LDS Place

“A man has a responsibility to himself. He has a responsibility to his family. He has a responsibility to the Church, and he has a responsibility to his profession. In order for him to live a balanced life, he must try to find an avenue by which he can serve in each of these areas.”

These are the words of President Harold B. Lee, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were addressed to an audience at the University of Utah on January 15, 1971, but they raise a question for all of us.

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On our present assignment, my wife and I live a long way away from our children. This means the letters go back and forth. I would like to read a paragraph from a letter one of our daughters recently sent:

“I’ve become a nurse. Four of the six kids have the flu. I’m changing my ambitions from psychiatrist to nurse. Anyway, nobody in this family is sick in the head, we are just all sick. I hate it when the kids are sick.” Then in capital letters, “I WANT MY LIFE BACK!”

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We may sometimes wonder how we can possibly accomplish all we want to in life when so many voices seek our time. The voices come from people we love and respect; the activities they encourage are commendable and important. But that’s the problem: How can we possibly do everything?

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How can I do it all? I often wondered. As the mother of four young children, I felt stretched thin with all my responsibilities. At the same time, I knew I was neglecting some vital activities—scripture study, regular family home evenings, exercise—because of that old culprit, no time.

While I was grappling with these concerns, I read about a prominent young mother who was rearing her children alone and who had a successful business in her home. The article mentioned her past struggles with time management and quoted her as saying that the key factor that helped her get control of her life had been giving up daytime television. She also said that going without daytime TV had changed her life in many other ways.

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When our oldest child (who is now a father of three and sits in this priesthood congregation this evening) was 11 years of age, he was given an assignment, along with the other sixth graders of his school, to submit his favorite family recipe. As its contribution to a large spring fair, the sixth grade was producing a cookbook that would be distributed throughout the community. When the teacher announced the project and a deadline of a week from Friday, our son Brett immediately concluded there was plenty of time later to get the job done and dismissed it from his mind. Early the next week, when the teacher reminded the students of the Friday deadline, Brett decided he could easily complete the required task on Thursday night and until then he could occupy himself with other more enjoyable matters.

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The door slammed behind Brent as he rushed into the house in a flurry of disorganization. “I’ve got to eat quickly,” he shouted to anyone who would hear, “so I can get over to the first half of rehearsal and then to my presidency meeting before it’s too late.”

Brent’s studious brother looked up from his reading and questioned, “Are you flying at super-sonic speed again?”

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Managing our time and finding balance in our lives can be difficult. But it is possible. The Lord has told us, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (3 Ne. 13:33). The readers who sent in their ideas agreed that things will fall into place if we prioritize correctly. Here are some of their ideas on how to stay balanced:

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Time is a property we inherit from God—along with the power to choose what we will do with it. It is an inheritance so great that we should feel that it is our “capital” to invest just as we would invest a financial inheritance.

As you know, there is more than one way to spend time foolishly. We may sleep it away or play it away. But the real problem comes later after the idleness and the thoughtless seeking for thrills.

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After dinner with his family, Hal read through the term paper once more, and after correcting two typing errors, placed it in a yellow plastic cover. “Twenty-seven pages,” he thought. “That’s the longest paper I hope I ever have to do. I sure hope Mr. Gillam is interested in the post-war politics of Yugoslavia.” Hal put the paper with his other schoolwork. “I’m glad I started on it when I did, or I’d have never had it ready to turn in tomorrow,” he thought. “That man really expects a lot of us seniors.” With his homework finished, Hal went downstairs and watched a TV show with his little brother before going to bed.

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