Self Mastery

Self mastery is the result of self control. Self control is disciplined agency: it is to act instead of being acted upon. Self discipline is the key to personal freedom. The more we have control over the more we have freedom from. Growth is the result of harvesting our efforts in areas we have control over. We truly grow when we focus our energy on things we have control over and not waste out time and energy on things we have no control over. Wisdom is to knowing the difference.

Pride keeps us from correcting our character flaws. Our character flaws keep us out of heaven. May heaven help me be humble enough to see my faults before it's too late. Thankfully, His amazing grace is sufficient!

Bad choices are like opening a dozen credit cards: they are easy to open, the allure to use them is intense, the personal freedom to use them is almost addicting, there is a delayed reaction before having to pay them back-- but the compounding consequences can be devastating.

Agency is a double edged sword. Personal freedom is liberating and empowering but the consequences are just as great. The higher the freedom, the higher the consequences. Choices have consequences. Cause has resulting effects. What you sow so shall ye reap.

There is often a "consequence window" between cause and effect. The time between the iceberg and the sinking ship. The time between the earthquake and the resulting tsunami. Personal freedom is appealing, but without some restraint, personal freedom can be dangerous.

The rarest of gems are usually of the highest quality and in the highest demand. Sometimes, like gold, the things of highest value require a refining process to purge and to polish and to purify. We seek who we are and if we seek to be like the Savior we will be the highest quality and we will attract the same. He is the standard of excellence and, no matter what the world can offer, only He can offer Eternal Life.

While it is Called Today

Yesterday I proved once again that I am a self righteous jerk. I said things I shouldn't have said and made things worse.

Today is a new day, and I resolve to repent and do better and not lose out on opportunities to grow. There is a poem and a hymn that reflect the importance of living life each day to the fullest and cherishing the moments of each day.

I wrote this poem and have shared it on this blog before but it is fitting to share it again.

Someday Isle
I charted a ship to Someday Isle
and dreamed of a glorious paradise sun.
I set my sails high and manned the wheel
I hoped for a fast wind and a strong run.
I’d heard of the treasures on Someday Isle
and dreamed of great riches and fame
So I sold all I had for my boat and supplies
but I knew all my wealth I’d regain.
The voyage was rugged, the waves were quite rough
and at times I thought all was lost
But I held on to that wheel and forged on ahead
“I’ll make it, regardless the cost”
One day I spotted dry land close ahead,
So I set my sails high once more.
I didn’t steer clear, enough of the reef
and I crashed far from the shore.
I’m stranded here now on Someday Isle
with no hope of rescue in sight.
But someday, I’ll make it back home to the shore
and tell of my terrible plight.
Life is a voyage of jewels and success
the foolish sailor will say.
But I realize the real jewel now
is the time that I spend with today.

And here is the hymn

Today, While the Sun Shines, no. 229

Today, while the sun shines, work with a will;
Today all your duties with patience fulfill.
Today, while the birds sing, harbor no care;
Call life a good gift; call the world fair.

Today seek the treasure better than gold,
The peace and the joy that are found in the fold.
Today seek the gems that shine in the heart;
While here we labor, choose the better part.

Today seek for goodness, virtue, and truth,
As crown of your life and the grace of your youth.
Today, while the heart beats, live to be true,
Constant and faithful all the way through.

[Chorus]
Today, today, work with a will;
Today, today, your duties fulfill.
Today, today, work while you may;
Prepare for tomorrow by working today.

Today is another day and I will try harder to be more like my Savior, while it is
called today.

I will put the Lord first in my life

Happiness is a tricky word. The plan of happiness is not a plan of selfishness, a plan of idleness, or a plan of slothfulness, it is s plan of progress. Redemption is the process of progress. It is the process of progress over time. God' grace is sufficient to hold off justice so that growth can occur incrementally, sometimes slowly. In God eyes, success is measured, as much in our efforts as in the results. There is triumph in trying. There are optimal results in practice, practice, practice. If perfection were the only yardstick for success we would all fall forever short.

But if perfection was never plausible then we would do nothing to make it possible. Really Christ has paid the ultimate price to make it all possible. His grace is the enabling power that makes it available and attainable in the first place.

Elder Maxwell said: "Since faith in the timing of the Lord may be tried, let us learn to say not only, 'Thy will be done,' but patiently also, 'Thy timing be done'" (CR, April 2001, 76; or "Plow in Hope," Ensign, May 2001, 59).

Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord's will and in the Lord's timing.

On setting standards and make commitments, Elder Dallin H Oaks stated:

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ prepares us for whatever life brings. This kind of faith prepares us to deal with life's opportunities--to take advantage of those that are received and to persist through the disappointments of those that are lost. In the exercise of that faith we should commit ourselves to the priorities and standards we will follow on matters we do not control and persist faithfully in those commitments whatever happens to us because of the agency of others or the timing of the Lord. When we do this, we will have a constancy in our lives that will give us direction and peace. Whatever the circumstances beyond our control, our commitments and standards can be constant.

Wise are those who make this commitment: I will put the Lord first in my life and I will keep His commandments. The performance of that commitment is within everyone's control. We can fulfill that commitment without regard to what others decide to do, and that commitment will anchor us no matter what timing the Lord directs for the most important events in our lives.

Commit yourself to put the Lord first in your life, keep His commandments, and do what the Lord's servants ask you to do. Then your feet are on the pathway to eternal life. Then it does not matter whether you are called to be a bishop or a Relief Society president, whether you are married or single, or whether you die tomorrow. You do not know what will happen. Do your best on what is fundamental and personal and then trust in the Lord and His timing.

Do not rely on planning every event of your life--even every important event. Stand ready to accept the Lord's planning and the agency of others in matters that inevitably affect you. Plan, of course, but fix your planning on personal commitments that will carry you through no matter what happens. Anchor your life to eternal principles, and act upon those principles whatever the circumstances and whatever the actions of others. Then you can await the Lord's timing and be sure of the outcome in eternity."

As President Charles W. Penrose declared at a general conference memorializing the death of President Joseph F. Smith:

Why waste your time, your talents, your means, your influence in following something that will perish and pass away, when you could devote yourselves to a thing that will stand forever? For this Church and kingdom, to which you belong, will abide and continue in time, in eternity, while endless ages roll along, and you with it will become mightier and more powerful; while the things of this world will pass away and perish, and will not abide in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord our God.