A Long or Good Life

In his talk, Sustainable Societies, Elder D. Todd Christofferson quoted Wall Street Journal Editor-at-large Gerard Baker, who wrote, "While we may all want to know the secret to a long life, I often feel we’d be better off devoting more time to figuring out what makes a good life, whatever span we’re allotted."

None of us really know how long we have. Anyone could die at any time for a myriad of medical and/or accident-related reasons, no matter how healthy they are or try to be. Besides, even if we could guarantee a long life, what would we do with it? The amount of time we have may not be as important (eternally, at least) as how we spend it. A person who only lives 20 years, but who spends most of those years in service to others probably lives a more fulfilling life than someone who lives a hundred years, but lives only for themselves. A long life would be nice, but all mortals die eventually anyway. Ensuring that our lives are long isn't as important as ensuring that our lives are good.

So, whether I live for centuries or die within days, I'm going to try to spend my remaining time doing and being good. I don't necessarily want to live a long life; I want to live a good one. Granted, one can have both, which is definitely preferable, but given the choice of a long or good life, I'd rather live a good life than a long one.