How am I better today?

When Jesus Christ spoke to His disciples at the Sermon the Mount in Matthew 6 he encouraged them to change their lives. He spoke of real prayer. He taught of putting God first and worrying more about the moment than the past present or future.

When the Prophet Moses spoke he taught the ten commandments reminding us who to love first, some things we need to do, and some things we need to be sure we do not do. Love your neighbor as yourself. Keep the Sabbath day holy. Honor your Father and Mother, etc.

So what if Christ, or his Prophet spoke today? What would they say?

Well the answer is that they do speak and we were blessed to hear their words this very weekend. They said, to doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. They said that when in the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve, but how you serve. They taught that the past is to be learned from, but not lived in. The value of true church only coming through the atonement. The challenge it is to lift people on one hand if you are entertaining vice on the other. They taught to pray to bring someone to the Savior and His gospel every day. They taught opposition strengthens our will and refines our choices. We were even reminded that fatigue is the common enemy of us all and that we should therefore slow down, rest up, replenish, and refill. There is no greater joy than being engaged in the service of the Lord. 

Knowing what they has said is great, but is it really enough? Were Christ's disciples changed in any way by his counsel? Am I changed by his counsel today? I guess my question is knowing that we have received these great gems of truth therefore what? How are we different today because we heard a prophet speak this weekend?  

For me it comes down to very small changes in my life. I determined to set goals. I have been keeping them. These aren't earth shattering or big, but I believe that each individual choice makes us a better and stronger person. I now walk to work instead of driving. I wrote in my journal for the first time in forever. I have tried to pray more specifically for my family and friends and then to follow through and live according to those prayers. I look forward to reporting in a few months time how these changes have blessed my life. 

I invite all of us to change just one thing so that in 6 months time when we have conference again we can improve further. I have heard recently that Christ is not waiting for the wicked to become more wicked so he can come, but that he is waiting for the righteous to be better. So lets try one little step at a time all together to be better!