Living to Reach our Goals

To my son,

               Last week at stake conference our stake president invited us to put more focus on the Children and Youth program. In particular, he talked about the goals that children and youth are invited to set, and he suggested that it would be good for all of us to do that. The program invites us to set goals in four areas of our lives: Spiritual, Social, Physical, and Intellectual. These four areas come from a verse describing how the Savior grew up: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Wisdom corresponds to intellectual goals, stature corresponds to physical goals, and the last two reference our spirituality and social relationships. The older I get the more I realize that goals are so important for us to be able to achieve our potential and become who God wants us to become. I love this quote from in M. Russell Ballard: “I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.” The Children and Youth program invites you to set at least one goal in each of these areas and then to strive to realize those goals. When I was your age the youth program encouraged us to accomplish a lot of good things, but they were decided by others. This program puts the responsibility on you to determine, with the help of the Lord, what is most important for you to do right now. I hope that you will seriously consider and pray about what things the Lord wants you to be doing, and then set goals to accomplish what you feel you should. One of the greatest feelings in this life is to set a goal, work hard towards it, and to achieve it with the help of the Lord.

               I think the story we studied this week in the Book of Mormon can teach us some important principles about setting and accomplishing goals. The Nephites and Lamanites were being threatened by the Gadianton robbers, and it looked as if they might be destroyed. Lachoneus was the chief judge, and his goal was clearly to defend his people and preserve them from being overtaken by their enemies. His first step to doing this was to turn to the Lord for help: “He did cause that his people should cry unto the Lord for strength against the time that the robbers should come down against them.” Whatever we want to accomplish, the best first step is to turn to the Lord for help. Second, Lachoneus made a plan to accomplish this goal: “Yea, he sent a proclamation among all the people, that they should gather together their women, and their children, their flocks and their herds, and all their substance, save it were their land, unto one place.” He invited all the people to gather into a single spot, and they banded together to protect themselves from the robbers. He sent instructions to all the people and invited them to follow the plan. Whatever our goal, after seeking the Lord’s help, our second step should be to make a plan for how we will accomplish it. Lachoneus also went to work doing everything he could to prepare for the inevitable war: “And he caused that fortifications should be built round about them, and the strength thereof should be exceedingly great. And he caused that armies, both of the Nephites and of the Lamanites, or of all them who were numbered among the Nephites, should be placed as guards round about to watch them, and to guard them from the robbers day and night” (3 Nephi 3:12-14). So, an important third step to achieving an important goal is to go to work and do all we can to make it happen. Any goal worthy of our effort will require just that: effort! These Nephites labored diligently to make weapons, fortify their cities, and do everything else needful to prepare for an attack by the Gadianton robbers. Ultimately that attack indeed came, and the Nephites were able to withstand their enemies successfully because of their preparations and the strength of the Lord they received. I know that with the help of the Lord you can do great things in your life, and I invite you to set goals and then go to work to achieve them. 

Love,

Dad