The beginning of a New Year gives each of us a chance to start anew and refocus our efforts, goals, and attitudes on bettering ourselves. Ten years ago I "celebrated" New Year's Eve in the Missionary Training Center. New Year's Day was a fast Sunday and the entire MTC met for a special sacrament meeting. Each talk given inspired me to commit more whole-heartedly to serving the Lord and doing the best I can. All these years later, I still review the notes from that session to regain insight and motivation. Here are five talks from general authorities to help renew our commitment in this New Year.
The Time for New Year’s Resolutions — Sterling W. Sill, January 7, 1975
“What I would like to talk to you about is the important period that we call the New Year. This is a time when we make New Year’s resolutions. This is the time when we could make some determinations about the things that we have been thinking about during Christmas. Sometimes after some great event is over, we close our minds on it and forget about what we have done. That is, after Christmas, we repack our boxes of ornaments and tinsel. The Christmas themes are taken off the radio, and we go back to doing the things that we did before. Of course, when we do that, we miss one of the greatest values of Christmas. When we lay down the ideas that we have associated with during this high point of the year, we frequently have a corresponding recession in our lives.”
"Remember Lot’s Wife”: Faith Is for the Future — Jeffrey R. Holland, January 13, 2009
“The start of a new year is the traditional time to take stock of our lives and see where we are going, measured against the backdrop of where we have been. I don’t want to talk to you about New Year’s resolutions, because you only made five of them and you have already broken four. (I give that remaining one just another week.) But I do want to talk to you about the past and the future, not so much in terms of New Year’s commitments per se, but more with an eye toward any time of transition and change in your lives—and those moments come virtually every day of our lives.”
The Best Time to Plant a Tree — Dieter F. Uchtdorf, January 2014
“With every new day, a new dawn comes—not only for the earth but also for us. And with a new day comes a new start—a chance to begin again.”
Resolutions — Joe J. Christensen, January 9, 1994
“While many of us take seriously our New Year’s resolutions, some of us may not have made any because of our prior problems in keeping them. We must not overlook the power that making good resolutions can have in helping make our lives happier and more successful—regardless of our past performance.”
The Dauntless Spirit of Resolution — Howard W. Hunter, January 5, 1992
“January always brings a renewed hope for personal and family progress in the coming year. It is the time of the year when people tend to set goals and make commitments—resolutions, if you will, New Year’s resolutions. I am assuming that most of you made one or more resolutions last Wednesday as the new year began. I am also assuming, because that was all of four days ago, that you may have already bent a few of those resolutions, if not totally broken them. So perhaps our discussion of such a topic tonight is still timely—sort of a Sunday-night resolution to be a bit more resolved about the original ones made last Wednesday.”
Andrew Devey is currently a marketing and social media specialist at Rev 650. He graduated from BYU with a degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations. He is also a sports junkie and dessert connoisseur. He is part Texan thru by marriage, but still longs for Big Sky Country, where he served his mission. He is married to Lisa, and what he loves most is being the father to his son and twin girls.
