What is My Bucket List?

 

Hosanna to the Most High God

By Elder Ronald A. Rasband

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

We, like the ten virgins, have lamps; but do we have oil? I fear there are some who are just getting by on a thin skiff of oil, too busy with worldly pressures to properly prepare. Oil comes from believing and acting on prophecy and the words of living prophets, President Nelson in particular, his counselors, and the Twelve Apostles. Oil fills our souls when we hear and feel the Holy Ghost and act on that divine guidance. Oil pours into our hearts when our choices show we love the Lord and we love what He loves. Oil comes from repenting and seeking the healing of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

If some of you are looking to fill what some call “a bucket list,” this is it: fill your bucket with oil in the form of the living water of Jesus Christ,³⁴ which is a representation of His life and teachings. In contrast, checking off a far-off place or a spectacular event will never leave your soul feeling whole or satisfied; living the doctrine taught by Jesus Christ will. I mentioned examples earlier: embrace prophecy and prophetic teachings, act on promptings of the Holy Ghost, become a true disciple, and seek the healing power of our Lord’s Atonement. That bucket list will take you somewhere you want to go—back to your Father in Heaven.

Bringing Worldliness into the Gospel

 Elder Ezra Taft Benson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

"Christ taught that we should be in the world but not of it. Yet there are some in our midst who are not so much concerned about taking the gospel into the world as they are about bringing worldliness into the gospel. They want us to be in the world and of it." (in Conference Report, Apr. 1969, 11). 

Push Back the Darkness

"Unless you are fully engaged in living the gospel - living it with all of your heart, might, mind, and strength (D&C 4:2) - you cannot generate enough spiritual light to push back the darkness."

Partake of Living Water

The Abundant Life

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

The abundant life is a spiritual life. Too many sit at the banquet table of the gospel of Jesus Christ and merely nibble at the feast placed before them. They go through the motions—attending their meetings perhaps, glancing at scriptures, repeating familiar prayers—but their hearts are far away. If they are honest, they would admit to being more interested in the latest neighborhood rumors, stock market trends, and their favorite TV show than they are in the supernal wonders and sweet ministerings of the Holy Spirit.

Do you wish to partake of this living water and experience that divine well springing up within you to everlasting life?

Then be not afraid. Believe with all your hearts. Develop an unshakable faith in the Son of God. Let your hearts reach out in earnest prayer. Fill your minds with knowledge of Him. Forsake your weaknesses. Walk in holiness and harmony with the commandments.

Drink deeply of the living waters of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Oil to Our Lamps

"Attendance at sacrament meetings adds oil to our lamps, drop by drop over the years. Fasting, family prayer, home teaching, control of bodily appetites, preaching the gospel, studying the scriptures -- each act of dedication and obedience is a drop added to our store. Deeds of kindness, payment of offerings and tithes, chaste thoughts and actions, marriage in the covenant for eternity - these too, contribute importantly to the oi with which we can at midnight refuel our exhausted lamps."

Spencer W. Kimball

Proper Motivation

When we lack the proper motivation for doing spiritual things, we fail to experience the joy of the gospel. As a result, keeping the commandments starts to feel like drudgery, and Satan knows that if he can get us to feel this way, we are likely to stop doing what we know we should be doing...

It is usually little things that bring the Spirit into our lives, keep us from being deceived, and ultimately help us obtain the strength to keep the commandments and gain eternal life. The Savior taught this principle to the elders of the Church in Kirtland, Ohio: “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33).

Why are the small things so important? In the next verse, the Savior explained that “the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:34). Why did the Savior link doing small things with the heart and a willing mind? Because in consistently doing the small things, we yield our hearts and minds to God, which purifies and sanctifies us (see Helaman 3:35).

This purification and sanctification changes our very nature, little by little, so that we become more and more like the Savior. This also causes us to be more receptive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, which makes us less likely to be deceived.

Three Lessons on Love, Joy, and Peace

By Brian K. Ashton

Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency

From a devotional address, “Happiness, Deceit, and Small Things,” delivered at Brigham Young University on December 5, 2017.

Lengthy Checklists - Don't Do This

Gather Together in One All Things in Christ

By Elder David A. Bednar

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Sometimes as members of the Church we segment, separate, and apply the gospel in our lives by creating lengthy checklists of individual topics to study and tasks to accomplish. But such an approach potentially can constrain our understanding and vision. We must be careful because pharisaical focus upon checklists can divert us from drawing closer to the Lord.

The purpose and purification, the happiness and joy, and the continuing conversion and protection that come from “yielding [our] hearts unto God”4and “[receiving] his image in [our] countenances”5 cannot be obtained merely by performing and checking off all the spiritual things we are supposed to do. Rather, the power of the Savior’s gospel to transform and bless us flows from discerning and applying the interrelatedness of its doctrine, principles, and practices. Only as we gather together in one all things in Christ, with firm focus upon Him, can gospel truths synergistically enable us to become what God desires us to become6 and endure valiantly to the end.

Push Back the Darkness

 “Unless you are fully engaged in living the gospel—living it with all of your ‘heart, might, mind and strength’—you cannot generate enough spiritual light to push back the darkness” (“Out of Darkness into His Marvelous Light,” Ensign, May 2002, 71; Liahona, July 2002, 78). 

Nothing Can Ever Go Permanently Wrong, IF...

President Howard W. Hunter taught, “I am aware that life presents many challenges, but with the help of the Lord, we need not fear. If our lives and our faith are centered on Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong.”

The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, ed. Clyde J. Williams (1997), 40.

Courage to Marry and Bring Forth Children

Your faith in Jesus Christ and His gospel will give you the courage to marry and to bring children into your family while you are young and able to have them. When you are my age, you will prize your children, your grandchildren, and their children above any fame or fortune that otherwise might have come.

Russell M. Nelson, "What Will You Choose?" Ensign, Jan 2015, 34. 

Social Media Channels

"As disciples, our purpose should be to use social media channels as a means of projecting the light and truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.”


Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said during an address at Education Week at Brigham Young University on August 19, 2014.

Christ as our Center

“The history of the Church . . . is replete with the experiences of those who have struggled and yet who have remained steadfast and of good cheer. The reason? They have made the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of their lives. This is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. We will still experience difficult challenges, but we will be able to face them, to meet them head-on, and to emerge victorious.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 86. 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ Will Bless and Comfort

“The fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ brings great comfort in stressful times of mortality. It brings light where there is darkness and a calming influence where there is turmoil. It gives eternal hope where there is mortal despair. It is more than just beautiful doctrine. It is a reality in our lives that if we can be obedient and obtain the eternal rewards that God grants us, if we will draw nigh unto Him and embrace the eternal doctrine, we will be blessed.”

“Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. . . . It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.”

Rachel Jankovic, in Neil L. Andersen, “Children,” Ensign, Nov. 2011, 28. 

Share Fearlessly

“God is preparing to receive your testimony of restored truth. He requires your faith and then your action to share fearlessly what has become so precious to you and to those you love.

“Prepare to share by filling your mild every day with the truths of the gospel. As you keep the commandments and honor your covenants, you will feel the testimony of the Spirit and more of the Savior’s love for you and for those you meet.”

President Henry B. Eyring, “Sharing the Gospel Heart To Heart,” Ensign Sept 2012, 4. 

Invite the Class to Live a Principle

“So if as teachers we want the Spirit to be more evident in our classroom, we simply need to invite class members to live a principle of the gospel more fully. When we commit to live a gospel principle more fully, we draw nearer to God and God draws nearer to us (see D&C 88:63).”

Russell T. Osguthorpe, “The Lesson Is Inside The Learner,” Ensign, Jul 2012, 32-33. 

Anchored in our Testimonies

“We’ve got o be so solidly anchored in our testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ that, regardless of what may come next, we will not waffle; we will stand firm in our belief; we won’t question the doctrines that are part of our belief.”

Elder Ballard, “Treasure Truth,” 3.

The Ultimate Formula For Happiness

"The gospel of Jesus Christ has the answers to all of our problems. The gospel is not a secret. It is not complicated or hidden....It is not someone's theory or proposition. It does not come from man at all. It springs from the pure and everlasting waters of the Creator of the Universe, who knows truths we cannot even begin to comprehend. And with that knowledge, He has given us the gospel--a divine gift, the ultimate formula for happiness and success."

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Way of the Disciple," Liahona or Ensign, May 2009, 75."