“Abide the Day in Christ”

Last updated on January 28th, 2024 at 09:17 am

General Conference Applied

S2 E16 – Sunday, January 21, 2024 | “Abide the Day in Christ” by Sister Amy A. Wright; October 2023 General Conference

Listen on Amazon Music | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Google Podcasts | Listen on Spotify

Podcast Episode Social Media Posts

• Important Quote: Facebook | Instagram

Corresponding Talk Outline: “Abide the Day in Christ“

Podcast Episode Outline

REMEMBER THIS

If you remember nothing else from this podcast episode, remember this:

• Sister Wright is inviting us to simplify life and focus on Jesus.

Introduction

Doctrines, Principles, and Christlike Attributes

As we have discussed in previous episodes of General Conference Applied, it is important to identify the fundamental doctrine, principle, and Christlike attribute of each General Conference address. In “Abide the Day in Christ,” I identified Plan of Salvation as the fundamental doctrine, The Second Coming of Jesus Christ as the fundamental principle, and Patience as the fundamental Christlike attribute. I have included a detailed breakdown of this doctrine, principle, and Christlike attribute in the talk outline, but I will share additional insights during this podcast episode.

In each episode of General Conference Applied, we are attempting to answer two questions:

1. What is the speaker inviting me to do?
2. How might I consider taking action?

What is the speaker inviting me to do?

Invitations

1: “We need to simplify, focus our efforts, and be gatherers of the Light of Jesus Christ. We need more holy and revelatory experiences.”

• What This Means (in 6 words or less): “Simplify life and focus on Jesus.”

Overview

Bio

“Sister Amy A. Wright was sustained as First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 2, 2022. At the time of her call, she was serving as Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency.

“Sister Wright has served on the Young Women General Advisory Council and as stake and ward Primary president, counselor in a ward Relief Society and Primary presidency, Relief Society teacher, Gospel Doctrine teacher, and Cub Scout leader.

“Sister Wright graduated with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies from the University of Utah in 1998. She worked as an office manager at Marquette University in the College of Communications. She also worked as a reading tutor and was a parent-teacher association volunteer. Recently she assisted with marketing and advertising for a dental office.

“Amy Eileen Anderson was born January 6, 1972, in Salt Lake City, Utah. She married James McConkie Wright on June 24, 1994. They have three children.”

If the Second Coming was Tomorrow

“President Dallin H. Oaks posed the following thought-provoking questions in relation to the coming of the Bridegroom: ‘What if the day of His coming were tomorrow? If we knew that we would meet the Lord tomorrow—through our premature death or through His unexpected coming—what would we do today?’ (Dallin H. Oaks, “Preparation for the Second Coming,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 9.) I have learned from personal experience that spiritual preparation for the coming of the Lord is not only essential but the only way to find true peace and happiness.”

• January 18, 2024 Instagram post, President Dallin H. Oaks:
  • “People often inquire about the exact time of the Second Coming.
    
    “While we cannot know that (see Matthew 24:36), what if the day of His coming were tomorrow? If you knew that you would meet the Lord tomorrow—through premature death or through His unexpected coming—what would you do today?
    
    “As Jesus taught in His prophecy of the Second Coming, blessed is the ‘faithful and wise servant’ who is attending to his duty when the Lord comes (see Matthew 24:45–46).
    
    “‘Wherefore,’ the Savior tells us, ‘be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom—For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that I come quickly’ (Doctrine and Covenants 33:17–18).
    
    “Jesus Christ lives. I testify that He shall come, as He has promised.”
• “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw: “Someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying.”
• Personal experience: the tragic passing of a member of our Stake (previously a member of our Ward) this week in a snowmobile accident. Life is fragile – don’t take it for granted.

“By Small and Simple Things Are Great Things Brought to Pass”

“I was confused. Why did I receive the exact same answer whether I lived or died?

“Then suddenly every fiber of my being filled with absolute peace as I was reminded: We did not need to hurry home and teach our children how to pray. They knew how to receive answers and comfort from prayer. We did not need to hurry home and teach them about the scriptures or words of living prophets. Those words were already a familiar source of strength and understanding. We did not need to hurry home and teach them about repentance, the Resurrection, the Restoration, the plan of salvation, eternal families, or the very doctrine of Jesus Christ.

“In that moment every family home evening lesson, scripture study session, prayer of faith offered, blessing given, testimony shared, covenant made and kept, house of the Lord attended, and Sabbath day observed mattered—oh, how it mattered! It was too late to put oil in our lamps. We needed every single drop, and we needed it right now!”

• “The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance” by Josh Waitzkin
  • “We don’t live within a Hollywood screenplay where the crescendo erupts just when we want it to, and more often than not the climactic moments in our lives will follow many unclimactic, normal, humdrum hours, days, weeks, or years. So how do we step up when our moment suddenly arises?
    
    “My answer is to redefine the question. Not only do we have to be good at waiting, we have to love it. Because waiting is not waiting, it is life. Too many of us live without fully engaging our minds, waiting for that moment when our real lives begin. Years pass in boredom, but that is okay because when our true love comes around, or we discover our real calling, we will begin. Of course the sad truth is that if we are not present to the moment, our true love could come and go and we wouldn’t even notice. And we will have become someone other than the you or I who would be able to embrace it. I believe an appreciation for simplicity, the everyday — the ability to dive deeply into the banal and discover life’s hidden richness — is where success, let alone happiness, emerges.”
• Church News Podcast Episode 169: Elder Dale G. Renlund on his testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Church’s distribution of 200 million copies of the sacred text
  • “The wonder of ‘Come, Follow Me’ is that it is terrific for busy moms and busy dads because of the way it is organized. So if we are really busy, the worst thing that we can do is to make it overly complex, to think that it has to be done in a certain way, it has to be a lesson, it has to be that way. Instead, what we can do is we can take out our little Gospel Library app, we can go to “Come, Follow Me” 2024 tile, we go to Individuals and Families, we go to the material, you go to the week and you see what is there. And you can scroll through it, and you get to a place that talks about ideas for family scripture study and home evening, and all of a sudden, you have some passages. You can just read those, you can ask what the application is, or you find where there is a video that you can show and ask people in the family what they saw.
    
    “And it does not require a huge amount of preparation to do that, because it is laid out, it is simple. And I think then, you do just that; you show the video, ask your children, and then you say, as a busy mom or busy dad, ‘Well, that was great. Let’s have prayer and go to bed.’ And so I think the biggest challenge is thinking that there is a huge preparation that is needed, whereas just getting into it, just starting at picking the week, just looking through and seeing what little piece you want to read out of there, I think that helps.”
• “Embrace the Future with Faith“, October 2020 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson
  • “How are we to deal with both the somber prophecies and the glorious pronouncements about our day? The Lord told us how with simple, but stunning, reassurance: ‘If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 38:30)
    
    “What a promise! It is one that can literally change the way we see our future. I recently heard a woman of deep testimony admit that the pandemic, combined with an earthquake in the Salt Lake Valley, had helped her realize she was not as prepared as she thought she was. When I asked whether she was referring to her food storage or her testimony, she smiled and said, ‘Yes!’
    
    “If preparation is our key to embracing this dispensation and our future with faith, how can we best prepare?
    
    “For decades, the Lord’s prophets have urged us to store food, water, and financial reserves for a time of need. The current pandemic has reinforced the wisdom of that counsel. I urge you to take steps to be temporally prepared. But I am even more concerned about your spiritual and emotional preparation.
    
    “In that regard, we can learn a lot from Captain Moroni. As commander of the Nephite armies, he faced opposing forces that were stronger, greater in number, and meaner. So, Moroni prepared his people in three essential ways.
    
    “First, he helped them create areas where they would be safe—’places of security’ he called them. (See Alma 49:5; 50:4) Second, he prepared ‘the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord.’ (Alma 48:7) And third, he never stopped preparing his people—physically or spiritually…
    
    “The adversary never stops attacking. So, we can never stop preparing! The more self-reliant we are—temporally, emotionally, and spiritually—the more prepared we are to thwart Satan’s relentless assaults.”
• “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t” by Jim Collins
  • “If you successfully apply these ideas, but then stop doing them, you will slide backward, from great to good, or worse. The only way to remain great is to keep applying the fundamental principles that made you great.”

“Abide the Day”

“In the end, because of Jesus Christ, everything can be OK.

“We learn from a careful study of the Doctrine and Covenants what ‘OK’ looks like:

“‘And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.

“‘For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 45:56–57)

“Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to ‘abide the day.’ Abiding the day does not mean adding to an ever-increasing to-do list. Think of a magnifying glass. Its sole purpose is not simply to make things appear bigger. It can also gather and focus light to make it more powerful. We need to simplify, focus our efforts, and be gatherers of the Light of Jesus Christ. We need more holy and revelatory experiences.”

• October 2, 2023 Instagram reel, Sister Amy A. Wright
  • “After submitting the talk I gave during General Conference, I suddenly felt like the message was too simple. It wasn’t smart enough, it wasn’t deep enough, it wasn’t creative enough. It was just too simple.
    
    “As I was expressing these concerns to my dear friend, and executive secretary, Jill, she reminded me that the words I wrote were inspired by Heavenly Father and that the overarching theme of my message was one of simplicity.
    
    “Friends like Jill are essential in keeping us grounded and reminding us of spiritual truths and the love our Savior has for us.”

Connection

Be Over Prepared

“We cannot share our oil, but we can share His light. Oil in our lamps will not only help us ‘abide the day’ but can also be the means of illuminating the path that leads those we love to the Savior, who stands ready ‘with open arms to receive’ them.”

• Journal Entry: “Being prepared, even over prepared, allows us to better serve those around us. Get things done efficiently at work so I’m home with family. Put first things first each morning so that when things come up (serving or helping someone) I’m available.”
• I just completed my two busiest work weeks of the year, and I realized that they were so busy in part because I procrastinated. There is so much that I could have completed earlier, rather than leaving it for the last minute. I concluded from my experience that 2024 is the year for me to get on top of things, to be on time, to cease procrastinating, and to get ahead.

How might I consider taking action?

Invitations

1: “We need to simplify, focus our efforts, and be gatherers of the Light of Jesus Christ. We need more holy and revelatory experiences.”

• What This Means (in 6 words or less): “Simplify life and focus on Jesus.”
• “Choosing Glory” by Lili De Hoyos Anderson, PH.D.
  • Terrestrial Stress (“The Martha Syndrome”) and Celestial Stress (“The Wilderness Syndrome”): See pages 139-140, 143, and 157-162.

Directives (“an official or authoritative instruction”)

None.

Other Ideas

• Study President Russell M. Nelson’s October 2020 General Conference address entitled “Embrace the Future with Faith” and take action on at least one of President Nelson’s invitations this week.
  • For example, here is one of the invitations: “I urge you to take steps to be temporally prepared. But I am even more concerned about your spiritual and emotional preparation.”
  • Thus, identify the “spiritual and emotional preparation” that is lacking in your life, and strive to close the gap, starting this week. Perhaps you could start by journaling about “spiritual and emotional preparation.”
• Write in your journal on this topic: “How am I unnecessarily complicating my life?” “And what am I going to do to change it?”

Report on Prior Week’s Action Item

In General Conference Applied season 2 episode 15, I committed to answering the following four questions for reflection in my journal:

1. “Why should I walk a covenant path?”
2. “Do I need to enter a house for making covenants?”
3. “Why do I wear the holy garment?”
4. “Should I invest in a covenant relationship with the Lord?”

Let me share my response to the fourth question:

• “Immediately after asking these four questions in the October 2023 General Conference, Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman stated: ‘The answer to these good and important questions is simple: it depends on what degree of relationship you want to experience with Jesus Christ.’ Shortly before my mission in early 2008, our family traveled to Honolulu to visit my Uncle Steve and Aunt Cathy who were serving as mission leaders there. I’ve never forgotten the fondness with which Uncle Steve spoke about his missionaries. He said he could count on them. I went on to become one of those dependable missionaries for President Batt (in the Brazil Fortaleza Mission). Thus, I should invest in a covenant relationship with the Lord. I want Him to be able to count on me. And I know with the Lord I can become more than I ever could without Him. A relationship with Him is transformative.”

This Week’s Action Item

“That which is measured improves. That which is measured and reported improves exponentially.”

Karl Pearson, an early 20th-century British mathematician

“Those who measure their progress improve. Those who measure and report their progress improve exponentially.”

Dan Sullivan, founder and president of The Strategic Coach Inc.

“Do something, do anything! But to start, just do ONE thing.”

Mitch Peterson

This week, I will dedicate 10 minutes to journaling on this topic:

• “What actions do I need to take to become more prepared in my life? Of these actions, which is the most pressing, and how will I take action this week?”

Let Me Know

How will you take action on this General Conference address? Let me know on social media or email me.

REMEMBER THIS

If you remember nothing else from this podcast episode, remember this:

• Sister Wright is inviting us to simplify life and focus on Jesus.

Tags

Adversity | Hope | Jesus Christ | Parables | Second Coming

Additional Content

Previous Podcast Episode (“Walking in Covenant Relationship with Christ” by President Emily Belle Freeman)

Next Podcast Episode (“Seeing God’s Family through the Overview Lens” by Sister Tamara W. Runia)

All Podcast Episodes