Two Good Phrases

Because it was the next Conference talk down the line and because I, for some reason, thought that it was going to be the topic of our Elder's Quorum lesson, I watched and read Choose Wisely by Elder Quentin L. Cook yesterday morning, but I didn't blog about it then because I was excited about sharing my "Burn the Tares" insight, and I was hoping to gain another insight for Choose Wisely in Elder's Quorum. But we didn't cover Choose Wisely in Elder's Quorum. Instead, Brother Turpin shared a simple phrase which, if we develop the habit of saying and meaning it, will help us endure trials and follow inspiration. The phrase is "I trust you, Jesus." When bad things happen, we can trust that God will make it alright in the end. When we receive guidance from God, we can trust that it's the right way to go. Reminding us to trust God will help us follow Him to the glorious future He has planned for us.

In Choose Wisely, Elder Cook shared a phrase which, if frequently repeated and considered, will help us make wise choices. This phrase is "Will this make me a better person?" Becoming better people is a large part of the meaning of life, yet so much of life completely fails to contribute toward that goal. The internet is full of things that only occupy our time without helping us in any way, and the world is full of things that drag us down. Many of these things are fairly tempting, but most of those temptations seem less appealing if we honestly evaluate them against the question "Will this make me a better person?"

These two phrases aren't foolproof. We can still be misled into trusting "inspiration" that was merely a random thought from our own heads, and some time-wasting activities can be justified by saying that they make us better in some small way. Still, these two phrases can help us cut out a lot of misery from our lives. They won't solve all our problems, or even all of the problems that they try to solve, but they can help. They can make our lives better and help make us better people. For that reason, by their own standards, it's worth giving them a try.