Pruning

I noticed a theme as I studied the scriptures and *gasp* actually got to listen to a sacrament meeting talk this week. The theme was pruning.

In Doctrine and Covenants 24:19 Oliver Cowdery is told "For thou art called to prune my vineyard with a mighty pruning, yea, even for the last time."  The phrase mighty pruning got me thinking about this video about a currant bush that gets trimmed back. The tough part about trimming a plant is that you have to trim good growth. Or, at least, it looks like good healthy growth. When you get done you wonder if the poor thing can survive with what you've left. But to one who understands, we can see that when we have too many branches, we can't grow good fruit on all of them. Oh, sure, there are some people in the right season that will get a bumper crop, but most plants, in most seasons, need to be trimmed and thinned to give the best results.

Then I was reading in D&C 25, which is counsel to Emma Smith. She's given some pretty big duties; acting as a scribe, expounding scripture, exhorting the church, giving her time to writing and learning, comforting and consoling a young and inexperienced prophet, compiling a collection of hymns to delight the Lord's soul. She is also counseled to "lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better."  Poor Emma didn't have many of the things of this world. I think at this point she and Joseph had barely lived in their own house, mostly they stayed with others while Joseph translated the Book of Mormon. Even the short time they had their own house it was borrowed from her father. And here she was being told to lay aside the things of this world. I started to think about all the things of this world I have been seeking after. These things are not necessarily bad. Some of them are even good. They are branches that lead to good fruit. But they may not be the right fruit for us. Sometimes we have to lay aside some of the things we are spending our time on because the important things need more attention.

Then during sacrament meeting the speakers both spoke about using our time the best we can. (At least that's what I got from it. The guy that gave the closing prayer was apparently in a different meeting than I was. He mentioned the great counsel we received on serving others. I guess the Spirit tell us what we need to hear.) Once again I was told that I need to make sure I am using my time the best I can. Which has led me to do some pruning on what I expect of myself.

There are soooo many things that I want to do. Things that will make me a better person. That's mostly what this goal list is about: who I want to become as a person. But more important than what I want to become is what the Lord wants me to become. Our High Councilman (local leader) spoke today about a missionary companion of his named Chad Hymas. (Check him out here) He said he recently had a chance to talk to Brother Hymas about his accident and what has happened to him since then.  The High Councilman (don't know his name, sorry) asked him if, if he could, would Brother Hymas trade the opportunities he's had because of his paralysis for the chance to play with his kids. Brother Hymas said that would be tempting; he would love to tickle his daughters, or play basketball with his sons. But he wouldn't do it. Because of his paralysis, he as become who the Lord wanted him to be. He had to trim some good, worthwhile, most would say necessary things from his life, but he has been able to do things he never would have been able to do otherwise.

So, I'm going to look at how I spend my time. There may be good things that need trimming. This week I took Facebook off my phone. Not that Facebook is bad. I like it. But it was taking too much of my valuable time. To put it in perspective, I was charging my phone at the end of the night with about 5% battery. I've now been two days without charging and am only at 28%.

I'm sure there are more. Some of which I will want to keep. But it's not about what I want to be. It's about what the Lord wants me to be.