To Be or Not To Be

One of the lines we use in one of our skits during Sunset on the Mississippi is a modified quote from Shakespeare "Is he to be... or not to be?" I've pondered this statement multiple times in my life and each time something new comes up it grants greater light on my questioning.  There is a process in all things, a divine order, and there are two that I connect with this statement.  The first comes from a statement by Elder Richard G. Scott of the quorum of the twelve apostles where he says that the things we consistently think determine what we do, and the things we consistently do determine what we become.  The other is a well discussed simple sequence of Good, Better, and Best.  To tie those two together, if we think about good things, then do good things, we'll become good.  That is a wonderful start (and don't be overwhelmed because this start still takes a lot of work to achieve) We then can begin thinking better things, doing better, and becoming better and so on and so forth until we are the best. This is a principle that is true in day to day life, be it playing soccer, a musical instrument, an art form, an occupation, or any hobby really.  It can also be applied to spiritual things such as our prayers, our character, our desires, our commitments to God and to the gospel. So where does my initial question come in to all this becoming?  Well it all boils down to this- you decide what it is you want to be.  I decide if I'm going to become the worlds best ____ (insert anything here). It begins with a decision, a thought and there the seeds of being are planted.  As you act on those seed-thoughts they develop and grow into habits and eventually they are simply a part of your being and you find fulfillment of the initial faith you had in acting on that first thought, that basic desire.  So ask yourself, what do I wish I could be? What do I want to be? Then start doing the things that the person you want to be would do, make habits of them until one day you wake up and realize that for the past while you've been doing them without thought, you realize that you are.  This is a miraculous process and God wants you to accomplish great things using this pattern, He will help you with it as well!  Include in Him in every stage and He will help you, He won't do it for you because you don't change anything without work, but He will help with support, ideas, motivation and teaching.  So use the gospel fundamentals of prayer, scripture study, and obedience to receive that help in becoming who you want to be.  You'll be glad you did.

I can't believe we're on the downward slope of time until the end of our Nauvoo experience.There have been so many experiences that remind me every day to cherish every minute, every second here because change is constant, we have to be so flexible, but I know thats the Lord preparing us to be better tools for Him ready to work in every situation.