Every Day is Game Day

Something that's been on my mind is how good of a procrastinator I used to be. (Or how bad...depends on how you want to look at it.) Before my mission, I put literally everything off until the last minute. Including preparing for my mission. I used to think it was okay to not read my scriptures every day and if I forgot a prayer every now and then, I didn't feel like it was the end of the world. Honestly, it wasn't the end of the world, as I am still alive, but I really should have been doing those things to help me come closer to God. I didn't see the relevance of how every day is game day. 

For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. Alma 34:32

The time to read your scriptures is NOW. The time to pray is NOW. That doesn't mean we have to be doing nothing else, but those are the things we need to be doing to understand who God and Jesus Christ are. 

In a talk called Your Four Minutes by Bishop Gary E. Stevenson, he related life to a four minute bobsled race in the Olympics. We spend endless hours preparing and then before you know it, it's over. Gone. He said, "This is your four minutes. While you are here, your actions will determine whether you win the prize of eternal life." We must run the race that we may win the prize. (1 Corinthians 9 :24) It's time to get your GAME FACE on and just do it! (Thank you Nike)

The prophet Joseph Fielding Smith said, "Procrastination, as it may be applied to gospel principles, is the thief of eternal life, which is life in the presence of the Father and the Son."

Just think about that. Procrastination is the thief of eternal life....ouch. I don't know about you, but eternal life is definitely something that I want! That statement is motivation enough for me! 

In the Book of Mormon, Amulek, who is a great missionary, said it clear as day: And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. Alma 34:33

So, we need to be keeping the commandments, going to church, reading our scriptures, praying, and everything else God expects of us while we can before it's too late. Looking back on my life, I don't understand how it flew by so quickly. Thank goodness I'm only 20 years old and I have years ahead of me to continually improve myself, but I don't want to waste another moment! President Thomas S. Monson said, "When the time for performance arrives, the time for preparation is past." 

I'm grateful for the guidance of prophets, both modern and ancient, who speak the words of God. I'm grateful that they just want us, all of God's children, to realize their true potential in life and to prepare to meet God someday. It's up to us to realize that every day is game day rather than dealing with it later.