Freedom-Fighters Forum

By William J. Dell – January 1995

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

So wrote the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem c. 977 BC. And closer to our day Benjamin Franklin wrote in “Poor Richard’s Almanac” in 1757: “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” These two examples are only a sample of the myriads of statements made about time.

Throughout the ages man has been much concerned about time even though the great Master Teacher taught: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not,neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matt 6:24-34)

It is interesting to this patriarch that only mortals are concerned with time. They alone are bound to schedules, calendars and day planners. They alone get caught up in how they spend their time. They alone are concerned that there is not enough time to accomplish what must be done.

But what must be done from an eternal perspective? If I understand the Master Teacher, his injunction is to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;” and his promise is “and all these things shall be added unto you”. It is also he that taught, when asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind”.(Matt 22:37) To me these two statements defines our FIRST priority and loyalty in life, our relationship with God.

As was often the case the Saviour expanded on the question asked him. He said, “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” I believe that each of us understands that everyone is our neighbor from the Saviour’s perspective. I would however like to divide this large group.

In Paul’s letter to Timothy he states in I Tim. 5:8: “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” Those of our family definitely are our nearest neighbors. To me this defines our SECOND priority and loyalty in life, our relationship with our family.

The great prophet and general, Moroni, defines for us yet another group that deserves our loyalty. “And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it — In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children — and he fastened it upon the end of a pole. And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land. (AL 46:12-13) To me this defines our THIRD priority and loyalty in life, our relationship with our country.

The Doctrine and Covenants reveals the next great loyalty in life. “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (D&C 18:10). From this I learn that each of us is important to God, our Heavenly Father. That we are His child and that consequently each of us should feel good about ourselves. It should be remembered however that this does not give us the right to degenerate our conduct into actions of self-importance. As this patriarch understands things, self is at the end of God’s line of priorities for each of us. Therefore, to me this defines our FOURTH priority and loyalty in life, our relationship with our self.

You may wonder why I have taken the “time” to develop these priorities and loyalties in our lives. Traditionally, it is the “time of year” when we develop our goals, review our mission statements, and otherwise define where we would like to go during the coming year. I thought it might be productive, therefore, to consider what our Heavenly Father considers as our priorities that perhaps we might determine our goals accordingly. God bless you in your efforts to determine righteous goals not only for 1995 but for your journey, that we call life; and, may He be with you in your efforts to achieve them.

A parting thought, our goals might be considered as gifts to God, Family, Country and Self. Inasmuch as gifts are usually wrapped, might I suggest that we wrap our goals in CHARITY. Remembering always that “charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity nevereth faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail — But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.” (Moroni 7:45-48)

On UNIFYING PRINCIPLES for DEVELOPING GOALS

Personal Unifying Principles are the real substance of an individual’s philosophy of life. They are the truths which the individual uses to govern all thoughts and actions with regard to their interpersonal relationships. It is not possible for an individual to violate their Unifying Principles without adversely affecting one or more of their interpersonal relationships. The Unifying Principles may be likened to building blocks of a productivity pyramid which are held together by the mortar of charity, which is the pure love of Christ. The productivity pyramid of an individual must have balance. In identifying the Unifying Principles, this balance must be met in order to be congruent and achieve maximum concentration of power. If an individual fails to obtain and keep this balance, instead of building a pyramid they will build a misshapen polyhedron with a commensurate loss of power. The four cornerstones on which the productivity pyramid must rest are: God, Family, Country, and Self. These cornerstones correspond to the great loyalties in life. An individual must be true to these loyalties or suffer disunification, loss of self-esteem, and loss of concentration of power. By maintaining a proper balance, an individual’s interpersonal relationships become congruent and maximum concentration of power in their productivity pyramid is achieved. Closely associated with and defining our interpersonal relationships with these loyalties are the Unifying Principles. Together they form the blocks with which the productivity pyramid is built always held together with the mortar of charity, which is the greatest of all Unifying Principles. An individual who lacks charity or improperly applies it in their life cannot help but violate their Unifying Principles adversely affecting one or more of their interpersonal relationships. Therefore all thoughts and actions in life should be governed by an individual’s Unifying Principles wrapped with charity. A conscience continual effort to live one’s Personal Unifying Principles is the only way to find real substance in life and obtain personal inner peace with its accompanying self-esteem.