However, mostly I enjoy researching about things that will make me a better wife and mother. Things that will bring me greater health and self-reliance. Things that will bring me closer to my Heavenly Father. I'm great at learning about things. As a matter of fact, if I could get an official degree in self-taught learning, I'd probably have a bachelors degree in a few areas with all that information swimming around in my head. However, things get a little trickier when I try to put learning into action.
Naturally, I enjoyed conference immensely this past weekend. What's not to like? Spending time with family and eating some of our favorite munchies, while soaking up the words of the living prophets and apostles. And pjs on Sunday? Heck, yeah. The talks were so powerful. Even my six-year-old was mesmerized by the speakers, especially when a couple of them talked about tornadoes--and even showed pictures!
But, I felt the spirit gently nudging me. It's not enough to just soak up the words of General Conference. It's not enough to just read the Book of Mormon, or watch inspirational videos on YouTube, or read the monthly Ensign. It's what we do with that knowledge that counts.
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
“For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (James 1:22–25.)
Don't get me wrong--I go to church every week, read my scriptures, and do the things I should. I just get the feeling that the bar has been raised. We've had many talks, conferences, and articles written on "Hastening the Work". I need to do more than I've been doing.
So, I had this idea buzzing around in my head to start a blog and Facebook page focusing on putting God's word into action, specifically the talks from the most recent conference. I want to study the talks into depth, understand the action we need to take, and know the blessings that have been promised.
I got the idea for the name of this blog from a talk given by Elder M. Russel Ballard in the Oct. 2012 conference: Be Anxiously Engaged. He explains how thousands of honey bees work together to transform nectar from his father's peach blossoms into honey, and even though each bee's contribution over the lifespan of the bee only equals about 1/12 of a teaspoon, that contribution is vital to the life of the hive. The bees depend on each other to do an amazing work.
The symbol of the beehive has always been important in the church. It signifies hard work and dedication, everyone doing his part to accomplish a common goal, and being "anxiously engaged in a good cause". I hope that we can inspire each other to take the lessons we learned from conference and become anxiously engaged in this great work!
