Our Heartfelt All | Dieter F. Uchtdorf | April 2022 General Conference

thank you choir thank you so much choir and thank you president nelson for this wonderful and great conference we look forward to hear more of you today just days before he gave his life for us jesus christ was at the temple in jerusalem watching people make donations to the temple treasury many that were rich cast in much but then along came a poor widow and she threw in two mites it was such a small amount it would hardly be worth recording and yet this seemingly inconsequential donation caught the savior's attention in fact it impressed him so deeply that he called unto his disciples and saith unto them verily i say unto you that this poor widow have cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury for all they did cast in of their abundance but she of her want did cast in all she had even all her living with this simple observation the savior taught us how offerings are measured in his kingdom and it's quite different from the way we usually measure things to the lord the value of the donation was measured not by the effect it had on the treasury but by the effect it had on the donor in praising this faithful widow the savior gave us a standard to measure our discipleship in all of its many expressions jesus taught that our offering may be large or it may be small but either way it must be our heartfelt all this principle is echoed in the plea of the book of mormon prophet america come unto christ who is the holy one of israel and partake of his salvation and the power of his redemption he come unto him and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him but how is this possible to many of us such a standard of whole soul commitment seems out of reach we are already stretched so thin how can we balance the many demands of life with our desires to offer our whole souls to the lord perhaps our challenge is that we think balance means dividing our time evenly among competing interests viewed in this way our commitment to jesus christ would be one of many things we need to fit into our busy schedules but perhaps there's another way to look at it my wife herod and i love to go bicycle riding together it's a wonderful way to get some exercise without though spending time together while we are riding and i'm not huffing and puffing too much we enjoy the beautiful world around us and even engage in a blessed conversation rarely do we have to pay much attention to keeping our balance on our bicycles we've been riding long enough that we don't even think about that it has become normal and natural for us but whenever i watch someone learning to ride a bike for the first time i'm reminded that it's not easy balancing yourself on those two narrow wheels it takes time it takes practice it takes patience it even takes falling down a time or two most of all those who succeed in balancing on a bicycle learn these important tips don't look at your feet look ahead keep your eyes on the road in front of you focus on your destination and get pedaling staying balanced is all about moving forward similar principles apply when it comes to finding balance in our lives as disciples of jesus christ to distribute your time and energy among your many important tasks will vary from person to person and from one season of life to another but our common overall objective is to follow the way of our master jesus christ and return to the presence of our beloved father in heaven this objective must remain constant and consistent whoever we are and whatever else is happening in our lives now for those who are avid by cyclists comparing discipleship to riding a bike may be a helpful analogy for those who are not don't worry i have another analogy i'm sure every man every woman and every child will be able to relate to discipleship like most things in life can also be compared to flying an airplane have you ever stopped to think how amazing it is that a huge passenger jet can actually get off the ground and fly what is it that keeps these flying machines soaring elegantly through the sky crossing oceans and continents put simply an aircraft flies only when air is moving over its wings that movement creates differences in air pressure that give the plane lift and how to get how to you get enough air moving over the wings to create lift how is that done the answer is forward thrust the airplane gains no altitude sitting on the runway even on a windy day enough lift isn't created unless the airplane is moving forward with enough thrust to counteract the ford's forces holding it back just as forward momentum keeps a bicycle balanced upright and moving forward helps an aircraft overcome the pull of gravity and drag what does this mean for us as disciples of jesus christ it means that if we want to find balance in life and if we want the savior to lift us heavenwards then our commitment to him and his gospel can be casual or occasional like the widow at jerusalem we must offer him our whole souls our offering may be small but it must come from our heart and soul being a disciple of jesus christ is not just one of many things we do the savior is the motivating power behind all that we do he's not a rest stop in our journey he's not a scenic byway or even a major landmark he is the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by jesus christ that is the way and our ultimate destination balance and lift come as we press forward with the steadfastness in christ having a perfect brightness of hope and the love of god and of all man and what about the many tasks and the responsibilities that make our life so busy spending time with loved ones going to school or preparing for occupation earning a living caring for family serving in the community where does it all fit in the savior reassures us your heavenly father knows that you have need of all these things but seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you but that doesn't mean it's easy it requires both sacrifice and consecration it requires letting some things go and letting other things grow sacrifice and consecration are two heavily laws that we covenant to obey in the holy temple these two laws are similar but not identical to sacrifice means to give something up in favor of something more valuable anciently god's people sacrificed the first links of the flocks in honor of the coming messiah throughout history faithful saints have sacrificed personal desires comforts and even their lives for the savior we all have things large and small we need to sacrifice in order to follow jesus christ more completely our sacrifices show what we truly value sacrifices are sacred and honored by the lord consecration is different from sacrifice in at least one important way when we consecrate something we don't leave it to be consumed upon the altar rather we put it to use in the lord's service we dedicate it to him and his holy purposes we receive the talents that the lord has given us and strife to increase them manifold to become even more helpful in building the lord's kingdom very few of us will ever be asked to sacrifice our lives for the savior but we are all invited to consecrate our lives to him as we seek to purify our lives and look unto christ in every thought everything else begins to align life no longer feels no longer feels like a long list of separate efforts held in tenuous balance over time it all becomes one work one joy one holy purpose it is the work of loving and serving god it is loving and serving god's children when we look at our lives and see a hundred things to do we feel overwhelmed when we see one thing loving and serving god and his children in a hundred different ways then we can work on those things with joy this is how we offer our whole souls by sacrificing anything that's holding us back and consecrating the rest to the lord and his purposes there will be times my dear brothers and sisters and my dear friends when you wish you could do more your loving father in heaven knows your heart he knows that you can't do everything your heart wants you to do but you can love and serve god you can do your best to keep his commandments you can love and serve his children and your efforts are purifying your heart and preparing you for a glorious future this is what the widow at the temple treasury seemed to understand she surely knew that her offering would not change the fortunes of israel but it could change and bless her because though small it was her all so my dear friends and beloved fellow disciples of jesus christ let us not be wary in well-doing for we are laying the foundation of a great work and out of small things will proceed that which is great i testify that this is true as i also testify that jesus christ is our master our and he is the only way and the one way back back to our beloved father in heaven in the sacred name of jesus christ amen

Channel: General Conference

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Length: 14min 16sec (856 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 03 2022