Operation: Elder Benjamin David Nelson (Part One)

School ended, and I graduated. The worst part for me? No seminary.

You see--during the summer, I usually 'fall apart', and I don't do the little things I am supposed to be doing: reading scriptures, saying prayers, exercising, etc. My conclusion? Well, I love seminary, and I truly believe that it keeps me spiritually in-tune.

Well, I definitely felt like I was falling apart again this summer. My first week of summer was pretty good...I did those little things for about half of the week. I started grading myself and my weeks...the first week of summer was probably a C, average. But the last two weeks were just bad. The weeks weren't horrible--I enjoyed them--but something was definitely missing, and I wasn't 'in-tune.' And so I gave the last two weeks a big fat F-.

While I was sitting at the Sacrament table on Sunday, I started thinking about the last two weeks and how they weren't so great. I said a little prayer, and I decided I was going to start fresh and make this week an A+.

And so I got back on track. I was studying my scriptures and saying my prayers again. But the real breakthrough came when I found a book on my desk by John Bytheway: What I Wish I'd Known Before My Mission. I got this book at Youth Conference this year, but I never read more than two pages from it.

I never imagined a John Bytheway book to inspire me the way this book has thus far. Wow. I would read something from the book and just be like, "Wow. I am going to try that." And then I would try it, and it would be SWEET. For example, he talks about how we need to discipline ourselves. He quoted Gordon B. Hinckley, who said:

"One of the great tragedies we witness almost daily, is the tragedy of [missionaries] of high aim and low achievement. Their motives are noble, their proclaimed ambition is praiseworthy, their capacity great. But their discipline is weak. They succumb to indolence. Appetite robs them of will."

That hit me hard! After reading that, I was immediately reminded of my junior year of high school. My sophomore year, I got horrible grades, and I was barely able to play volleyball. Coming into junior year, though, I told myself, "Nothing less than a B. If I get any C's or lower, I'm not going to play volleyball." Because I told myself that, and I disciplined myself, my grades were better than they had ever been before!

It's too bad that wore of, though. Although I disciplined myself that one time, I haven't really been disciplined about preparing for my mission, and I definitely felt like President Hinckley was talking to me. One way John Bytheway said he disciplined himself was to make a commitment like "No more television!"

And so I started thinking of things that have been distracting me the last few months, and I am now disciplining myself. For example, I have developed this weird habit of getting fast food every time I go out somewhere. What a waste of time, money, and health! And so that was the first huge one on my list: "No more random fast food stops!!"

This one wasn't huge, but I've always sort of been distracted by all the posters/pictures on my bedroom walls. And so I took everything down. Don't get me wrong--I love all my pictures of my friends and family and all my posters. But...I just have to put them in storage for a while because sometimes they can be distracting. Weird? Yes. But it's all about disciplining yourself.

Along with discipline, I have set goals. I told my friends this year: "I'm not exercising until I read

200!" Well, A)what a stupid thing to say! and B)I reached that point last weekend. However, I made a goal to bike/run 4-8 miles three times a week until I depart in the fall, hoping to get back to the 160's. This last weeks worked wonders, as I have done that and core/ab workouts! I lost seven pounds with ease.

John Bytheway also gives a little reading list of books to read before your mission. Well, after beholding this excellent list, I made my way to Deseret Book right away, and I bought books such as Our Search For Happiness, Jesus The Christ, and A Marvelous Work A Wonder. I now have a big, fat reading list, and my goal is to read everything on my list before I head to the MTC in the fall. :)

And so this week: a definite A+.

Books!

Almost-blank wall! Haha. I took this picture just to show that I no longer have the undies hanging up in my room. They have been there since I moved here! Yikes. 0_0


No more photographs or posters!

Mission board! :)