New Year Goals Talks?

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JohnnyL
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New Year Goals Talks?

Post by JohnnyL »

So did everyone have talks on goals today? We did, and of course, most of it was the philosophies of men, with a scripture or two.

I think this will be one of the last non-gospel topics to be cast out.

Lizzy60
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Re: New Year Goals Talks?

Post by Lizzy60 »

Icy streets. No church.

I agree that talks about goals are mostly non-scriptural.

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David13
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Re: New Year Goals Talks?

Post by David13 »

No, no goals talk for us. We were all like, all scriptural, and stuff.
Well, The Living Christ, and a conference talk, to be exact.
dc

JohnnyL
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Re: New Year Goals Talks?

Post by JohnnyL »

David13 wrote: December 31st, 2017, 5:29 pm No, no goals talk for us. We were all like, all scriptural, and stuff.
Well, The Living Christ, and a conference talk, to be exact.
dc
Nice sacrament meeting! I guess your ward has made the transition.

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Thinker
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Re: New Year Goals Talks?

Post by Thinker »

Not in sacrament mtg, but in another, we talked about priorities... good, better and best. Interestingly, I had read something almost identical last night. Good reminder.

And personally, I LOVE goals and see them as essential to conscious & most effective progress. To me, God is about goals, highest GOoD & striving for what is best. I see goals as more extensive than just once a year at New Years, but it’s better than nothing.

brianj
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Re: New Year Goals Talks?

Post by brianj »

We had sacrament talks on goals, and I really don't recall canonized scripture cited in those talks but they were heavy on quotes from general conference addresses. This was difficult for me because they kept referencing family goals, and because the most important goal for me (seeing the divorce my wife filed in 2016 come to a conclusion) seems completely out of my hands.

In the third hour the Bishop spoke on simplifying our lives, starting with a reference to the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. This left me with a quote from a Robert Burns poem stuck in my head all hour, and for the rest of the day:

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

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Thinker
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Re: New Year Goals Talks?

Post by Thinker »

brianj wrote: December 31st, 2017, 10:01 pm We had sacrament talks on goals, and I really don't recall canonized scripture cited in those talks but they were heavy on quotes from general conference addresses. This was difficult for me because they kept referencing family goals, and because the most important goal for me (seeing the divorce my wife filed in 2016 come to a conclusion) seems completely out of my hands.

In the third hour the Bishop spoke on simplifying our lives, starting with a reference to the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. This left me with a quote from a Robert Burns poem stuck in my head all hour, and for the rest of the day:

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
Nice poem, and sorry to hear about your divorce. Bummer. I hope and believe some good can come out of what seems bad. I hope the best for you, Brian.

And you make me want to see if I can dig up any scriptures that encourage or support choosing, setting and achieving goals...

Image

Selecting the best goals:

“Ask, & it shall be given you; seek, & ye shall find; knock, & it shall be opened unto you.” –Luke 11
1 Thess 5: 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
Phil 4:8 Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
“I would seek unto God, & unto God would I commit my cause.” –Job 5:8
“For precept must be upon precept…line upon line… here a little, & there a little.” –Isaiah:28:10 (appropriate goals before bigger goals)

“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, & where thieves do not break through nor steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” –Matt 6:20-21
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, & lose his own soul?” –Mark 8:36
“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, & not unto men.” –Col 3:23
"To every thing there is a season, & a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, & a time to die; a time to plant, & a time to pluck up that which is planted.”-Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

“For behold, ye do love money, & your substance, & your fine apparel, & the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor & the needy, the sick & the afflicted. O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies – because of the praise of the world?” –Mormon 8:37-38
“Study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, & if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.” –D&C 9:8

“For he that diligently seeketh shall find; & the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them…” -1 Nephi 10:19
“Yeah, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore it is the most desirable above all things.” -1 Nephi 11:22
“Wherefore, press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, & a love of God & of all men.” -2 Nephi 31:20
“My Spirit is truth; truth abideth & hath no end; & if it be in you it shall abound. And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, & there shall be no darkness in you; & that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.”-D&C 88:66-67

Goals:
“Men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, & do many things of their own free will, & bring to pass much righteousness.”–D& C 58:27
“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; & my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, & have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” –Ether 12:27
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” –Ecclesiastes 9:10

God's support in your goals:

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, & not be weary; & they shall walk, and not faint.” –Isaiah:40:31
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” –Isaiah:41:10
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, & my thoughts than your thoughts.” –Isaiah: 55:8-9
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” –John 16:33
“And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” –Romans 5:5
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” –Romans 8:28
“And [God] is before all things, & by [God] all things consist.” –Colossians 1:17
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.” -1Peter 5:6-7

“I have beheld [God’s] glory, & am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.” -2 Nephi 1:15
“Fear not, do good, let earth & hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.” –D&C 6:34
“Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; & then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, & for his arm to be revealed.” –D&C 123:17
“Draw near unto me & I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently & ye shall find me.” –D&C 88:63


Many scriptures are goals themselves like, "Love one another"...
Rom 12: 2 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Pro 23:7 For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
Prov 18:21 The tongue can bring death or life.
Prov 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger

“Wisdom is better than weapons of war.” –Ecclesiastes 9:18
“A wise man will hear, & will increase learning.” –Proverbs 1:5
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” –Proverbs 4:23
“The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.” –Proberbs 14:15
“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; & he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” –Provebs 16:32
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth & forsaketh them shall have mercy.” –Proverbs 28:13

“Blessed are thy which do hunger & thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” –Matt 5

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, & the power & the glory, for ever. Amen.” –Matt 6:13

“According to your faith be it unto you.” –Matt 9:29
“He that findeth his life (pride) shall lose it: & he that loseth his life for my (truth/love’s) sake shall find it.” –Matt 10:39
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, & with all thy soul, & with all thy mind. This is the 1st & great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” –Matt 22:37-40

“The sabbath was made for man, & not man for the sabbath.” –Mark 2:27 (you could also substitute religion)
“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” –John 7:24
“And ye shall know the truth (with effort – reason & spirit) & the truth shall make you free.” –John 8:3
“God is no respector of persons.” –Acts 10:34. Romans 2:11 (God loves us all, no matter who we are.)

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” -1 Cor 2:14
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, & that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” -1Cor 3:16
“Faith which worketh by love.” –Galatians 5:6 (God is love & love is hoping & striving for what is best, through trial & error – active faith
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” –Galatians 5:14

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance.” –Galatians 5:22-23
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, & so fulfill the law of Christ.” –Galatians 6:2
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 2:5 (Christ is not Jesus’ last name, but a way of thinking & feeling & being, which he wants us to have too.)
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” –Hebrews 11:1
“Faith without works is dead.” –James 2:20

“For it must be, that there is an opposition in all things.” -2 Nephi 2:11 (expect this to be a school more than a vacation and it'll be more joyful)
“When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” –Mosiah 2:17
“Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” –Alma 32:21
“And it did work for them according to their faith in God.” –Alma 37:40

“Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yeah, & who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?” –Mormon 9:16
“Thou art a God of truth.” –Ether 3:12
“Charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail – But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever… Pray…with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love.” –Moroni 7:48
“Seek not to declar my word, but first seek to obtain my word, & then shall your tongue be loosed; then if you desire, you shall have my Spirit & my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.” –D&C 11:21
“The Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior.” –D&C 76:1

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Thinker
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Re: New Year Goals Talks?

Post by Thinker »

Ok ok, I know that wasn’t enough scriptures - you demand more! :P

I’m quoting scriptures from a book that probably takes it from the Betty Crocker bible version but hopefully u get the point & if u want u can still look up the Elizabethian kjv.

“My child, don’t lose sight of good planning & insight. Hang on to them, for they fill u with life & bring you honor & respect.” -Proverbs 3:21-22

“Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but a fool’s eyes wander to the end of the earth.” -Proverbs 17:24

“So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses punches.” -1 Cor. 9:26

Look and ye shall find... spiritual truths and sometimes humor. :)

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Thinker
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Re: New Year Goals Talks?

Post by Thinker »

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” - Albert Einstein

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BeNotDeceived
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Re: New Year Goals Talks?

Post by BeNotDeceived »

Lizzy60 wrote: December 31st, 2017, 4:53 pm Icy streets. No church.

I agree that talks about goals are mostly non-scriptural.
January is difficult enough, just getting through it, unless perhaps you’re south of the Mason Dixon line. Best for me to wait ‘till daylight hours exceeds darkness by at least 10%.

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