Popular New Year Resolutions

So, a friend of mine spoke about new year resolutions and got me thinking. I believe he used the list found on About.com:

1. Spend more time with family & friends
2. Fit in fitness
3. Tame the bulge
4. Quit smoking
5. Enjoy life more
6. Quit drinking
7. Get out of debt
8. Learn something new
9. Help others
10. Get organized

Here are lists compiled by the U.S. government and a lesser-known site. He then went to explain how many of these resolutions are things that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) strive to do on a regular basis. Here, I will go into more detail and provide references found inside the LDS scriptures.

1. Spend more time with family & friends
• Read The Family: A Proclamation to the World
• Visit the Church's website and learn more about building a strong family.
  
2. Fit in fitness
• Clarence Robison explained it well in his article (dated 1972).
3. Tame the bulge
• Many people often overlook the eating healthy aspect of the Word of Wisdom (WoW). It's more than a list of "don'ts." Particularly pay attention to verses 10 on. The benefits are listed beginning in verse 18.
4. Quit smoking
• Ditto... see verse 8 of the WoW.
5. Enjoy life more
• Well, I hope people are enjoying life; if they're not, then what are they living for? What's their purpose? Money? Power? I don't know. Nephi believes that part of our reason for being is to have joy.
6. Quit drinking
• Same as 3) and 4). Please see verses 5 and 7 of the WoW.
7. Get out of debt
• Many times, we get into debt (myself included) to immediately satisfy our own desires. At times, we buy things even when we don't need them! Look at my wardrobe, if you're looking for a good example. What about all the luxury cars that I see back home? Yes, there are plenty of wealthy people, but many of these people have gotten themselves in to a lot of debt to drive the latest luxury car. Again, Nephi counsels us to not spend our money on things of no worth.
8. Learn something new
• One of my professors has always encouraged us to spend 10 hours a week learning something new. Why is it important to continue learning? Read Doctrine & Covenants 130 and find out.
9. Help others
• An easy way to forget about your troubles is to give service to others. The Bible teaches this as well.
  
10. Get organized
• God expects us to have a house of order. This has probably been on my resolutions list of years! Maybe one day, I'll master this.

Obviously, I've barely scratched the surface of any of these topics. Even though The Church of Jesus Christ teaches all of these principles, this does not mean that its members are completely following them. I'm just saying that if you're looking for an organization that can help you in these areas, please consider visiting a local chapel.