(“Someone is wrong on the Internet! I. Must. Respond!”)

I’m a easily distracted as the next guy (perhaps more so, as I suspect I’m borderline ADD), but it sometimes helps to refocus priorities if I ask myself to view things from a perspective of five years (or 20) from now.

Ah, Google says the quote is “Never trade what you want most for what you want today.” OTOH, I can’t find an source, so maybe it’s like that Thoreau quote in the sidebar a few weeks ago.

I think that these words from the editor of Liahona: The Elders’ Journal are indeed so appropriate for me, “to allow nothing to stand in the way of a faithful performance of a full duty toward the children of God in proclaiming the everlasting Gospel unto them.”

So often I find myself, and I see others I care about, get so sidetracked by the bits of glitter, (not necessarily just glitter of the world, it may be increasing knowledge for oneself!), that I do tend to not focus on the eternal things of worth.

So thanks for this post. It helps me to re-focus a bit.

I’m impressed at the vision of excellent leaders who keep their focus on excellent long term plans despite momentary flashes in the pan along the way.

It was the one where he told the story of the plane that crashed because of a misplaced focus on a burnt out light bulb and then spoke of Nehemiah who focused on the “Good Work” that he was doing when his enemies tried to distract him and get him to stop rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

My distaste for Sunday School answers is more a distaste for the questions that elicit them — if teachers ask such routine and deadly questions that they can be answered in the same unthinking, rote way, then nobody is being stirred to think about even the slightest improvements to his life. The whole exchange is nothing but a crumb in the eternal task of preventing PH/RS hour from coming into physical contact with the Sacrament Meeting hour.

But if those actions *are* the answer, and when you’re offering them as a genuinely thoughtful response and are not reciting them in your sleep, they cease to be Sunday School answers and become the truth.

For years I worked at a television station, so I hope you’ll pardon me for saying that your post reminded me of an exchange between the characters played by John Lithgow and French Stewart on an episode of “3rd Rock From the Sun.”

In an early episode of the series Lithgow, who was the leader of a team of aliens visiting the Earth disguised as humans, gave Stewart, who’s character was kind of an “airhead”, his first assignment. AS Stewart prepares to leave their apartment Lithgow asks him if hew will be able to fulfill the assignment in a timely manner. Stewart replies, “As long as I don’t see something shiny!”

That line has really stuck with me over the years. I have used it a lot when I have been in teaching or leadership positions at Church or at work.

The Brethren have used similar metaphors – in a 2006 Conference talk President Monson spoke of how Tonga use octopus lures called maka-fekes to attract their prey, and then compared these lures to the sins and distractions of life (http://lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/true-to-the-faith?lang=eng&query=feke). Last year Elder Ballard spoke of fly fishermen using artificial flies and lures and applied it in the same basic manner (http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/o-that-cunning-plan-of-the-evil-one?lang=eng&query=fishing).

I have found that the distractions and sins in my life always seem to fall into this category – as cool, important, or pressing they seem at the time – ultimately they have been nothing more than flashy bits of distracting metal.

How do I focus? I know how much you hate “Sunday School” answers, but the greatest help for me to focus has been to remember my family (can’t disappoint mom, wife or the kids), prayer, study, particularly of the scriptures, the history of the Church, and welfare and poverty related subjects (the last two of which are important to my current occupation), and frequent Temple attendance.

Sorry for the long response, I’m off my soap box and on to work!