Haggai 1:8-9

"Go ye up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it.  Why? saith the Lord of hosts.  Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house."
Haggai 1:8-9


The verse right before this says "consider your ways."  I think that it is interesting that the Lord asks the people to consider building his house, and if they do then he'll allow their houses to prosper.  First they have to do what he asks, and not get things out of order.  When we put ourselves first then nothing seems to work, but when we put the Lord first, then everything seems to fall into place... and we prosper far more personally than we would if we put ourselves first.  So, this is a good lesson on building temples... but what about other things?  Should we consider our ways with other commandments too?  One commandment that we largely ignore is food storage, for instance.  I am sure it is not the only thing that we ignore, but it comes to mind because our whole sacrament meeting was about it yesterday.  God gave us instructions to have a year's supply of emergency essentials... and he gave us those instructions for a reason.  It can only benefit us to do what he asks... he can see the future, as we cannot.  Other things... reading our scriptures for instance.  Learning and understanding more about the gospel can only help us in our lives.  But I ignore the gentle advice of the Lord quite often, thinking that I'll get around to it later, or that there is no immediate need. :)  Unfortunately, the scriptures are filled with stories of those who waited too long, or who second-guessed the Lord's commandments.  None of them turned out very well. :(  So, perhaps today I should consider my ways... and I ask you to join me.