"Brothers and sisters, single or married, as busy as you may be trying to make up time between ... assignments, even if sometimes we have the impression that we are sinking physically and spiritually, let's press forward keeping our eyes on eternity with His help," said Jean A. Tefan (pictured top), Adjunct Professor of Religion at BYU–Hawaii and a former member of the 8th Quorum of the Seventy, at a devotional given on December 1.
Tefan offered four tips that allowed for a spiritual check during "our long and exciting mortal journey while keeping our eyes on eternity." These tips, he noted, were carefully gleaned from personal observation and experience, and were to be asked rhetorically:
His first question was "Where art thou?" He noted that the Lord asked this question to Adam and Eve to make sure they took responsibility for their actions.
Tefan's second, "But whom say ye that I am?" was what the Lord asked of his disciples, testing their knowledge of him.
His third, "Will ye also go away?" went further with the Lord's test of his disciples' depth of faith, even through affliction. He then gave a humorous yet extreme analogy of what happens when we take offense—while on an airplane. He asked, "Who is crazy or mad enough among you in this audience to open the door of a plane flying at 600 miles per hour at 33,000 feet high because the flight attendant accidently poured some juice or coffee on your arms or your shirt?" To this he replied, "You know that whenever the plane faces turbulence, the signal light will always come on with the message: 'Fasten your seat belts'. So brothers and sisters, if you ever face turbulences in your life ... just fasten your seat belts and please don't leave the Church, but keep your eyes on eternity."
His fourth and final question was "Art thou greater than he?" He answered with scripture, quoting Alma 7:11-12: "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sickness of his people."
For Tefan, "remembering Jesus Christ's sacrifice invariably brings [him] comfort and helps [him] keep [his] eyes on eternity."
--Photo by Ian Nitta