Mormon 7 contains the final words of Mormon before he is killed in battle. Perhaps knowing that this will be his last opportunity to share words of wisdom with future descendants of Lehi who will read his book, he gives them a “To-Do List” to consider. He instructs them to know that they are part of the House of Israel and to do the following:

• Lay down weapons of war
• Believe in Jesus Christ
• Repent of sins
• Be baptized in the name of Jesus
• Receive the Holy Ghost
• Stand up for the gospel of Jesus Christ

This same To-Do List applies to all of us today, whether or not we are part of the House of Israel.

As I am writing this, many of us are more or less confined to our homes as part of the effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Clearly, this is extremely inconvenient for most of us. Many people are unable to work or operate their businesses; supplies for our homes are in short supply, etc.

For me personally, I had a temporary crown placed in my mouth a few weeks ago, and the permanent crown is now sitting in my dentist’s office, but the office is currently closed. So, since I can’t have it put in my mouth this week, I instead have to do what I can to make sure nobody steals it from the office (you know, like the songs says, “Don’t Let Anybody Take Your Crown”).

Yes, there are many things we would like to be doing right now that we are unable to do. However, instead of focusing on what we can’t be doing, perhaps we can take advantage of the unexpectedly available time to do things that we don’t normally have time to do. Here is a sample To-Do List of some spiritual activities to consider:

• Study a passage of scripture on your own or with your family.
• Watch some faith-based or scripture-based movies.
• Spend time in fasting and prayer (many of us are doing this on Wednesdays currently).
• Call some brothers and sisters on the phone to uplift them.
• Watch recorded sermons or scripture lessons.
• Attend virtual church meetings. Several branches of the Church are holding these using Zoom, Facebook, or Livestream.
• Assist your branch in setting up a virtual church meeting. (Perhaps nobody else in the branch knows how to set it up).

Time is a precious commodity for each of us. Perhaps the finances we lose during this unusual period of time will be restored to us someday, but the time we lose will never be restored. So, take advantage of the opportunity to do things that you don’t normally have time to do. Who knows? You may find a way to incorporate some of them into your regular To-Do List even when we return to our normal way of life.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.