Editor’s note: This is another article in our new series of BYU students sharing letters and reflections on scripture.
Setting Christ-centered Goals as a Family
by Ethan G.
After New Years my wife and I set many goals that we wanted to accomplish during the year, and habits we wanted to incorporate into our lives that would stay with us for our lifetime. Of course, with all New Years goals usually they never happen. Finally, a month later we got back into the groove of things and talked about our goals we had set and why they weren’t happening.
As we talked this past week a scripture came to mind from my reading in Helaman 5:12 which reads:
“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”
We then discussed how we both need to have our goals and desires based in Christ. We needed a united purpose and foundation to build on if we want to keep our relationship strong with each other and with our Heavenly Father. When we are united in our thoughts, desires, and actions we can become one with one another and as we aligned our desires with Heavenly Fathers will we would become one with the Godhead as well. The reason we talked about this was because our goals related to the will of God, we were just having trouble being motivated to get them done. And this came from purpose and remembering the big picture.
As we talked about our foundation and a vision of where we wanted to be the more motivated to get things taken care of in our lives. We then discussed Helaman 10:4-5 and replaced our names with Nephi:
“Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments. And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.”
We have power within each of us. We can all receive the blessings of Heaven according to the will of the Father. It is all about what we have done and who we become. That determines that which is allotted unto us. So as my wife and I and whoever else is reading this, as we set our goals according to the vision of who we can become, we can have the same feelings as Nephi did when he heard a voice of the Lord those many years ago. We can become great if we would stay on top of the small and simple things. Thankfully now we are right back on track, working toward the greater good, improving ourselves, and preparing to be great influences on the lives of those around us.
