MESA, Ariz. — Commitment to the gospel is the key to always remembering the Savior, said Judy Naughton of the Aspen Ward, Mesa Arizona Kimball East Stake. She has found many ways to incorporate that kind of commitment into her life.
"I've never changed my mind since I joined the Church 30 years ago," she said. "I decided then what it was I needed to do and where I needed to be. I don't have to decide every Sunday if I am going to Church that day; a lot of decisions like that can be made ahead of time. It's just a matter of being committed to those decisions."
Attending her weekly meetings is a top priority for Sister Naughton. "It gives us the opportunity to realign ourselves with the Savior," she said. "If you start missing, then you can lose that focus in your life."
She also believes it is important to attend the temple and she makes the time to go regularly and to do family history work. "That helps to keep our perspective on heavenly things," she said.
For her, those things that she does out of a commitment to the gospel keep the Savior foremost in her mind.
"Remembering Him can be something that is always in our minds and then, hopefully, as we interact with others we can put that belief in Christ into action by how we treat them."
She recalled an experience she had at a grocery store while serving as Relief Society president. She was buying groceries for a member of her ward and as she waited in line at the checkout she realized that the woman ahead of her in line was short a dollar and was frantically looking for more change. "I stood there a minute, then said to myself, 'Good grief, what are you standing here for?' and I handed her the dollar. I guess I suddenly made the connection of remembering Him and doing something about it."
She believes that remembering Christ may also prompt us to say, "I'm sorry" when feelings have been hurt. "We can remember how Jesus would act and follow His example."
A mother of four grown children and nine grandchildren, Sister Naughton serves as her ward's Relief Society education counselor and even though her days are full, she makes time daily for "remembering Him."
Sister Naughton utilizes her 30-minute drive to work to further gospel learning. She listens to the scriptures on tape as well as other books by LDS authors on the Savior's life and gospel topics. At home she is continually reading Church books and said that since the time she first heard about the gospel, she has read everything she could to better understand it.
Sister Naughton said the stories in the Book of Mormon remind her of the importance of remembering the Savior. "You can read time and time again that when people in the scriptures got in trouble it was because they forgot to remember Him," she said.
More than listening to and reading her scriptures, Sister Naughton marks them and studies LDS commentaries and manuals for better understanding.
Her love for the scriptures continually grows. "The scriptures always help to keep my perspective in order," she said. "As we read them we can realize that everything we have is given to us by the Lord."
With that attitude, Sister Naughton believes that the way to remember the Savior and show gratitude is by serving Him. Those around her see how she quietly puts that into practice.
"She's always going around doing things for other people," said Sandra White, Relief Society president. "It's not big and expensive, but the simple and loving things that she does make a difference."
"She sees a need and takes care of it," said Brother Naughton. "She does it because it's there to do."
"I guess we find time to do things if we really want to," said Sister Naughton. "It goes along with really being committed — we give our time to move the work forward because that's what the Savior would want us to do. If we are remembering Him, then we are serving Him."
Sister Naughton said she is grateful for her testimony of the Savior and acknowledges that it is what has helped her through many trials in her life. She strives each day to remember Him, follow Him, and be like Him, and her faith fortifies her against the daily challenges.
"What the gospel teaches us allows us to have a very personal testimony," she said, "To know my Savior and to know that I am a child of God, that affects how I act, what I do, and how I feel; it makes such a difference for me to know that."
