15 New Year’s Resolutions from the prophets for 2015
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve speaks at general conference. (Image courtesy Mormon Newsroom)
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from around the world prepare for the new year, many are setting goals for their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual development.
While these goals may be inspired by any number of sources, prophets and other Church leaders mentioned during the October 2014 General Conference some specific changes people can make to improve their lives and their spirituality.
In his address, Elder Elder Quentin L. Cook said, “I encourage everyone, young and old, to review goals and objectives and strive to exercise greater discipline. Our daily conduct and choices should be consistent with our goals. We need to rise above rationalizations and distractions. It is especially important to make choices consistent with our covenants to serve Jesus Christ in righteousness.”
Here are 15 goals from the prophets to help you center your life on Christ during 2015.
1. Avoid contention
Today’s world—especially the online social media world—is fraught with arguments and differing opinions. Church members can emulate Christ by being peacemakers even when they disagree with others.
“On the subject of public discourse, we should all follow the gospel teachings to love our neighbor and avoid contention,” Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught. “Followers of Christ should be examples of civility. We should love all people, be good listeners, and show concern for their sincere beliefs. Though we may disagree, we should not be disagreeable. . . . We should be wise in explaining and pursuing our positions and in exercising our influence.”
The Gilbert Arizona Temple was dedicated in March 2014. (Photo courtesy LDS Church)
2. Find more meaning in temple service
With a new temple set for dedication in Utah County during 2015, now is a great time to recommit to meaningful temple worship. Elder Richard G. Scott taught, “Don’t let anyone or anything prevent you from being there. While you are in the temple, listen to the words of the ordinances, ponder them, pray about them, and seek to understand their meaning. The temple is one of the best places to come to understand the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Seek Him there. Remember that many more blessings come from providing your own family names in the temple.”
3. Take care of your body
Physical well-being is closely connected to mental, emotional and spiritual health.
“Take responsibility for your own physical well-being,” Elder Jörg Klebingat taught. “Feeding the spirit while neglecting the body, which is a temple, usually leads to spiritual dissonance and lowered self-esteem. If you are out of shape, if you are uncomfortable in your own body and can do something about it, then do it! … [P]lease use good judgment in what and especially how much you eat, and regularly give your body the exercise it needs and deserves.“
4. Learn more about the gospel
Before Church members can fully live the gospel, they must understand it. Elder M. Russell Ballard taught this important truth:
“In searching the scriptures and the words of past and current apostles and prophets, we should focus on studying, living, and loving the doctrine of Christ,” he taught. “In addition to developing the habit of personal scripture reading, we need to be like the sons of Mosiah and give ourselves ‘to much prayer, and fasting.’ It seems that these things which are not easily measured are of great importance. Stay focused on these simple things, and avoid becoming distracted.”
5. Be a better parent
Children are the future of our homes, the Church and the world. Therefore, the role of parents is of paramount importance.
“It is my firm conviction that there has never been a period in my many years of life when our Father in Heaven’s children have needed the guiding hand of faithful, devoted parents more,” Elder L. Tom Perry taught. “… We must find within ourselves that same determined spirit and overcome the challenges we face with the same spirit of sacrifice. We must instill in future generations an ever stronger reliance on the teachings of our Lord and Savior.”
6. Improve personal scripture study
Prophets have repeatedly counseled that scripture study is essential to gaining a testimony and maintaining the companionship of the Spirit.
“Don’t yield to Satan’s lie that you don’t have time to study the scriptures,” Elder Richard G. Scott taught. “Choose to take time to study them. Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. If so, do it!”
7. Serve someone every day
The small acts of service we offer may seem insignificant, but Elder Jeffery R. Holland taught that when we do what we can, our offering will make a difference.
“A journalist once questioned Mother Teresa of Calcutta about her hopeless task of rescuing the destitute in that city,” Elder Holland said. “He said that, statistically speaking, she was accomplishing absolutely nothing. This remarkable little woman shot back that her work was about love, not statistics. Notwithstanding the staggering number beyond her reach, she said she could keep the commandment to love God and her neighbor by serving those within her reach with whatever resources she had.”
8. Have more meaningful prayer
Improving prayer habits can improve every facet of life. Elder Richard G. Scott taught, “Choose to converse with your Father in Heaven often. Make time every day to share your thoughts and feelings with Him. Tell Him everything that concerns you. He is interested in the most important as well as the most mundane facets of your life. Share with Him your full range of feelings and experiences.”
9. Increase your fast offering
When speaking about caring for the poor, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland asked Church members to be “as generous as circumstances permit” in their contributions.
“Cherish that sacred privilege [to fast] at least monthly, and be as generous as circumstances permit in your fast offering and other humanitarian, educational, and missionary contributions,” he said. “I promise that God will be generous to you, and those who find relief at your hand will call your name blessed forever.”
“Because the Atonement of Jesus Christ is very practical, you should apply it generously 24/7, for it never runs out.” —Elder Jörg Klebingat, Of the Seventy
10. Repent daily
Repentance has some negative connotations, but daily repentance helps disciples of Christ become closer to the Savior.
“Because the Atonement of Jesus Christ is very practical, you should apply it generously 24/7, for it never runs out,” Elder Jörg Klebingat said. “Embrace the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance as things that are to be welcomed and applied daily according to the Great Physician’s orders. Establish an attitude of ongoing, happy, joyful repentance by making it your lifestyle of choice. … Keeping your eyes on the Savior, care more about what He thinks of you, and let the consequences follow.”
11. Have Family Home Evening
As Church members strengthen their own testimonies, teaching family members gospel truths will increase their understanding and increase the influence of the Spirit in family members’ lives.
“Be cautious not to make your family home evening just an afterthought of a busy day,” Elder Richard G. Scott taught. “Decide that on Monday night your family will be together at home for the evening. Do not let employment demands, sports, extracurricular activities, homework, or anything else become more important than that time you spend together at home with your family. The structure of your evening is not as important as the time invested.”
12. Forgive quickly
People who forgive others relieve themselves of heavy burdens that decrease happiness. Immediate forgiveness increases joy and strengthens relationships.
“Forgive everyone, everything, all the time, or at least strive to do so, thus allowing forgiveness into your own life,” Elder Jörg Klebingat said. “Don’t hold grudges, don’t be easily offended, forgive and forget quickly, and don’t ever think that you are exempt from this commandment. Spiritual confidence increases when you know that the Lord knows that you bear no ill feelings toward another soul.”
13. Maintain a clear vision
As Church members set new goals and resolve to become better, it’s important to keep the end goal in mind. Elder Carlos A. Godoy taught this important principle: “Making decisions that can impact our lives and those we love without having the broader vision of their consequences can bring some risks. However, if we project the possible consequences of these decisions into the future, we can see with greater clarity the best path to take in the present. Understanding who we are, why we are here, and what the Lord expects from us in this life will help give us the broader vision we need. … We have the scriptures, the temple, living prophets, our patriarchal blessings, inspired leaders, and, above all, the right to receive personal revelation to guide our decisions.”
14. Evaluate yourself honestly
As people improve their lives and become more committed disciples, constant self-evaluation helps the process continue. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave this helpful formula for self-evaluation:
“[H]ow can we shine the pure light of God’s truth into our souls and see ourselves as He sees us? May I suggest that the holy scriptures and the talks given at general conference are an effective mirror we can hold up for self-examination. As you hear or read the words of the ancient and modern prophets, refrain from thinking about how the words apply to someone else and ask the simple question: ‘Lord, is it I?'”
15. Emulate Jesus Christ
The best goals and resolutions lead Church members toward Jesus Christ. President Thomas S. Monson taught, “As we strive to place Christ at the center of our lives by learning His words, by following His teachings, and by walking in His path, He has promised to share with us the eternal life that He died to gain. There is no higher end than this, that we should choose to accept His discipline and become His disciples and do His work throughout our lives. Nothing else, no other choice we make, can make of us what He can.”
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Thank you for putting this wonderful article together for our personal reflection and rememberance as we sit down to plan our new year! These are truly the most important goals we could set!
Love all advise…Most Important Goals.
wow, this is great!!! It helps to have this list to reference throughout the year. Thanks for taking the time to put this together!
I can think of several people that should read and follow this advice but no one more so than myself. Thank you.
Great article. Wouldn’t it be a very different world if we could all follow the advice from our prophets. One family at a time!
Excellent time to see and to set in place those goals that will help you and me achieve those goals that will bring into your life the path way that will give much happiness to us.
This is just wonderful !!! A great reminder !!!
Thank you doing for putting this together, now all I/we need to do is ACT !!
Really nice work, Mike. Brother Wright and I will make this article part of our Annual New Year’s Planning and Resolutions Meeting to be held this Sunday night.
Thank you very much it helps for ideas for new resolutions and what a better way than through our prophets.
I’m from France and all your articles are a big help and inspirationnal.
Merci
sounds like the same ole hog wash
This list could be summed up as “Constantly evaluate yourself and seek perfection”. No wonder so many Utahans are on anti-depressions. This is the impossible gospel.
Thank you
This article sums up everything I want to strive for in 2015. Thank you for compiling such an outstanding article with advice from our leaders. Very well written.
Bob and John, I got completely different feelings about this article. I didn’t think it was the same old hogwash and I didn’t think it was a guilt trip. I felt it was a very loving article just encouraging people to serve and do their best. For me it was hopeful and uplifting.
I am so giddy. The church not only validates goal setting, but gave me goals. Well if they say it, I guess it is ok. What lemmings.
thank you for putting this list and article together. I plan on using it to help me grow in 2015. Thanks for the reminders in all one spot. You will help many people.
I’m not sure if I quite agree that every 24 hours of our life, we have sinned in SOME way that requires repentance. Yes we all have weaknesses… I understand that. But our weaknesses, in and of themselves, are NOT sins that require repenting of EVERY single day. We can look back on each day of our lives and see places where we might have “done better” or “improved”, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we have SINNED.
Jesus Christ himself did many things in his life that some might say he could have “done better at”… but we know that he was still SINLESS and did NOT require repentance. For example:
1. He called Herod a fox (Luke 13:32). Couldn’t he have avoided slander in EVERY way and just held his peace like he did in front of Pilate?
2. He totally ignored the scribes and Pharisees who were asking him serious questions (John 8:6). Couldn’t he have avoided using “the silent treatment” that everyone nowadays looks on as immature and rude?
3. He referred to Peter, one of his apostles and friends who merely wanted to protect him, as Satan (Matthew 16:23). Couldn’t he have avoided such a term that would have put someone down?
4. He didn’t just ASK the moneychangers to leave the temple or try to teach or persuade them…instead he actually made a whip and DROVE them out, and threw over their tables (John 2:15). Nowadays people would see that as a BIG no-no.
As we can see, there are things even in the life of Christ that are questionable by others. But of course we know that Christ was SINLESS. All of these things that WE might look upon as sins that need repenting of because he “could have done it a better way”, obviously did NOT require repentance.
I do agree that it would be wise to EXAMINE ourselves each day to be sure we are right in God’s eyes, and repent if necessary, but again, I don’t think it was told to us in the Pre-mortal World that we would sin at least once in every 24-hour period. I don’t believe that was part of the plan of salvation.
I DO agree with the statements made in the Doctrines of the Gospel Institute manual which read: “When we speak of the continual need of repentance, let it not be understood that we refer to a cycle of sinning and repenting and sinning again. That is not complete repentance.” (Doctrines of the Gospel, p 39) “Repentance is a thing that cannot be trifled with every day. Daily transgression and daily repentance is not that which is pleasing in the sight of God” (Smith, Teachings, 148). (also on p 39 of Doctrines of the Gospel).
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles even echoed that same quote by Joseph Smith in the April 1995 General Conference: “Joseph Smith declared: “Repentance is a thing that cannot be trifled with every day. Daily transgression and daily repentance is not … pleasing in the sight of God.”” (Elder Richard G. Scott, “Finding Forgiveness”, Ensign, May 1995, p 75)
I remember one day when I was a temple ordinance worker with my wife before we had our first child. We got up early, drove to the temple, and started work right when the temple opened at 7:00am. As they were short on workers, we ended up staying the whole day, leaving when the temple closed @ 10:00pm. We were in the Lord’s house, doing His work. We were spending time together as husband & wife. Our thoughts and actions were pure throughout the day. We obeyed traffic rules and listened to uplifting music on the way to and from the temple. We did everything we needed to do that day to remain close to God. When we said our prayers that night, the spirit touched our hearts on the events of that day. Did I do something that day that I shouldn’t have? Did I not do something that day that I should have? Did I commit any sin that day and require repentance? I don’t believe so. Is it true that I MUST have done SOMETHING wrong that day? Should I constantly look back on that day and have it bother me for the rest of my life because that was a day in which I felt I didn’t need to repent? Again, I don’t believe so. Perhaps, you might say, I am being prideful and in denial by bringing up this instance (which I don’t believe I am, because I’m not saying this to show I’m better than anyone) … but was I prideful THAT particular day? I was not. Maybe my sin that day was that I was being TOO spiritual and not having enough worldly influence in my life??? Now that would be blasphemous.
One of the steps of repentance is RECOGNITION of sin! If we examine ourselves in a given day and can’t think of a time when we’ve sinned, how do we TRULY repent? You can’t repent of a sin you don’t know you committed! It would actually be a sin (dishonesty) to say that you sinned when you really didn’t!
Can we make it through one hour in a day without sinning? How about two hours? Five hours? Ten hours? What makes 24 hours the magical number when we MUST have sinned at some point? Is it really THAT impossible for any human being to resist evil, even for ONE day? If so, I’d say we definitely DESERVE the Telestial Kingdom! In the Grand Council in Heaven, we were told we would be subject to sin. I somehow doubt, however, that our Father in Heaven would place a time limit on how often we would sin, and tell us, that no matter what, we would HAVE to sin SOME time in EVERY 24-hour period. To do so would limit our agency.
This seems to be something that is being brought up a lot lately – that each one of us sins every single day of our life. I don’t believe that our Father in Heaven thinks that little of us that he would cause us to sin that often in our mortal lives. Sin is WILLFUL rebellion against God. To sin is a CHOICE we make. I’m sure there are days in our lives when we actually HAVEN’T sinned… where we HAVEN’T made the choice to disobey God. Again, I DO agree with EXAMINING ourselves each day to determine if there are things we should repent for, but to say that we absolutely HAVE to REPENT every day? Again, that would imply that our Heavenly Father has made us so evil that we have no choice… we HAVE to sin every 24 hours. Thus we would be saying that Heavenly Father has limited our moral agency, implying that God is NOT just, and be blasphemous!
Just another little comment…
This article is entitled, “15 New Year’s Resolutions from the PROPHETS for 2015″.
We do NOT sustain the seventies as “prophets, seers, and revelators” – only the members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are sustained as such.
Why, then, are some of these resolutions statements made by seventies, who are NOT sustained as “prophets”?
When I read these lists, though I like them, I tend to get overwhelmed
Pretty much if I do all that is on that list, I can almost caulk myself up to being a perfect Saint 
It is practically impossible to do ALL of that, but I do like the list 
Here is to trying to be better at even a FEW of those things! 
@bob
At no place in this article is perfection mentioned. Nowhere. These are simply steps to use to evaluate where we are and to assist us in striving to do/be better in our own personal lives. If an individual has given up on bettering him/herself, then they have missed the point of why we are even here on earth. It’s all about progression, both in this life and the one to come.
Thank you for your article. I know that these goals and principles have been given to us in the great spirit of LOVE. As I read the responses of a few people who seemed to feel the need to cast a shadow of negativity on what they read into your article, I was impressed to reply directly to their opinions. For those who feel that striving for perfection is an impossible task, you are right. Quit now and you will continue to be miserable and unhappy with yourself and everyone around you as you can expect. For the many others who saw the message of LOVE in this article, continue to strive for that kind of personal perfection that you may never obtain in this lifetime, but that in doing your best in LOVE, you will see many miracles in your own life and all the lives you touch. As you strive to live your life, trying and often failing to be “perfect” you will find that happiness and prosperity that will always elude the “quitters” of this world. However, even though Christ-like perfection may always be just beyond our grasp, in striving to be Christ-like, we will become closer to perfection every day and be happier in everything we do. It is a ripple effect that can and will create a global community of LOVE.