Review of January 2012 First Presidency Message

[Guest]

I know someone's going to see this thread and say, "Wait! It's now February 2012, and there's a new First Presidency message in this month's Ensign!" To you who notices this, I say, yep, you're right. Moving on.........

In the January 2012 Ensign, which I always have and always will refuse to pronounce as "en-SINE," Thomas S. Monson brings us a message which the Correlation Committee that approves his prophetic messages has permitted him to entitle "Living the Abundant Life."

At the advent of a new year, I challenge Latter-day Saints everywhere to undertake a personal, diligent, significant quest for what I call the abundant life—a life filled with an abundance of success, goodness, and blessings.

This is some of that old school modern Mormonism (no, that's not an oxymoron) wherein church leaders think that phrasing their folksy wisdom in terms of "I challenge you" has some kind of motivational effect. The impact of the "I challenge you" rhetorical device is somewhat lessened by its almost universal application to goals that are simultaneously mundane and vague. "Success" in particular is subjective, as well as relative. What if a person is not particularly intelligent, has a limited skill set, yet is doing his or her best at his/her current part-time job making French fries at Burger King? Is this person a success? I am being completely serious with this question. Similar questions could be asked about "goodness" or "blessings"---even if one attributes whatever you might label as "blessings" to the Kolobian demigod worshiped by Mormons.

In any case, President Monson's challenge is sure to be a eureka moment for most of his audience, who no doubt had planned to spend the coming year doing nothing but eating cheese doodles and watching reruns of "Antiques Roadshow," but have now been invigorated to change those plans into an epic quest for success, goodness, and blessings.

Just as we learned the ABCs in school, I offer my own ABCs to help us all gain the abundant life.

Nope, this is not satire. With all of the armed conflict going on in the world, the economic crises, the social turmoil, and so on, what profound message of divinely inspired wisdom does a living prophet of God (just like Abraham and Moses and Peter!) have for thinking adults who need comfort and guidance? You guessed it: trite, banal, Sesame Street-level platitudes. (To be fair to President Monson, however, this particular message is devoid of stories about bringing cookies to widows or Tongan octopus traps.)

It seems, though, that President Monson takes the concept of "ABCs" literally. While most of us might think that "the ABCs" is shorthand for the alphabet, President Monson's challenge to us has actually been boiled down to an A, a B, and a C (or Alpha, Bravo, Charlie for you military and/or piloting people out there).

A in my ABCs refers to attitude. William James, a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, wrote, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”

So much in life depends on our attitude. The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference. To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances, whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment.

Charles Swindoll—author, educator, and Christian pastor—said: “Attitude, to me, is more important than … the past, … than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.”

We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude.

It's hard to argue about the power of positive thinking. It's also hard to argue that there is anything particularly profound or insightful here that suggests "This is a living prophet of God!" It would have been refreshing, though, for one of his non-Mormon sources quoted about optimism in the face of adversity to have been, "That which does kill us makes us stronger."

B is for believe—in yourself, in those around you, and in eternal principles.

Be honest with yourself, with others, and with your Heavenly Father. One who was not honest with God until it was too late was Cardinal Wolsey who, according to Shakespeare, spent a long life in service to three sovereigns and enjoyed wealth and power. Finally, he was shorn of his power and possessions by an impatient king. Cardinal Wolsey cried:
Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my king, He would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies.

Thomas Fuller, an English churchman and historian who lived in the 17th century, penned this truth: “He does not believe that does not live according to his belief.”

Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities.

You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith.

And above all, do not allow for periods of self-reflection to consider whether you are delusional and/or wrapped up in wishful thinking.

Have you noticed so far that he keeps quoting non-Mormons? Have you noticed anything especially profound or insightful that you really needed a living prophet of God to tell you (or any source deeper than the back cover of a Chicken Soup for the Soul book)?

C is for courage. Courage becomes a worthwhile and meaningful virtue when it is regarded not so much as a willingness to die manfully but as a determination to live decently.

Said the American essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide on, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.”

We need soldier-like courage especially when our course of action is toward nebulous and subjective ideals like "success, goodness, and blessings." And considering what the nebulous foreign policy of the United States is currently demanding from our soldiers, perhaps there is some real-world substance to Monson lionizing our struggle to be brave enough to seek "blessings."

There will be times when you will be frightened and discouraged. You may feel that you are defeated. The odds of obtaining victory may appear overwhelming. At times you may feel like David trying to fight Goliath. But remember—David did win!

And you can take it to the bank that this is a true story, too! But in any case, who can argue that our struggle to, say, drink less Diet Coke or spend more time with the kids, is any less of a mortal struggle than a Jewish shepherd battling a giant heathen warrior?

Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one’s coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.

Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

But see also Apollo Creed in Rocky III: "There is no tomorrow!"

May we remember these ABCs as we begin our journey into the new year, cultivating a positive attitude, a belief that we can achieve our goals and resolutions, and the courage to face whatever challenges may come our way. Then the abundant life will be ours.

You might notice that this ephemeral thesis of "the abundant life" is based on the ill-defined vagaries of "success, goodness, and blessings." I think a Delphic prophecy (or fortune cookie; take your pick) was a nice way to close whatever it is we were supposed to take away from this message. Riffing off the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul series, perhaps the LDS Church could publish a compendium of First Presidency messages. Novocaine for the Intellect has a nice ring to it.

[_just me]

Courage is one of my favorite words...right behind delicious.

ABC

Okay, I started responding to the OP, but the effort was more than it was worth.

Maybe they should just start quoting self-help manuals. They tell you do this do that and never tell you HOW!!! ('sept that awesome idea of tying your hands to the bedposts...)

[_Wisdom Seeker]

Darth,

I really could have used this last month for my home-teaching lesson. Any chance you can decipher and make sense of the February message before the required last Sunday of the month? We need a sticky thread for FP messages just to help people like me who are still bringing the message to the masses.

Very insightful, good job!

[_Runtu]

Courage is one of my favorite words...right behind delicious.

ABC

Okay, I started responding to the OP, but the effort was more than it was worth.

Maybe they should just start quoting self-help manuals. They tell you do this do that and never tell you HOW!!! ('sept that awesome idea of tying your hands to the bedposts...)

Hey, don't knock empty platitudes. What would general conference be without them?

[_Fence Sitter]

Hey, don't knock empty platitudes. What would general conference be without them?

Shorter

[_moksha]

I like the message. Short, sweet and simple are always nice. President Monson was going to have a message in the Ensign anyway, so what better way is there than to start the new year with a pep talk. The ABC device is an easy way for the Saints to remember the pep talk.