A Family Focused on the Savior

All of us have priorities that guide us in choosing how we will spend our time, energy, and other resources. For example, a family with a priority on education spends effort and resources helping family members excel in their studies.

We can find out what our priorities are by looking at the ways we spend our time. We might think, for example, that scripture study is a priority in our lives. But we may discover that we actually spend more time watching television than studying the scriptures.

Think about how you spend your time, energy, and other resources. Based on this, what are your priorities?

Focusing on the Savior

Is there one priority that can fit the unique circumstances of every Latter-day Saint woman? Sister Sydney Smith Reynolds, from Orem, Utah, wrote, “Our primary concerns must be these: Do I know that Jesus is the Christ, the literal Son of God? Do I believe and follow the words of the living prophets? How do I respond to the challenges of daily life? Am I usually trying to please the Lord, other people, or myself?” (Ensign, Mar. 1984, p. 22.)

How would I live differently if I were to focus more on pleasing the Lord than on pleasing others or myself?

Daily Choices: Putting the Savior First

Sister Mette Hansen supported her family by operating her own typesetting business in Denmark. When business slowed to a stop, she and her mother and daughter fasted and prayed for more work. The next day, she received a thick manuscript from a new customer.

But, for some reason, Sister Hansen was unable to do the job. Her computer would not function properly. And when she picked up the manuscript, she had the strange sensation that her hands were dirty.

Frustrated, she prayed for help and was prompted to read the manuscript—from back to front. On the second-to-last page of the book, which was to be a manual for colleges throughout Denmark, she found “the worst blasphemy of Jesus Christ I had ever read.”

One voice within her said, “Don’t typeset this, Mette. You’ll forsake Christ if you do.” Another voice said, “The book will be printed whether you typeset it or not. And you will be able to pay your bills for the next month if you do the work.”

Praying for strength, she explained her feelings to the printer and returned the manuscript. Days later, she received enough orders to keep her busy for six months. And that printer became one of her best customers. (See Ensign, July 1985, pp. 20–21.)

What are some ways I can focus on the Savior in my daily activities?

A Richer, Fuller Life

The choice to put the Lord first does not always bring such obvious temporal blessings. But every life focused on the Savior will be blessed.

For example, after many failures, members of one busy family committed to try early-morning scripture reading again. Although it has been difficult, the mother testifies: “Reading together has brought us closer to each other. We have felt more love and harmony in our home than at any other time in our lives.”

What blessings have you received by putting the Savior first?

Illustrated by Ron Peterson