President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: 'Of things that matter most'

Using the example of professional pilots reducing speed to minimize the negative effects of turbulence, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf counseled members experiencing adverse conditions to "slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials."

Speaking during the Saturday morning session, President Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, said when stress levels rise, when distress appears, when tragedy strikes, "too often we attempt to keep the same frantic pace or even accelerate, thinking that the more rushed our pace, the better off we will be."

However, he explained, it is easy to be busy. "We can all think of a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedule. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia — even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy and too little sense of meaning in their lives."

President Uchtdorf said that any virtue, when taken to an extreme, can become a vice. The wise, he continued, resist the temptation to get caught up in the frantic rush of everyday life. "In short they focus on things that matter most."

The search for the best things inevitably leads to the foundational principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ — "the simple and beautiful truths revealed to us by a caring, eternal and all-knowing Father in Heaven," he said. "These core doctrines and principles, though simple enough for a child to understand, provide the answers to the most complex questions of life."

President Uchtdorf said most Church members intuitively understand how important the fundamentals are, they just get distracted by so many other things that seem more enticing.

"It is so easy for the basic gospel message to get lost amidst the deluge of information that hits us from all sides," he said. "The holy scriptures and the spoken word of the living prophets give emphasis to the foundational principals and doctrines of the gospel. The reason we return to these foundational principles, to the pure doctrines, is because they are the gateway to truths of profound meaning."

President Uchtdorf told the worldwide congregation that they would do well to slow down a little and focus on the things that matter most.