Good morning brothers and sisters. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Shelece McAllister. Today I have been asked to speak on how “the little things count in our lives.”
When I heard my topic, the first thing that came to mind are the little things we call “Sunday School answers”. Prayer, scripture study, going to church every week. All of these are simple actions, but they yield great rewards. In D&C 130: 20-21, it says, "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated. And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” When we obey God and keep up these simple practices, we receive great blessings.
These little things are very important. But they are certainly not the only little things that count in life. Brother Sanders sent me a great talk to use as a reference. It’s a talk by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin called “The Little Things are Important.” This talk went in a different direction than I was expecting. Rather than talking about the little spiritual things we need to do in our lives, Elder Wirthlin talks about very vital, everyday things we need to be doing, which are not spiritual but which bring us closer to God. While I knew these were all good things, I hadn’t thought of them in a spiritual sense before.
Elder Wirthlin speaks first of little things we need to do in our relationship with ourselves. He says, “You must take proper care in your life to see that the little things regarding your personal life are in order. You must learn to care for your health and your mental well-being. Do you maintain proper exercise that will give you the extra energy and strength you need to do your daily labors? Are you wise in your diet? Do you eat foods that are good for your body? Do you think about things that keep your spirit strong and your attitude positive?”
I don’t usually think of exercise as something connected to my spiritual well-being. In fact, when I’m really stressed out, sometimes I’m guilty of forgetting to eat or not taking enough time to sleep. Elder Wirthlin’s words remind me that those little things are important, not just for mortality, but in the eternal scheme of things. Elder Wirthlin says, “Our bodies are truly the result of what we eat, what we think about, and the exercise we receive. If we are not wise, these little things can soon cause major health problems that will limit our success and ability to serve.” Our bodies are a gift given to us, that will ultimately allow us to become like our Father in heaven. It’s important that we treat them right. We cannot do the things we need to do if we neglect our physical bodies. The Lord has taught us how to care for our bodies through the Word of Wisdom. If we follow the Word of Wisdom, the Lord has promised us, “And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.”
Besides our physical bodies, Elder Wirthlin also mentions caring for our mental well-being. He asks us “Do you think about things that keep your spirit strong and your attitude positive?” Sometimes life is difficult. It’s easy to get caught up in our own challenges, so that we don’t notice the needs of others around us. Sometimes it’s easy to get so caught up in our struggles that we can’t even see hope in the future ahead of us.
I remember one year at Girl’s Camp, we did a very simple exercise. It was an object lesson—I hope it still makes sense even though I don’t have the object with me. We were each given a little pebble off the gravel pathway through camp. Our leader asked us to hold the pebble up to our eye, so it filled up a lot of our field of vision. She said that the pebble represented problems in our lives, challenges we were facing right then. She said if we stayed so closely focused on those challenges, we couldn’t see much else. The problem seemed so huge. Then she had us toss these pebbles back into the gravel. From a distance, they seemed small and easily managed. Her point was that in the eternal scheme of things, all of our problems are very small and for a short moment. We need to remember the eternal perspective and not be overwhelmed by the trials in our lives. Even in the midst of challenges, we can keep our thoughts positive to help us have the courage to move ahead. Sometimes we gain the faith to do the little things by keeping an eye on the big picture, and having hope in the promises Heavenly Father has given us.
Of course, besides taking care of ourselves, we also need to care for those around us. Elder Wirthlin also speaks of little things we can do in our relationships with others. He asks, “Do you take the time to remember some of the simple courtesies that are so important in relationships with others? Do you remember the smile, the compliment, the positive comment, and the word of encouragement? We should do these important little things without hesitation.”
I think we’ve all experienced a time in our lives when someone’s small gesture made a big difference. I can think of many such times in my life where a simple comment was exactly what I needed to get through the day. My job involves working for a company in California. I telecommute, which means I do all my work on the computer or over the phone. It’s flexible, which is nice, but sometimes it is lonely not having coworkers around to talk to. When I first started my job, it was hard for me. The work was new to me. I had trouble gauging how well I was doing, since I’d never done it before, and since I wasn’t being graded anymore. That was a rough transition for me, actually. I couldn’t even see my coworkers’ reactions to my work to help guide me. Sometimes I got frustrated, and sometimes I got very worried that maybe my work wasn’t good enough. Two or three times, when I was feeling most down, my G-chat would pop up with a message from one of my coworkers. He’d pay me some small compliment for something I’d done, or tell me he was happy to have me join the company. I’m sure to him it seemed like a little thing, but to me, it was exactly what I needed to keep going. He had no way of seeing me or knowing what I needed, but I think the Spirit nudged him to reach out to me in those moments I needed it most.
The funny thing about these small gestures we make is that we rarely see their full impact. Even simply smiling at someone can help them make it through a rough day, but we may never know. President Spencer W. Kimball once said, “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.” We need to listen to the promptings of the Spirit, so that we know how to help those around us as the Savior would.
Elder Wirthlin reminds us that the Savior sets a perfect example in this aspect of life, as in all others. He says if we were to meet the Savior, “we would find him very pleasant and perfect in all his relationships and dealings with each individual.” As we interact with those around us, showing simple courtesies can be a way to extend the Savior’s love to our fellow men.
Elder Wirthlin ends his talk by speaking of little things we do in our relationship with God. He says, “When creating our spiritual bodies, our Heavenly Father took great care to place in each of us every little potential of character, of compassion, joy, and of knowledge that we would need for our personal growth. The beginnings of each godly character trait is in each and every one of us. With that assurance, we are truly able to become gods as he has commanded us.”
Sometimes it is easy to doubt our personal worth. Satan tries hard to discourage us. But we need to remember that we are children of God. Heavenly Father created the Plan of Salvation for us—so we can grow to become like Him. Through Jesus Christ’s Atonement, He has prepared a way for us to come home to Him. We have all the potential to become as He is, and that should be our goal. Desiring to develop spiritual qualities helps us keep our focus on the right things. It helps us become who we need to be become.
(This was not planned, but at this point in my talk I ended sharing my Parable of the Contact Lenses I posted here! It was scary saying something I hadn't planned out, but hopefully it came out coherent. :)
As young single adults, we are in a scary time of life. This is a time when there are lots of big decisions on our horizon—what to major in, who to marry, where to go after we graduate. The choices we make now have a huge impact on the rest of our lives, which can seem very daunting.
I think it’s important to remember that the little things we are doing now are important too, not just the big decisions we make. With the small everyday choices we make, we are shaping our character for our adult lives. If we do the little things right, we will receive guidance about the big things.
I bear testimony that the little things we do each day can have eternal significance for us. We need to take care of ourselves, physically, mentally, and spiritually. We need to be courteous to our fellow men, and we need to strive to build our relationship with God. As we do these things, our lives will follow the plan Heavenly Father has set for us. The little things in life add up to create our life’s experience. We should not neglect them or think they aren’t a big deal.
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