April 2005 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

O JERUSALEM, BY GREG K. OLSEN; MAY NOT BE COPIED
28
The Savior
Himself
would sometimes
withdraw
temporarily from
the pressing needs
of the multitudes.
Surely this helped
Him serve others
with renewed
strength.
recently Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles stated, “Remember,
don’t magnify the work to be done—simplify
it.” 4 Our lives are out of balance if we allow
outward busyness to supplant inner goodness.
In striking a temporal balance, we are often
forced to make hard choices between
many good and desirable things. For example,
varied educational and cultural experiences
can be valuable in promoting talents
and growth in our children. Church and community
service opportunities may provide us
with rich and rewarding experiences. But
even when considering such noble causes
and activities, we must, as Elder Ballard counseled,
“remember [that] too much of anything
in life can throw us off balance. At the
same time, too little of the important things
can do the same thing.” 5 It may be that the
worst thing we can give our children is the
opportunity to participate in an additional
sport, music lesson, or other activity that
demands money and time away from the
family. Teaching our children how to live
“quiet, sane,” and balanced lives may be one
of the most vital things we can do for them
in these frenzied last days.
Sometimes we fail to resist many of the
demands placed upon our time because we
are afraid such an action might be selfish.
Yet the Savior Himself would sometimes
withdraw temporarily from the pressing
needs of the multitudes (see, for example,
Luke 5:16). Surely this helped Him serve
others with renewed strength.
To preserve the temporal balance of our
lives, we may need to say no to those activities
for which we do not have time, resources, or
energy. We need not feel guilty or selfish in
periodically pulling back to regroup, for there
is a strength that comes from sometimes just
being home with loved ones.
Maintaining Spiritual Balance
Just as temporal imbalance can affect our
emotional and spiritual peace, so can spiritual
imbalance have a detrimental effect on every
aspect of our lives. To maintain a proper spiritual
balance, we must remember that the Lord
does not expect us to achieve perfection while
in mortality. The unrealistic expectation that
we must be perfect in all we do right now actually
retards true gospel living and stifles spirituality.
When we fall short of our preconceived
notions of perfection, we tend to browbeat
ourselves with undeserved self-criticism and
guilt or to exhaust ourselves with unrealistic
efforts to work our way to perfection.
King Benjamin’s counsel not to run faster
than we have strength is as significant spiritually
as it is temporally, perhaps more so. A key
phrase in King Benjamin’s counsel is “be diligent”
(see Mosiah 4:27). We must remember
that much spiritual growth does not occur
suddenly but rather through time and experience.
The encouraging message of the gospel
is that God does not often require us to perform
sensational or extraordinary deeds but
rather to try to do better today than we did