Editing Our Priorities

Gordon B. Hinckley: “Each of us can do a little better than we have been doing. We can be a little more kind. We can be a little more merciful. We can be a little more forgiving. We can put behind us our weaknesses of the past, and go forth with new energy and increased resolution to improve the world about us, in our homes, in our places of employment, in our social activities.”

When I think about editing principles and living the gospel, priorities come to mind. I can’t help but think we need to edit our priorities. Elder Dallin H Oaks gave a talk in October 2007 called Good, Better, Best. In this talk, he said, “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families”. We need to learn to “edit” our priorities. Sometimes this means we have to choose between “good, better, best”. Choosing between two good things can be difficult. We have so many choices every day! Most of them require us to give something up for something else. Elder Oaks spoke about choices that involve our families. These are some of the most important decisions we have to make. They can have eternal consequences.

We need to learn to “edit” our personal priorities. This might mean we spend less time scrolling the internet and more time studying the scriptures. Whatever personal sacrifice we can make to live the gospel more fully is what we should do. That is different for every person. I know where I can make edits to my priorities. It starts with a simple goal and working toward it. Practicing editing our priorities will get easier with time and continued efforts. We can turn our efforts into sanctifying habits.