Things That Matter Most

     With another General Conference quickly approaching I have reflected on the lessons that I learned during the previous conference 6 months ago. My favorite talk was called "Of Things That Matter Most" given by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He related a story about airplanes and turbulence:

     "Have you ever been in an airplane and experienced turbulence? The most common cause of turbulence is a sudden change in air movement causing the aircraft to pitch, yaw, and roll. While planes are built to withstand far greater turbulence than anything you would encounter on a regular flight, it still may be disconcerting to passengers.

What do you suppose pilots do when they encounter turbulence? A student pilot may think that increasing speed is a good strategy because it will get them through the turbulence faster. But that may be the wrong thing to do. Professional pilots understand that there is an optimum turbulence penetration speed that will minimize the negative effects of turbulence. And most of the time that would mean to reduce your speed. The same principle applies also to speed bumps on a road. Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions."

     I love this comparison! It's so easy for us to speed up and try to do more than we can, and this often results in skipping out on the things that matter most. So what is it that we should focus on? What is it that really matters most? President Uchtdorf talked about four key relationships we should focus on, but I'd like to talk about two of them.

     The first is our relationship with God. God is our loving Heavenly Father and we should seek to build our relationship with him just as we would with our earthly father. To do this we can read his advice and his words given to us by prophets and in the scriptures. We can also talk with him directly through prayer and receive answers back.

     The second is our relationship with family. We know that our families can be together forever and that is a great blessing. President Uchtdorf gave a few suggestions about how we can strengthen our family relationships: "We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together. In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities. We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study, and Sunday worship."

     I know that as we will slow down and focus on the things that matter most, our loving Heavenly Father will bless us and we will be more happy.

     I love watching General Conference because of the messages like this one. It is something that strengthens us and will bring us closer to our Father in Heaven. I promise that as you watch the upcoming conference you will be strengthened just as I have been!