Measure Your Progress

In 1990 President Nelson gave a talk to the students at BYU about resolutions at the start of a new decade. He sought to speak to them personally and did so by addressing named individuals he thought would be representative of those in his audience. One of these was Richard, and President Nelson said him, “What will you resolve to be? If I can read your thoughts correctly, you are committed to strive for personal righteousness. That is a wonderful goal. But it is a little more difficult to measure than a goal to shed ten pounds of unwanted weight, or to run or to swim a measured distance. Come with me to the high mountain, and I’ll suggest some ways in which you can measure your progress toward personal righteousness.” He then gave three ways that Richard could measure his personal righteousness which I think are all applicable to us today.  

The first measurement of righteousness was related to the sacrament. President Nelson said, “To begin, ask yourself, ‘What do I think of when I partake of the sacrament? Do I really concentrate on the atonement of Jesus Christ? Do I comprehend the magnitude of his sacrifice and the magnificence of my future as I take upon myself the name of Jesus Christ and resolve to keep his commandments? As his witness, do I worthily partake of the broken bread in remembrance of his broken body? Do I worthily partake of the water, blessed and sanctified to the souls of all those who drink of it, in remembrance of his blood shed for us? You can recognize progress each week as you thoughtfully, regularly, and worthily partake of the sacrament.’” How we treat the sacrament and what we think of during the sacrament tells us something about our own spiritual progress. The Savior also indicated to the Nephites that the sacrament would be an important measurement of what they thought about Him. He said, “And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you” (3 Nephi 18:7). Humbly partaking of the sacrament each week is a sign that we do always remember Him, and that is crucial to our spiritual growth.  

                The second spiritual yardstick that President Nelson gave was Sabbath day treatment. He questioned, “How do you feel about the Sabbath day?... My behavior on the Sabbath constitutes my sign to the Lord of my regard for him and for my covenants with him. If, on the one hand, my interests on the Sabbath day are turned to activities such as pro football games or worldly movies, the sign from me to him would clearly be that my devotions do not favor him. If, on the other hand, my Sabbath interests are focused on the Lord and his teachings, on the family, or on folks who are sick or poor or needy, that sign would likewise be evident to God. I have concluded that our activities on the Sabbath will be appropriate when we honestly consider them to be our personal sign of our commitment to the Lord.” More important than each individual activity we engage in is the focus on the Lord that we have throughout the day. If our thoughts are centered on Him and serving others, then surely we will be honoring the Sabbath. The Savior’s most common activity on the Sabbath was to bless and heal others, and that is the example we should follow.   

                The final litmus test that President Nelson gave to measure personal righteousness was the least expected. He said this, “Next, Richard, prepare to do work of real worth for your fellowmen. This is one of the fundamental reasons for enrollment at this institution of higher learning. The critical difference between your just hoping for good things for mankind and your being able to do good things for mankind is education…. Maintain your motivation and perseverance to do work of worth. It will be a measure of your individual righteousness. No matter what your career may be, the long hours of sacrifice and effort required to achieve excellence are really worth it.” This statement reminds me of these words of the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.” We strive for personal righteousness because we love God, and as our love for God grows our desire to bless others will increase. And so our efforts to learn and then apply that learning to help others is an indication of where we are at spiritually. The Lord put it this way in modern revelation: “Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:27-28).