That relaxed attitude was no match for the “Yeah, but”s that always intervene when we’re stretching ourselves out of our comfort zone.  “You should work on that dream” confronts “Yeah, but it’s been a long day and I’m too tired” and you don’t make any progress on your goals and dreams.  “You should finish that task” meets “Yeah, but I’ve got bills to pay [or insert other work that appears to take priority]” and you don’t make any progress on your goals and dreams.  So if you want to move towards your goals and dreams, don’t be a butthead!

So long as we stay within our comfort zones, we’ll always have average lives of mediocrity.  And that’s the way our brain likes it.  How do I know?  Quite simply, it’s designed into our biological hardwiring.

Anciently, venturing too far outside your comfort zone could get you killed.  Thus, the forces of evolutionary biology adjusted the design of our internal controls.  Our biological hardwiring now provides a check point if we go too far beyond the borders of safety.  “You don’t really want to go this way” becomes the persuasion of the moment attended by a natural pull back within our comfort zone.  It’s all designed to keep us safe.

But staying safe will never result in your best life because staying safe leads only to mediocrity.  Now, I’m not saying we need to be a reckless version of Evel Knievel.  What I am saying is playing it safe every time never got anyone anywhere.  Your best life isn’t found inside your comfort zone.  If it were, you’d have your best life because it’d be easy to find and you wouldn’t be dreaming of something better.

None of this is new to me; I’ve known all of it for years.  So why then have I kept slipping?  Why hasn’t the knowledge of how my biological hardwiring works translated into forward-propelling action?  It’s comforting to know that even with all my slipping the ball’s at the one-yard line, but even still. why isn’t it in the in-zone?

I simply haven’t been vigilant watching for lapses.  Our biological hardwiring has us operating mostly out of habit, so it’s easy for eyes to drift away from watching out for potential slips.  And those opportunities to slip sneak so silently upon us that not watching vigilantly essentially invites slips towards our goals and dreams to occur.

Those slips often begin with “Yeah, but.”  Without vigilant watching, those “Yeah, but”s come and carry the moment.  Each surrender to natural inclination is a vote to stay average.  Over time, those votes can aggregate to deliver a life of mediocrity.  In this way you can get close to scoring but never actually do.

Can you ever get the “Yeah, but”s out of your head?  No, they’re a part of your biological hardwiring.  But you can develop habits for confronting those “Yeah, but”s successfully.

Begin by deciding your response in advance.  Then write out that response: “When I get told ‘Yeah, but’ X in such-and-such situation, I will Y.”  Writing out your response burns it more into your brain so that, when your trigger event occurs, you’re more likely to follow through with your pre-determined response.  Once you play that out enough times, you’ll have a new habit that propels you forward to your goals and dreams.

So don’t be a butthead.  Don’t just let the waves of life carry you wherever the winds happens to blow.  Own your life.  Take control.  Reject any surrender to “Yeah, but” by setting yourself up to adopt the habits you need to succeed.  You’ll find yourself slipping a lot less and scoring wins a lot more on the road to your best life.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

There really was nothing wrong with me, but there was something wrong with my thinking.  Despite seeming natural, these sorts of comparisons with others are never fair.  And I wasn’t alone there; many LDS singles unwittingly compare themselves to others.  But you should compare you with you and no one else.

Comparing yourself to others is inherently unfair.  We all have different backgrounds, different knowledge, different experiences, different ways of seeing the world.  Comparing yourself with others is like comparing apples and oranges.  They’re both fruits, but beyond that they have few similarities.

Yet recognizing that no good comes from that comparison doesn’t stop anyone from doing it.  Why does it seem so natural to compare ourselves with others?  Why are we so prone to make these comparisons despite their inherent unfairness?

The answer is biology.  We’re all biologically hardwired with a basic desire to be loved and accepted.  Since like begets like, that desire translates into a desire to be normal, to fit in, to belong.  And so part of our biological hardwiring assesses what’s normal by comparing ourselves with those around us.

Think of that system as a sort of thermostat.  We set our “temperature” to match the “temperature” of those around us so we’ll be like them and therefore fit in.  This is why fat people who hang out with fat people find it hard to lose weight and fat people who hang out with skinny people find it easier to lose weight.  In both cases, biology prompts the individual to be more like those whom that individual spends substantial time.

The same biological hardwiring works in any situation, including the one in which LDS singles feel like Moroni as they watch their friends leave singles life one by one.  They feel out of place because they’re not like those around them.  Time’s progressing, but they don’t seem to be.

How do you deal with such situations?  If your biological hardwiring has you wanting to be like those around you, and you find yourself stuck and unable to be like those around you, are you doomed to a miserable existence?  My response?  Only if you want to be.

You can’t change your biological hardwiring, but you can redirect its influence.  First, recognize both your propensity to compare and the inherent unfairness in comparing yourself with others.  Then accept comparisons only between you and you.  Every time you find yourself comparing you with anyone else, stop, remind yourself how unfair that comparison is, and then compare you with you.

Essentially, you compare the person you are today with the person you were previously.  It may be the person you were last year, last month, last week, yesterday, or even earlier today.  But if you can see a reasonable improvement between the previous and present you, you’re making progress.  And that’s what really matters.

Of course, simply making progress doesn’t necessarily satisfy the basic need to belong, especially if everyone one around you isn’t comparing them with them.  But that just highlights the need to choose with caution those with whom you choose to spend your time.  Maximize your time around others who’ll help you compare you with you, and minimize your time around others who won’t.

In the end, it won’t matter whether you did this or that within whatever time frame as much as whether the you at the end is better than any previous you, because that will mean you made progress along the eternal path.  And making progress along that path will mean your time spent in mortality was worthwhile.

Stop comparing yourself with others.  They don’t have the same combination of background, knowledge, experience, and perspective you have.  For all we share in common, our individual experience in mortality really is individual.  So compare you with you and no one else.  You’ll turn your focus more on making the progress you need to make, and that focus will then determine a reality of progress.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

It’s not uncommon to find singles who have extended such expectations to every part of their lives.  They include how many kids they will have, where they will live, what kind of career they have, and more.  The list of rules their life is supposed to follow is quite long if not endless.  Well, I’ve got just one thing to say to that.  Your rules are dumb.

Setting rules for how life is supposed to proceed establishes expectations.  And that’s a problem, especially where other people are involved.  Everyone is so imperfect that you’re almost certain to be disappointed.

I know that sounds cynical.  I’m not trying to be.  Successful people take the world as they find it, not as they wish it would be. That means seeing things as they really are and calling them out.  Expecting people to act a certain way so your life can unfold according to your fantasy is just dumb.

Instead of establishing rules for how others should act, make rules for how you should.  Others will almost certainly disappoint you, but you can choose not to disappoint yourself.  You can work towards your best life by becoming your best self, and you do that by exercising the discipline to conform to rules that your best self would follow.  That process of struggle as you seek to change not just your behavior but your identity fuels the growth for the transformation into your best self.

Your rules for how your life should proceed are dumb for another reason.  By staking out an expectation of what will or even should happen, you cut off all other possibilities from being acceptable.  And that removes much of the beauty your life could have.

Life is wonderful not because it conforms with some plan of perfection but because of possibility.  Variety and spontaneity are the spices of life because they highlight possibilities.  It’s the possibility of surprise that helps make it interesting.

Of course, some of those surprises would be more interesting if they didn’t invade your life.  For example, my place recently flooded for the third time in the last two months.  A surprise to be sure, but I don’t wallow in playing the victim.  I choose to leverage the event to fuel my drive to improve my situation.  Those improvements require me to think creatively about possible solutions and to work hard to realize them.

If I insisted that my place wasn’t supposed to flood because that’s not how my life is supposed to be, I’d cut off the creativity I need to find solutions.  I’d spend far too much time focusing on the problem, which creates a reality filled with problems.  I’d miss out on how beautiful my life could be by truly living it — taking it by the reins and making it the best it can be.

What would happen if you suspended your rules and opened yourself to possibility?  Instead of insisting that your life proceed according to some pre-determined expectation, what if you had the humility to embrace an alternative?

I recall in a previous ward receiving an invitation to dinner.  The family had invited another family to join us.  As we waited for the women to finish preparations, the children were playing outside, and we men were conversing.

Speaking of his wife, one of the men said, “I never thought I’d be happy with a red head, but I am.”  When single, he expected he needed to marry a blonde to be happy.  What he found by releasing that expectation and embracing possibility was true happiness found not in what he had but in what he gave.  And the life he described living was truly beautiful.

Your rules are dumb.  Let go of the expectations that life must unfold a certain way in order for it to work for you.  Your life will work for you when you do the work your best life requires.  And that will bring your more joy in your journey.

not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility” (2 Nephi 2:11).

To Father Lehi’s list of essential opposites we can add this pair: comfort and growth.  We all want growth, but growth by its very nature is often uncomfortable.  And if we avoid the discomfort, we’ll never grow.  There’s no comfort in growth but also no growth in comfort.

We’d all do well to remember these essential opposites as we encounter challenges in our lives.  Many LDS singles naturally retract from the discomfort their challenges bring.  That has nothing to do with being single and everything to do with being human.  But the growth they want can’t come without discomfort.

Many of the challenges of LDS singles life come from the nature of singleness. You’re made to connect with another half, but you have only the half you are.  Everything in your life has to come from you.  All your financial support has to come from you.  Maintaining everything in your life has to come from you.  If something doesn’t work, the fix has to come from you.  If you have children to raise, then that too has to come from you.

We’ve all been there in Singleland.  Some of us have been there longer than others, and others more are still there.  In fact, that’s where the majority of the adult Church membership is.  And the majority of that majority is stuck right there in Singleland because they keep looking for the comfortable exit in the futile hope they can grow without discomfort.

That hope is futile because growth and comfort are essential opposites.  You can’t grow if you stay comfortable.  To have growth, you must be willing to embrace discomfort.

Notice I said embrace.  A mere acceptance will not do.  You must put your arms around the pain and take it in.  You must channel it into the molding of your character.  You must leverage it to your advantage.  You must take what appears to hold you back and turn it into the very impetus that propels you forward.

Most people don’t think this way, which is why most people when presented with challenge will whimper and wallow in self-pity.  Those who successfully transcend — not just overcome but transcend — their challenges are those who embrace the discomfort.  And that embrace is what allows them to experience the most growth from their challenges.

We’ve all had the experience not just of trials but also of realization after the trial that the uncomfortable experience made us stronger.  We learned something we didn’t know before.  We have a perspective that’s more complete because of the experience the trial provided.  We grew because of the discomfort.

But most of us leave it there, taking just what life has forced upon us.  We’re leaving some growth on the table when we do that.  There’s so much more growth we could experience if only we embraced the discomfort.

And that discomfort is something LDS singles especially should want to embrace.  We’ve talked often about the fundamentals of the dating journey and how you must become more agreeable by changing you.  That change you most need is almost always uncomfortable.  But embracing that growth by being all in with both your circumstances and what you do in those circumstances will bring that change to you more quickly and more completely.  And maximum growth leads to maximum joy.

There’s no comfort in growth but also no growth in comfort.  May we each remember that truth as we each consider our response to the challenges in our own lives.  And may we each embrace the discomfort in those challenges.  Doing so will maximize the growth we’ll experience.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

After inviting a student to read the first stanza of Robert Herrick’s oft-quoted poem “To the Virgins to Make Much of Time,” Mr. Keating draws the students into a discussion about the meaning of the poem.  Carpe diem is probably the best known Latin expression among the common populace today, most of whom don’t speak Latin.  Yet for as well known as the Latin phrase meaning “seize the day” is, few actually practice it.

And that was the whole point of Mr. Keating’s lecture.  We each have a window of opportunity while we live, and that opportunity is to seize the moment in front of us and make the most of it.  This was Mr. Keating’s message in his first lecture.  “Seize the day, boys!  Make your life extraordinary!”

I’m not sure why it didn’t hit me earlier, but this is a perfect message of LDS singles.  Too many waste their lives away waiting for something wonderful to happen, as though the blessings they want in their life will appear magically at their front door.

Here’s the problem with that approach: It wastes opportunity.  The same agency that singles use to waste away their time waiting for their blessings is the same agency they could be using to make their lives extraordinary.

But most don’t make their lives anything, let alone extraordinary.  They simply flow with the waves of life, going wherever they’ll carry them.  This is the path of the natural man and the natural woman.  Simply following the impulse of the biological programming within our physical bodies is easy, and that programming would have us staying where it is “safe.”

But the extraordinary life doesn’t come to anyone who simply goes with the flow.  Rather it comes to those who will make their own waves to create the currents that carry them to the destination they desire.  They make conscious choices to act against the natural impulse to go with the flow.

Conscious choice is the key not only to making one’s life extraordinary but also to encouraging the blessings you want in your life to come into your life.  Notice I said encourage, not make.  Many blessings require the agency of another to decide in your favor.

That truth doesn’t diminish the greater power we each have to achieve the results we desire.  Too many focus on what is outside their control, and that focus belittles the power we each have to change our lives for the better and make them truly extraordinary.  In reality, many exercise their agency in accordance with what is presented to them.  And you choose what you present to them every single day (pun intended).

So what should you choose to present to others in order to attract the results you desire?  If you want an extraordinary life, then present the elements that will attract an extraordinary life.  This is more than just the activity you embrace in your life.  This is also, and perhaps more importantly, the assumptions and attitude you embody.

Focusing on what you can do will enable you to feel more of the power you truly have within you.  And by acting on that truth, by doing what you can do, you’ll feel more powerful more often.

When you make your life extraordinary, you make yourself more attractive.  So where do you start?  How do you start?

The extraordinary life is an attractive life, but it is also an interesting one.  So start by making your life more interesting.  And the easiest place to begin is with your own imagination.  What do you think makes a life interesting?  Put those things one by one in your life.  And don’t rely on what others think is interesting.  Follow what you yourself genuinely think is interesting.

Make your life extraordinary.  Take action to start living your life.  The more interesting you make your life, the more attractive it will be to others and the more enticed they will be to share it with you.  When you leverage the power you have in your own agency, you can make your life more than you imagined it could be.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Our reality is simply the combination of our results in life and the meaning we ascribe to them.  A story is essentially a description of that reality.  Stories are how we make sense out of life.  That’s why we all have a story.

And that’s why, when your life starts going off plot, it’s natural to freak out.  The story you’ve been using to make sense of your life doesn’t match reality. “Wait a minute!” some cry.  “I’m supposed to be married by now.  This isn’t how my story is supposed to go!”  Or maybe you weren’t supposed to get married to a “consolation prize.”  Or maybe you weren’t supposed to get divorced.  Or maybe your spouse wasn’t supposed to die so soon.  There’s endless ways to detail the difference between the story you’ve been using and the one you’re experiencing.

But Christ can make up the difference because He is the difference.  Your goals determine your direction, and direction determines destination.  How can you embrace the best destination unless you embrace He Who is the only Way to that best destination?  Sister Johnson acknowledged that truth as she began her remarks with an invitation:

Partnering with the Lord is the only way to your best life on both sides of the veil.  You simply can’t write your best story without Him.

As simple as that answer is, it isn’t easy.  Partnering with the Lord often means surrendering your will to His.  And the natural man and woman are nothing if not unwilling to be ruled.

Combine that truth with our biological hardwiring to resist change, especially uncomfortable change, and you’ve got obstacles to becoming your best self before you even begin.  Sooner or later, we’ll all sense that accepting His will instead of our own will mean accepting some uncomfortable outcome, deviating the story of our life away from the story we’ve told ourselves is the one that’s supposed to be.

This is essentially why we hesitate to turn our story over to Christ.  Sister Johnson said as much in her remarks:

Christ knows you and your potential so well He will guide you to what will help shape you into your best self, and He won’t allow anything to come into your life that you can’t leverage for that end.  Sister Johnson confirmed these truths when she taught,

So it really comes down to this: Are you willing to let Christ write a story for your life far better than any you could write on your own?  You can stay in your comfortable hovel believing in your own story and denying any deviations life will always eventually present.  Or you can embrace the discomfort that will lead you to your best life by letting Him prevail in your life.

The truth is we don’t know everything we think we do.  As discomforting as a turn in your story might seem, if that turn comes from Christ, embracing it will turn you more into your best self and your life more into your best life.  As Nephi taught, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him” (2 Nephi 26:24).

Let Christ author your story.  Partner with Him, and He’ll make more out of your life than you ever can on your own.  Whatever discomfort you experience from so doing will turn around to your gain.  When that day comes, you’ll look back on your decision to let Him prevail with gratitude.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Clearly, the Savior understood that power.  His ministering example teaches all the love generated when we give our full attention to others.  Indeed, one of the greatest gifts we can give to others is the gift of full attention.

Society today hungers for attention, so much so everyone seems scrambling after it.  Whatever new trick can potentially secure the attention of others finds its way onto the to-do list of many seeking to capture attention for their own gain.  And these actors, feeling a scarcity of the attention they desire, saturate us with attention demand overload.

Combine that situation with the addictive nature of social media, and it’s not hard to understand why people give more attention to their phone than to people around them.  Many take full advantage of the dopamine hits social media networks are designed to generate.  And far too many of us surrender our agency to the addiction we hold in our hands and carry with us wherever we go.

We’ve discussed before on this program the mediocrity this life on autopilot creates.  We break free by living in the moment, making conscious choices to move in the direction we determine and not just where the impulse of addiction would drive us.  That’s what I love about the suggested action for today on the Light the World calendar.  It encourages us to make a conscious choice to break free from impulse and move in a direction we consciously choose.

That conscious choice unlocks the real power of giving our full attention in our interactions.  So doing sends a clear message: Out of all the choices I could make in this moment regarding where to place my attention, I choose you.  This is part of why the gift of full attention is a truly a gift of love.

The other part deals with the basic human needs we all have to feel loved, needed, and belonging to something greater than ourselves.  Putting down your phone and giving your full attention to others essentially tells them they are preferred, and realizing that preference generates in others the feeling of being loved, needed, and part of something bigger.

Now consider what happens when we don’t make that conscious choice to give full attention.  We tell others through our actions we choose something else over them, that something else is preferred.  And that preference generates in others feelings of not being loved, needed, or part of something bigger.

I still remember the love generated during a single adult conference 12 years ago when an attendee chose to give me full attention.  Our exchange lasted only five minutes, yet the influence of that seemingly small choice in how to spend five minutes has lasted 12 years, and the end is not in sight.  The gift of full attention is truly a gift that keeps on giving.

And we need not limit the power of that gift to just the one small act the Light the World calendar suggests for today.  We can expand our influence even further by practicing active listening in all settings.

Our society suffers substantially from a lack of listening.  People think listening means simply hearing the words other people say.  Meanwhile, they look for chances to inject what they want to say into a conversation.  But real, active listening involves hearing what others say with the intent to understand them.  Instead of looking for breaks to project our own selves onto others, we can use those same opportunities to try to understand others.  In so doing, we help others feel loved and thereby expand the power the gift of full attention can provide.

So today and every day, let’s give more of the gift that keeps on giving.  Let’s give the gift of full attention.  When we do, our seeming small act of surrender to love will invite others to do the same.  And when they do, the cycle will continue, resulting in a better world filled with the light and goodness of love.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

Conference provides a great opportunity to reflect and recommit ourselves to a better path.  But truth be told, every single day holds the same opportunity.  Each day provides a new opportunity to consider your ways and act to change your life.

We all have the same 24 hours each day, but we all choose to spend it differently.  And how you spend your time reveals what you value most in life.

Me?  I’ve always been a big fan of sleep.  There’s no way it’s overrated.  It’s fantastic!  But you can pursue many things to excess, and sleep is no exception.  I’m sure we’re all familiar with the admonition in D&C 88:124 to “arise early.”  I’m actually still working on that.

But I’ve found, when I can do it, an early start radically changes the entire day.  I’m way more productive, producing more value more easily.  I feel more focused and energized throughout the day.  And at the end of the day, I’m just more satisfied with myself.

I don’t get those benefits if I prioritize personal playtime and consuming content, and neither will you.  If you want your best life, you need to answer these questions: Do you devote more time to worthy causes or frivolous pursuits?  Are you the captain of your life’s ship, or do you just float wherever the waves of life take you?

Speaking of sleep, what does “retire to thy bed early” mean?  I think we each must find our own way.  For myself, the sooner I get to sleep, the easier it is to beat the sun up.  My body simply takes what sleep it needs, so staying up late doesn’t help me “arise early.”  And if I don’t get up early, I won’t get the resultant benefits.

In fact, getting up late usually means getting the exact opposite.  I get tons more desire to play and waste the day.  If I do manage to drag myself into some productive pursuit, I’m anything but focused.  My mind goes all over the map.  At the end of the day, I’m left with nothing but the shame of having wasted the day.

On my mission, I heard an African story.  Every morning a gazelle awakens.  He knows his best chance of escaping the tiger hunting him is to get as much of a head start as he can.  But every morning that tiger also awakens.  He knows his best chance of eating that day depends on catching the gazelle before he starts running.  Thus, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a gazelle or a tiger.  When the sun comes up, you had better be running.

Your sleep schedule is just one of many ways you should consider.  We should all reflect on what we need to get where we each want to go and then consider getting what we don’t have but need.  Sometimes that means gaining new knowledge.  Sometimes that means acquiring a new tool.  Sometimes that means having the right people in your life.  Your Heavenly Father, the Lord, and the Spirit are indispensable members of that support team.  Don’t forget to include them in your plans for success.

In the end, you won’t get the most out of life unless you live intentionally.  Only by choosing your activities with intention can you get the most juice for your squeeze.  And the best intention for your time includes your own personal ministry by which you contribute to making the world a better place.

So consider your ways.  Are you making the most of every day?  Are you living with intention?  I can’t say I always have.  But I can say I’ve experienced real joy in living when I’ve consciously chosen how to spend my time to achieve worthy goals.  And I’m grateful to be reminded of the opportunity each day brings to consider my ways and make changes where necessary.

If you haven’t considered your ways recently, do so now.  You’ll open the door to feeling more satisfied with yourself each and every day.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

I remember years ago hearing a speaker at a singles conference talk about living in the moment.  She encouraged intentional living, saying living with intention can lead you to own your life.  I’m a big fan of owning your life, so I was with her that far.

Then the speaker defined intentional to mean having a plan.  The joy of living in the moment, she declared, comes from following a plan.  And that’s where she lost me, because I couldn’t disagree more.

To act with intention requires a conscious choice.  Living with intention therefore means living in the moment.  When you consciously choose in the moment what you do, you refuse to let your habits simply play themselves out.  That act allows you to embrace life and all the true joy of living.

You don’t need a plan for any of that to unfold for you.  All you need is to use the one gift from God we all have — agency.  You simply make a conscious choice.

Happiness comes not from just doing the right things but from giving your all to all the right things for you.  Giving your all is a conscious choice.  When you choose that path with full awareness and intention, the true joy of being alive can be yours.

Most don’t live like that.  They live on autopilot, a life filled with comfort and a sense of stability.  But true joy isn’t found in comfort and stability alone.  True joy comes from consciously embracing the right things.

I use that word embracing intentionally.  You can’t just execute a routine of righteous activity and expect happiness to find you.  The happy life doesn’t just come to you because it’s somehow your right or because you’re somehow deserving of it just because of who you are.  To get the happy life, you have to make it.  That requires consciously choosing the right things.  That means getting out of autopilot and its routine living.  And that means embracing all the right things for you.

In the end, your focus always determines your reality.  Focusing on what you don’t have and can’t do always brings a reality of scarcity and helplessness.  And a life that feels lacking and helpless is never enjoyable.

But the same principle works in the other direction.  Focusing on what you do have and can do brings a reality of abundance and empowerment.  As you begin to see how richly the Lord has blessed you, you feel gratitude come to you.  And life starts feeling joyful.

That focus on what you have now and can do now is key to living in the moment and making the happy life you want.  Focusing on the present and not the future is a conscious choice that helps you live with intention.  And the gift of agency from a loving Heavenly Father brings that choice within reach of us all.

The happy life doesn’t find you.  You find it by making it.  And that starts when you start living with intention.  Righteous intentional choices lift what you do to a new level because in so doing you give your all to the right things.  And when you give your all to the right things, life in return gives back to you all the joy and satisfaction of a life well lived.

You’ll always get what you give, so give your all to the right things for you and get the life that’s right in all ways for you.  You can breathe with confidence, walk with boldness, and bring your focus away from the future and more to the present moment.  You’ll then open yourself to a life you can savor regardless of your circumstances.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

I’m thankful President Oaks publicly declared those ideas.  I’m also thankful he focused on eternal principles throughout his remarks, especially the principle of moral agency.  The Constitution certainly isn’t perfect, but it does support that society most free to exercise agency.  Thus, we should all be defending our Constitution, despite its flaws and limitations.

President Oaks began his remarks by establishing his authority.  A former clerk to the chief justice of the US Supreme Court, law professor, and justice on the Utah Supreme Court, he’s certainly more than amply qualified to have a platform.

But the qualification he listed last and “most important” intrigued me most.  He’s been an Apostle of Jesus Christ for 37 years.  As President Oaks described, that means he’s “responsible to study the meaning of the divinely inspired United States Constitution to the work of His restored Church.”

Here he segues into a discussion of moral agency.  God inspired the Founding Fathers to assemble a system of government that would maximize the exercise of moral agency.  And as we know, agency is key in our Heavenly Father’s eternal plan for His children.  Defending the Constitution therefore promotes God’s plan of happiness.

President Oaks then mentioned some of the threats to the undergirding principles of the Constitution.  Said he,

The threats to the Constitution, and by extension to our Heavenly Father’s plan, are very real and very much growing.

So can we do about it?  What should we do to defend the Constitution?  President Oaks provides some answers.  I love how he starts by encouraging optimism, declaring “we should trust in the Lord and be positive about this nation’s future.”

Founded in faith and positive thinking, we should pray for leaders in all nations and then seek to exercise a righteous influence civilly, peacefully, and legally.  Also, in these divisive times, “we should seek to moderate and unify.”

These days, everyone loves to talk about their rights and what they’re entitled to receive.  But few speak of their duties and what they should give.  It’s people performing their duties that make the rights of all available.  That’s why I applaud President Oaks in listing three duties every good citizen has.

1. Learn and advocate the principles of the Constitution,
2. Seek and support good people who’ll support those principles in public office (D&C 98:10), and
3. Make your influence felt in civic affairs as informed citizens.

President Oaks then describes how we can and should make our influence felt.

That power-packed list reveals more I need to do to support the Constitution.  And I love how President Oaks reiterated King Benjamin’s counsel not to do everything at once (Mosiah 4:27).  We all have different seasons in life, and the combination of actions appropriate in one season may not be appropriate in another.

Let’s truly celebrate Independence Day by defending our Constitution.  Perhaps the best place for you to start is where I’m starting — by reading and becoming more familiar with the actual document itself.  Or perhaps you need to consider running for a position in an upcoming election.  Or maybe you need to call or email an elected official about a current issue.

What you do today may not be what you do tomorrow, but we should always be doing something.  The threats to the Constitution President Oaks described have grown precisely because far too many of us have been doing nothing in civic life.  We’ve been busy focusing on our careers, our loved ones, and our own lives, and enough responsible people have been so absorbed in that busyness that we’ve allowed irresponsible people to hold office.

The Constitution has imperfections, but one thing it does right is give ultimate power to the people.  Let’s celebrate the birth of our nation by learning about and then committing to safeguard that power.  And the best way to safeguard it is to exercise it civilly, peacefully, and legally.  When we persist in so doing, we can enjoy the fruits of freedom to exercise the moral agency essential to God’s plan and preserve that gift for the next generation.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.