I wanted to share something with you that I've been thinking about. I often think of ideas, concerns, ponderings that I'd like to talk to you all about, but you all aren't here so I decided to write you all an email. I may do this from time to time along with posting it on our family blog (you all do remember the family blog, right? (http://giffords08.blogspot.
For some reason about a week ago something made me think about a talk I heard when I was at Ricks. It was by Stephen Covey. It had a big influence on my life and I've remembered it ever since. Thanks to the Internet I was able to find it in the archives for BYUI devotionals!
28 Sep 1976 - Devotionals
Spiritual Rewards Come From Prayer and Reading Scriptures
Brother Stephen R. Covey
Mission Rep. of the Council of the Seventy
I was predisposed to be interested and excited about this devotional because when I was in high school Ross Wight, the branch president in Sidney when I joined the church, used Covey's book "Spiritual Roots of Human Relations" as the text for many of his Bishops Youth Discussions. I bought and read that book several times. The premise of his devotional is that if we will each spend 20-30 minutes a day in the presence of the Lord in prayer and scripture study we will be changed from the inside out and will spend eternity with the Lord. Being a fairly recent convert to the church (baptized in May of 1974, went to Ricks in the fall of 1975 and heard this talk in September of 1976) I didn't have a regular program of scripture study. It wasn't emphasized then the way it has been since you guys were little. We didn't have the new scriptures where all the texts are tied together through footnotes, etc. It made a big impact on me and I can say that while I have not read every single day since that time, I've been pretty consistent over the years and haven't gone weeks or months without picking up my scriptures.
Brother Covey taught at the Marriott School of Management at the Y and established the Masters program for Organizational Behavior, which having been a psych major I also found compelling. I found another tie to him when we lived in Logan. He was a mission president in the British Isles and our Bishop in Logan, Kent Wallis was his assistant. Kent met his wife. Loreen while he was on his mission as she also worked in the Mission office. He often talked about what he learned from President Covey in discussions with the youth, in Sacrament and in ward council meetings. I'm sure you've heard of "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" which I've read a couple times and loaned out and lost. He also wrote a similar more gospel oriented book titled "The Divine Center" which focuses on putting the Savior at the center of our lives and thereby putting everything else in it's proper place. If you've heard of "FranklinCovey" planners and organizers, seminars, etc. that's a combination of a company he started and merged with Franklin Quest. I've always loved planners and when I knew he created a company that used his 7 habits idea in a planner I bought one! He died a couple years ago and would have been a little younger than Bumpa.
Anyway, I wanted to share this with you. I've been thinking about it for awhile. I hope you'll take 40 minutes or so in the car or around the house to listen to this talk and think about me being a 19 year old new convert and the impression it made on me. I hope it makes one of you also.
Love you all
Mom
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