Editor’s note: “This week from the pulpit” highlights recent messages by General Authorities and General Officers of the Church.
At some point in the past year we've all done it—joined a Zoom meeting only to turn off both our camera and our microphone; we are present in the meeting but only sort of.
Sister Michelle D. Craig, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, wrote about this familiar experience on her Facebook page this week. And the spiritual analogy she pulled out of it just might have you rethinking your choice to hit those mute buttons.
“I have found myself asking, ‘What is the spiritual equivalent of turning off my camera and microphone?’” Sister Craig writes. “Maybe you are better at this than I am, but when my camera is not on and my microphone is muted, I find it easy to get distracted.”
She continues, “When we find ourselves in holy places—be that in Sunday meetings, the temple, around the dinner table, or even with other people—if we are constantly checking social media, texting and tweeting—if our minds are somewhere else—we are reducing, perhaps even stopping, the ability of the Holy Ghost to communicate with us. Then we wonder why we didn’t get anything out of being there!”
Sister Craig then shares a beloved piece of advice she once heard from a friend: “When you stand in holy places, be wholly there.”
“Let’s commit to be found standing in holy places and being there in a way that allows the Spirit to teach us—wholly!” she writes.
Read below to hear more from Young Women general leaders, including how goals can help us more “wholly” become like the Savior. Then, catch up on the inspiring messages Church leaders shared on social media this week.
By the Young Women general presidency and advisory council for Church News
Hope, healing, progress, and joy. These are words President Russell M. Nelson used to describe the process of change—a change that we can experience because of Jesus Christ.
President Nelson proclaimed during the April 2021 general conference: “Because of the Savior’s Atonement, His gospel provides an invitation to keep changing, growing, and becoming more pure. It is a gospel of hope, of healing, and of progress. Thus, the gospel is a message of joy! Our spirits rejoice with every small step forward we take.”
The Children and Youth program encourages all to increase their faith in Jesus Christ and become more like Him by progressing individually. As we learn the gospel of Jesus Christ, as we participate in service and activities, and as we develop personally, we are following the pattern of Jesus Christ as described in Luke 2:52 and growing as the Savior did—socially, spiritually, intellectually, and physically.
Setting and achieving goals helps us progress and reach our potential. When you hear the word “goal” what comes to mind? Does it make you feel anxious or do you see it as an opportunity to progress?
Encouraging goals is not meant to overwhelm. Seeking to understand what Heavenly Father would like us to work on will increase our faith in and dependence on the Savior, Jesus Christ. This is something that many of our youth and adults are learning to do. We are all learning and progressing at different speeds, and that’s okay.
Read more about setting goals, including the experience of a young woman in Oklahoma, at Church News.
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