“Spiritual Checkup,” New Era, February 2016, 18–19
Spiritual Checkup
What are you doing today to prepare for eternity?
Photo illustration by Allan Davey; photos of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf from left: as a young officer in 1959; at Webb Air Force Base in Texas, USA, 1961; standing in front of the Bern Switzerland Temple in 1957; with daughter Antje, wife Harriet, and son Guido in 1979; President and Sister Uchtdorf as newlyweds in 1962
What decisions have you made today? Did you put on the boots or the sneakers? Sandwich or pizza for lunch? Did you go to seminary this morning? Every day, you’re making hundreds of little decisions. While most of these decisions may seem unimportant, little daily choices add up—and they can equal eternal life if you choose wisely. This life is just one stage of the plan of salvation, but the things you do here—today—will affect your life now and forever.
When President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, was 16, he was sealed to his family in the temple. “We knelt together to be sealed on earth by the power of the priesthood, with a wonderful promise that we could be sealed for eternity,” he said. “I will never forget this magnificent moment.”1
While you may not be going to the temple to be sealed to your family today, you can still have magnificent, eternal moments. When you make choices with eternal goals in mind, every day can be magnificent.
Just think about President Uchtdorf’s life. What choices do you think he had to make every day to qualify him to be in the temple? What choices will he have to continue making to achieve his family’s eternal goal?
Your Turn
So, how are you doing? Are your choices leading you to eternal covenants and eternal life? Now might be a good time to do a personal spiritual checkup. Find a quiet place and think about what you do every day. How are you following the Savior? Ask Heavenly Father to help you know what you can change.
Take a few minutes and really reflect. You might start with some questions Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles invited young adults to ask in the April 2015 general conference:2
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Do I search the scriptures regularly?
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Do I kneel in prayer to talk with my Heavenly Father each morning and each night?
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Do I fast and donate a fast offering each month?
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Do I think deeply about the Savior and His atoning sacrifice for me when I am asked to prepare, bless, pass, or partake of the sacrament?
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Do I attend my meetings and strive to keep the Sabbath day holy?
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Am I honest at home, school, church, and work?
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Am I mentally and spiritually clean? Do I avoid viewing pornography or looking at websites, magazines, movies, or apps, including Tinder and Snapchat photos, that would embarrass me if my parents, Church leaders, or the Savior Himself saw me?
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Am I careful with my time—avoiding inappropriate technology and social media, including video games, which can dull my spiritual sensitivity?
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Is there anything in my life I need to change and fix, beginning today?
Now What?
So, what do you feel prompted to change? Jot down some thoughts in your journal. Pick one or two things and try this week to make daily choices with eternal goals in mind. You might be surprised at what a big difference small changes can make—today and eternally.