PROVO, Utah — “Find peace in your actual life.” That was the plea of Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Tuesday, Aug. 18, more than 15,000 BYU Education Week attendees.
If he had one wish, it would be for listeners to find peace and rest in their lives — right now, said the Apostle. “Not the life you think you would have if you were able to finish your to-do list, have three extra hours in a day and finally achieve your goals. My wish is that you and I might slow down and turn more easily and comfortingly to Christ and bask in His promised peace.”
Accompanied by his wife, Sister Jennifer Kearon, Elder Kearon addressed a packed Marriott Center for Tuesday’s devotional during the annual conference.
In his remarks, Elder Kearon noted that setting and striving for goals are part of the culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, “too frequently this push to achieve goes past healthy limits, and we begin to tie our self-worth to our productivity and success.”
A truth Elder Kearon said he hopes will sink deeply into the souls of listeners is this: “Your best is certainly good enough, that you are loved more than you can imagine, and that it isn’t your achievements that define you ... .”
Goals and achievements have a place
An early Latter-day Saint symbol is the beehive, an image that evokes industry and production. Latter-day Saints believe intelligence gained in this life will rise with them in the resurrection (see Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19).
“Lifelong learning is a prophetic directive and religious responsibility,” said Elder Kearon. “And then, there is so much more that rises with us. So much more that is more challenging to quantify, to weigh, or to measure — but certainly our gentleness, our meekness, our patience and our pure love.”
Goals, plans, industry and achievement all have places in one’s mortal journey. But individuals might have experienced where too much focus on a to-do list reduces peace. “Are we still not comfortable turning the dial down a little and taking a breath? How uncomfortable are we when a job or assignment is incomplete? Can we not rest until everything is done?” Elder Kearon asked.
Praise for — and delight in — personal accomplishment “keeps our eyes focused on us: our efforts, our lessons, our hustle. This puts us at the center of the story that our Savior is meant to occupy, and reliance on ourselves and not on Him,” Elder Kearon taught.
In constantly pushing toward the next achievement, “Might we be squeezing out the wonder, the time to dream, the time to marvel?”
Slow down
Elder Kearon recalled reporting to the late President M. Russell Ballard on a complicated and challenging issue.
Afterward, Elder Kearon received a message from President Ballard, who was acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until his death in 2023. In the message, there were no words, simply a link to a video of Norwegian soprano Sissel singing “Slow Down.”
With emotion, Elder Kearon quoted the lyrics: “Slow down. Slow down. Be still and wait for the Spirit of the Lord. … Hear His voice and know that He is God.”
He then added: “We need goals, we need plans. They keep us focused on things that really matter. They have a place. But is it right that they consume us, and that we apply that kind of focus and pressure to every element of our lives?
“Can we be at peace just being peaceful?” he asked.
Mary and Martha
Using the story of Mary and Martha from the New Testament (see Luke 10:38-42), Elder Kearon taught that discipleship needs both service and stillness.
“The usual telling is that Martha was caught up in worldly things while Mary attended to the Savior: sacred against secular, and Jesus commends the one who chose the sacred,” he noted.
However, “it wasn’t like that,” said Elder Kearon. “Martha was also involved in sacred work, the sacred work of her loving ministry to the Messiah, whom she has invited into her home.”
Martha is a hard-working disciple in tumult, he taught. “So, what is the problem with this service? … One way to think of this might be that Martha is doing a great deal for Jesus, and not enough with Him.”
Martha is being dragged about — worried and overworked by her ministry. But “Mary was listening. … Sitting and attending are necessary parts of discipleship, and for many of us, that is harder than hands-on service,” Elder Kearon said.
There will be times when individuals will need to make the food or get the work done. “But let’s do that after we have made time to sit and focus on the Savior’s words. We want to be the disciple who does the one thing that is needful: Sit and listen to Jesus. As we learn of Him, we will see more clearly and selectively what He would have us do and become.”
