Week 4

 

This week I learned a lot. One of my favorite things I read was an address from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin that he gave in 1986 at Brigham Young University.

Elder Wirthlin said, “I have been impressed recently with the thought that this life is made up of little things—little things that are very important. I believe that the little things are very important in our relationship with ourselves, in our relationship with others, and in our relationship with God.

The Lord has said, “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33).

I have often thought that some of the most common little things in our lives are the minutes that pass in each hour of the day. For each human being, time is a necessary resource. It can neither be ignored nor changed. We must spend it at a fixed rate of 60 minutes every hour. We cannot add to or take from the number of minutes in a day.

The question is not one of managing time, but one of managing ourselves with the time we have. Each minute is a little thing and yet, with respect to our personal productivity, to manage the minute is the secret of success.”

He went on to talk about little things that we can do in our relationship with ourselves, others and with Heavenly Father. These little things become big things over time. For example, with ourselves, when we take care of our bodies by doing little things like getting enough rest, eating good foods and exercising it can lead to big things like good health. The same thing can apply to our relationships to other and with our Heavenly Father as well.