Hearing...LIVING the word of the Lord

Too many times I have walked away from a divinely inspired meeting, such as church General Conference, a sunday school class, or even a personal scripture read with pages of notes and ideas only to sadly find 6 months later that I didn't actually do much to incorporate those ideas into my life. I usually didn't take the time to re-read my notes nor make any goals.  Thus I'm left to wonder what became of my intent? Why didn't the fire of inspiration carry me forward to action?

My big breakthrough came a few years ago when I attended a Face to Face with Greatness Seminar and heard Dr. Shannon Brooks give some unbelievably simple advice
 in regards to note-taking.  He basically said that most of us don't benefit from all our notetaking because we don't usually take the time to re-read them to glean the important ideas nor do we create an action plan.  He said to do yourself a favor ~ the next time you take notes:

1. Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle.
2. On the left column write "To Do"
3. On the right column write "To Teach"
4. Fill it in

To Do	To Teach
List anything you hear or that comes to your mind to do i.e. read a certain book/article research this topic do that family activity apologize to someone...	List anything that comes to mind to tell or teach someone else i.e. teach a class tell a friend, spouse, child, co-worker could be as simple as "hey, I heard this really cool thing..." Remember, you learn more when you teach it

By the end of the meeting, you will have a simple list containing specific counsel just for you and as Dr. Brooks puts it, your notes change from informational to transformational. 

TAAADAAAA---you now have a finished to-do list, a ready-to-go action plan that you can simply hang on your mirror and get moving on. 

OK, is that just too simple or what?  Even after writing this post, I'm asking myself yet again "Leanna, why did you have to make it so complicated before???"  Yet "by small and simple things are great things brought to past".

My final thought: It is only when we live by the word of the Lord that our faith becomes a living fountain bearing forth the fruits of righteousness.  And so I say with General Conference coming up in a few days, don't just hear it---live it; don't just be informed--be transformed.



Faith is a principle of action and of power (Faith, LDS Bible Dictionary)

Faith is known by its fruits...Where the fruits of faith are found, there is faith; where there are no fruits, there is no faith (Bruce R. McConkie, New Witnesses for the Articles of Faith, p.193).


ldsliving.com has a great Family Home Evening lesson on General Conference here: 
General Conference FHE

Cheers,
Leanna