Reflections on a Consecrated Life, by D. Todd Christofferson
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
I reviewed Elder Christofferson's talk and found many quotes that I likes, but I wanted to apply the message.
Near the beginning of his address, he quoted from Man's Search for Happiness:
Life offers you two precious gifts—one is time, the other freedom of choice, the freedom to buy with your time what you will. . . your eternal reward will be according to your choosing.
I love the concept of time as currency, but don't think I'm doing as well as I should in investing my time. As I read the five elements of a consecrated life (purity, work, respect for one's body, service, and integrity), I wondered if I could claim that I have a consecrated life.
I can't.
However, I thought of someone whom I think does a wonderful job at living a consecrated life: my wife!
Let me offer five evidences that my wife lives a consecrated life:
- "As the Savior demonstrated, the consecrated life is a pure life." The purity of my wife seems apparent to anyone who looks at her. You can often literally see that she is glowing because of her purity! While she may deny her luminescence, she will tell you that it is because of Christ and His Atonement that she is who she is.
- "A consecrated life is a life of labor." While my wife doesn't hold a paying job, there's no doubt that she lives a life of labor! If "all honest work is the work of God," and "all true work is sacred," then the unquantifiable work of a loving wife and mother is beyond measure!
A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires.
- "A consecrated life respects the incomparable gift of one's physical body." If you ask her about this, she is likely to sing you a song from an old EFY Songs album, "Modesty is Always in Style." Not only does she sing about it, she lives it! My wife is beautiful, but she has never given in to the pressures of the world to showcase beauty in a worldly way through immodest dress or attitudes—and it's one of the things I love about her!
- "A consecrated life is a life of service." Closely related to the many ways that my wife works, are her countless acts of service. As Elder Christofferson said, "Those who quietly and thoughtfully go about doing good offer a model of consecration," and that is a good description of my wife.
- "A consecrated life is a life of integrity." I heard my father-in-law give the description of a beautiful woman: A beautiful woman is the woman who loves me!
It's amazing that integrity increases ones beauty—especially as seen by the one whom the integrity is toward. But not only does my wife have integrity in our marriage and family, but she is like the sons of Helaman, "true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted" (see Alma 53:20); she lives the Young Women's Values:We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places" (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:
- Faith
- Divine Nature
- Individual Worth
- Knowledge
- Choice and Accountability
- Good Works
- Integrity and
- Virtue.
We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.
The consecration of many who have gone before us and others who live among us has helped lay the foundation for our happiness. In like manner future generations will take courage from your consecrated life.
I'm grateful for the example of my wife's consecrated life, and I want to be more like her!
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