly Father, and all things spiritual,
and then on the other side of our life we have all things temporal, or secular, or natural
matter, however we decide to say that.
Well, there is no partition.
Partition.
That partition does not exist.
All of our life is spiritual.
And in having that intentional focus on all things that we do better in Christ, then all
of our life becomes better.
I heard Elder Nelson say that he does not compartmentalize his life.
Our life is not like individual silos.
You know, this silo type of mindset or life, where we go from silo to silo.
That's not a life of intention.
That's not an intentional life.
There's one needful thing.
And that thing is needful in every part, every phase, every process of our life.
And if we would live life like that, we would find so much more purpose, so much more peace,
so much more joy, and it would all be in Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him.
And through Him all things are made perfect.
New year, new focus, I think it would be great if we could all take this that we've talked
about today and focus on having an intentional life, intentional in Jesus Christ, and finding
joy and happiness that can only come through the administration of the Atonement in our
lives because of it.
And the last thing I want to say, Scott, is that we spent much of the first season, almost
all of the first season, besides some interviews that we did, and we spent most of the first
season talking about really how to repent, how to feel redemption and forgiveness in
our life, and that was pretty much our whole first season.
Well, as we begin this new season and we talk about a life, living a life, an intentional
life, I think an intentional life is a life filled with repentance.
It is a repenting life.
An intentional life is a repenting life.
None of us are going to be perfect in any of our goals or resolutions.
None of us are going to…we're all fallen.
We need to rely more upon Jesus Christ and focus in Him.
Our focus should not be on our sins more than they're focused upon His sacrifice for our
sins.
Our focus should not be more upon our life or the lives of others than it is upon the
life of Jesus Christ.
That's what it means to live an intentional life, is that we are daily repenting, daily
seeking to enjoy the blessings and powers of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives,
and we can do that in every aspect of our life, no matter where we work, no matter where
we spend our time, no matter what we spend our time doing, if in our scheduling and in
our planning, which I think is really important, right?
We need to plan.
Yeah, absolutely.
If God needed a plan…
We do too.
…how much more important that we need a plan, but that our plan should be based upon
the intent of drawing closer to Jesus Christ and receiving redemption through His blood.
That's an intentional life.
Yeah, and you know, when we talk about, you know, just as we kind of wrap up here, but
you know, we talk about all of our activities and the things that lead towards those things
that we're going to be intending in our lives, and we need to prioritize, right?
It's important for us to…
Absolutely.
Because we focus too much on the things that don't matter.
Yeah.
You know, and so it's important for us to keep those priorities and keep that all in
the forefront of our mind.
And you know, Stephen Covey once said, he said, it's not about prioritizing our schedule,
but it's about scheduling your priorities.
Yeah.
Now, it's really important that we get those in order and maybe even stack ranked to a
degree.
And one highest priority, that one needful thing should be our relationship with our
Savior and Redeemer.
And I think to do that, Scott, we need to somehow declutter and simplify our lives,
not be like Martha where she was so cumbered about with serving that she couldn't prioritize
the one needful thing.
So I think that we have to kind of, really, as we begin this new year and examine and
review our lives, we need to say, what can I cut out?
What can I…
How can I simplify it?
It's really hard to think of Christ in every thought when we're always on our phones.
Or always chasing the next deal or always whatever it is for any of us.
I mean, because all of us have the ability to be distracted.
And one of those distractions for a lot of us is being busy.
We shouldn't mistake being busy with being productive.
Yeah, exactly.
For sure.
Or being efficient when we can be more effective.
I also think, Scott, that in all of this, it's important that we…
I love the Muslim practice of when they pray five times a day, usually facing Mecca if
they can.
And you know, when I was in Egypt and I was awakened at four o'clock in the morning by
the call to pray, I even got up and looked out my window and saw individuals in the street
praying at that hour.
And there was a man in the cathedral in Cairo who, as I sat and watched them pray at a certain
hour, and he had a big white spot in his forehead.
And I asked our guide, I said, what's that white spot?
I thought it was paint or something.
He had a round white spot on his forehead, on his dark-colored skin forehead.
I said, what's the white paint spot, the round circle on his forehead?
And she said, that's not paint.
She said, look closer.
And I got closer to him and it was a callus.
It was a white skin callus, perfectly round from him touching the carpet there in the
mosque praying five times a day.
And you know, Scott, I think how do we live an intentional life?
I think part of it is that we take time.
We don't have a call, you know, from their mosques to pray five times a day.
But we could do that ourselves.
And I think to live an intentional life, partly at least, means to keep the injunction or
the commandment that we've been given to pray always, to watch and pray always.
It takes some time and effort to do that.
Yeah, it does.
To live that kind of a life where we pause and we meditate and we reflect on our blessings
and the source of those blessings and our life and our day and our activities.
And that takes some, again, it's not hard.
But it does take effort.
And it's not easy.
No.
But it is simple.
And I hope that we can simplify our lives and live a life of intention or an intentional
life by focusing more on Jesus Christ in our daily life this year.
I think that's the key is just having that constant companionship with the Spirit because
we have constant communication with our Heavenly Father.
You know, in the 11th step of Alcoholics Anonymous states, we sought through prayer and meditation
to maintain our conscious contact with God.
And you know, if we're able to maintain that conscious contact with our Heavenly Father,
and conscious, that's an action word.
That means it requires effort from us.
But if we maintain that conscious contact, if we are constantly in prayer, if we are
responding to the sirens or the bells or the reminder bells in our own mind for our own
prayers, for our own communion with Him, then all these things kind of work together synergistically
to bring us closer to Him.
And the promises that we've been given by a prophet when we could be more intentional
is so worth the effort, Scott.
And the main promise that we get through our intent of partaking of the sacrament that
we may always have His Spirit to be with us.
That's the answer.
Well, thank you, Scott.
Yeah, thanks for being with us, everybody.
Happy New Year.
We look forward to being with you during this season two.
We got a few calls last week.
Dave, people thought we were ending because of something I guess we said, but we are excited
to start season two here.
We hope that you'll continue to join us and be with us.
Remember that He loves you and that you have been redeemed through His blood.
Thanks for being with us.
We'll see you next week.