Sabbath Devotional :: Four Pledges for the New Year

“Four pledges for the new year: I will listen, I will learn, I will labor, I will love. As we fulfill these pledges, we can have the guidance of our Heavenly Father and in our own lives experience true joy.” — Thomas S. Monson

At the beginning of each year, this quote comes up in my Facebook memories. It inspires me. Those four pledges seem so simple. And they are. But they are also deeply meaningful ways for me to progress. Every year I commit to getting a little better than I was before.

I will listen.

I will listen to others, especially my own family members. I will listen to understand. I believe listening builds and deepens relationships.

I once had a doctor who would come in and check me for a couple minutes. He’d get up to leave, turn back to me with his hand on the doorknob and say, “Do you have any questions?” There was no way I could think of a question when I felt like an afterthought. I compare this to another medical professional, this time a midwife. She would sit and talk to me as if she had no other place to be that day. That focused attention from her helped me to be open, knowing I was understood.

I want to show that kind of interest in people, especially my family: making eye contact and setting aside any trivial activities. This is a skill. I’m better than I used to be, but I still have much to learn.

Listening to understand is foundational to relationships at all levels. Those relationships form and strengthen community: family, neighborhoods, wards, and beyond.

President Monson encouraged us, “I hope also that we will listen to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.” In all my efforts to listen to and understand other people, I want to also focus on listening to the Holy Ghost. In fact, I think the presence of the Holy Ghost will help me have a clearer understanding of people and their perspectives. To hear the Holy Ghost, I need to engage in quiet, still, focused listening.

I will learn.

There’s so much to learn in the world. And we are expected to learn “of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; . . . things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and kingdoms — That ye may be prepared in all things.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:78-80)

Of course, not all education is of equal value. We are also given this inspired guidance: “. . . seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118).

What do you want to learn this year? I have been studying the beauty of keeping the sabbath day holy the last few months and it is changing my outlook. I want to learn more about forgiveness — about forgiving others in a way that can aid my healing and restore our relationships.

I will labor.

A couple of years ago, I got some bad news. I was shaken by how this news affected me and how it made me look. I was sad and embarrassed. I felt a quiet instruction from the Holy Ghost reminding me that if I was focused on myself, I couldn’t help the person who needed me.

President Hinckley repeatedly told the story when he was feeling useless as a missionary. His father wrote to him, “Forget yourself and go to work.” I am not suggesting we ignore our own needs and emotions, but I have learned that dwelling on myself does not result in my own growth or healing. I want to be helpful, which often means forgetting myself and getting to work.

This kind of labor, or service, is healing for the laborer. In the situation I mentioned, I was able to feel grief, but also focus on the person most in need. As I focused on serving him, my own sadness became lighter.

We can serve others individually and we can serve through wider advocacy. Spending time in the service of others creates a wonderfully fulfilling life.

I will love.

Love God. Love my neighbors. Love my enemies. Love freely and without judgment.

“Love is the most powerful force in the world.” — Dallin H. Oaks

I will listen, I will learn, I will labor, I will love. I am hoping to embrace these pledges during this new year.

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Megan Rawlins Woods is the nonpartisan root senior director at Mormon Women for Ethical Government.

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