The start of a new year is the traditional time to take stock of our lives and see where we are going, measured against the backdrop of where we have been. Several years ago at BYU, I shared my thoughts on the scriptural story of Lot’s wife.

Often, like Lot’s wife, we long to return to past days. I have come to the conclusion that Lot’s wife did not just look back; she looked back longingly. In short, her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future. That, apparently, was at least part of her sin.

So, as a new year starts and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in.

To all such of every generation, I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come.”

Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year’s resolution I ask you to keep this new year. -Jeffrey R. Holland & Greg Thorpe

Hope your Sunday is the Best! Love, Joy