Many years ago there was an article in the newspaper about a dog race in England.  The greyhounds had spent their lives chasing a mechanical rabbit around the track.  The newsworthy thing about this race was that on this particular day a real rabbit had run across the track in front of the dogs—and the dogs gave it not the slightest notice!  I thought to myself, "What foolish dogs, chasing a false rabbit that they can never catch."  My next thought was, "How fortunate that we're humans and have our priorities straight.  We have more sense than to chase uncatchable mechanical rabbits."

John Ruskin was a writer in England in the late 1800's who wrote about social issues. He said, "I dreamed that I was at a child's…party, in which every means of entertainment had been provided…by a wise and kind host…. The children had been set free in the rooms and gardens, with no care whatever but how to pass the afternoon rejoicingly…. There was music…all manner of amusing books…a workshop…a table loaded with everything nice to eat…and whatever a child could fancy…but in the midst of all this it struck two or three of the more 'practical' children that they would like some of the brass-headed nails that studded the chairs, and so they set to work to pull them out.  In a little while all the children, nearly, were spraining their fingers in pulling out brass-headed nails.  With all that they could pull out they were not satisfied, and then everybody wanted some of somebody else's.  And at last the really 'practical' and 'sensible' ones declared that nothing was of any real consequence that afternoon except to get plenty of brass-headed nails…And at last they began to fight for nail heads,…even though they knew they would not be allowed to carry so much as one brass knob away with them.  But no! it was 'Who has most nails?…I must have as many as you before I leave the house or I cannot possibly go home in peace.'  At last they made so much noise that I awoke, and thought to myself, 'What a false dream that is of children…. Children never do such foolish things.  Only men do.' "  (As quoted by Richard L. Evans, in general conference, April 1971).

Ouch!  Do we really chase fake rabbits?

I know a man who has built up a wonderful business.  It amounts to an empire.  It's his kingdom.  He devotes all of his time and energies to it—7 days a week—almost 365 days a year, with just a few days off for hunting and other recreation.  He looks mad and ready to explode—which he does regularly.  But he knows that he'll finally achieve happiness once his business is as big and as successful as he wants it to be.  Meanwhile his wife and his children avoid him.  He's also graduated from being a heavy beer drinker to whiskey.  Like the rest of us he wants to be happy, but he's leaned his ladder against the wrong wall.  He's chasing mechanical rabbits.  He's not going to be able to carry so much as one brass knob away with him.

Two people were discussing the death of a very rich man.  One asked, "How much did he leave?"  The other answered, "All of it."

The Book of Mormon contains two very succinct and wise observations.  One is Lehi's statement that "Men are that they might have joy."  The other is Alma's observation that "Wickedness never was happiness."

Joseph Smith said that "happiness is the object of our existence."  Our Father's purpose in creating the earth and in putting us here was to make it so that we could be happy and have joy.  That's His entire purpose.  The Plan of Salvation is also known as the Lord's Plan of Happiness.—"Men are that they might have joy."

But we're prone to chase mechanical rabbits.  We all have them.  It's a matter of priorities.  F's flunk us in school.  I can think of 4 F's that will surely flunk us in this great test of mortality:  Fun, flirtations, fame and fortune.  (From Russell M. Nelson).  "Flirtations" can refer to anything that constitutes your particular temptation, whether it be sexual, substances, or self gratification of whatever type.  Don't flirt with temptations.

So what should our priorities be?  Jesus said, "Wherefore, seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  (JST Matt. 6:38).

There is our first priority—from Jesus' own lips:  God—our #1 priority.  The scriptures also say, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind and strength."

Genesis says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife…"  (Gen. 2: 24).  D&C 45:22 says, "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else."  There's priority number two.  Paul says it this way:  "Let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."  (Eph. 5:33).

Elder Russell M. Nelson says that your foremost duty is to nurture your marriage.

I've made it a point to read rather minutely all the general conferences for the past 40 years, and there are 3 places where the Brethren have spelled out our priorities:

Harold B. Lee directed his comment to men:  "Most men do not set priorities to guide them in allocating their time and most men forget that the first priority should be to maintain their own spiritual and physical strength; then comes their family; then the Church and then their professions, and all need time."  This counsel was also printed in the Bishop's Training Course back when I was a bishop.  I used it many times as I counseled people, and it has been a great help to me over the years.

1. Russell Ballard directed his comment toward women: "What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply, and in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."

Spencer W. Kimball directed his comment toward the youth:  "One can have all the blessings if he is in control and takes the experiences in proper turn:  first some limited social get-acquainted contacts, then his mission, then his courting, then his temple marriage and his schooling and his family, then his life's work.  In any other sequence he could run into difficulty."

Now going back to mechanical rabbits:  Elizabeth Smithson made an excellent point in our recent stake conference.  She said that if our choices were between doing visiting teaching or robbing a bank, life would be easy.  Instead we have to pick and choose between a myriad of good things.  Several of the Apostles have recently issued warnings about overscheduling our lives and the lives of our children.

1. Russell Ballard told of the mother who made a census and discovered that her children had a total of 29 commitments to keep each week. There's nothing inherently wrong with soccer practice, dance and music lessons, little league and all the rest, but 29 commitments is either insanity or will lead to it.  Families need to be together.  Some "good" things might have to be given up.  Dallin H. Oaks said, "Compare the impact of time spent merely in the same room as spectators for television viewing with the significance of time spent communicating with one another."  He said that today we're faced with an excess of information (and things to do), and that unless we focus we're likely to become like those people prophesied of in the last days who are "ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Richard G. Scott says that "Satan has a powerful tool to use against good people.  It is distraction.  He would have good people fill life with 'good things' so there is no room for the essential ones."

What's essential?  I'd suggest that it's things involving covenants:—God, family, priesthood, the temple.  Boyd K. Packer said about our covenants that they're more than important, they're more than essential—they're crucial.  He said that if we keep our covenants we'll be safe.

Brigham Young had some good counsel:  In 1872 he said, "Stop!  Wait!  When you get up in the morning, before you suffer yourselves to eat one mouthful of food,…bow down before the Lord, ask him to forgive your sins, and protect you through the day, to preserve you from temptation and all evil, to guide your steps aright, that you may do something that day that shall be beneficial to the kingdom of God on the earth.  Have you time to do this?…This is the counsel I have for the Latter-day Saints today.  Stop, do not be in a hurry…You are in too much of a hurry; you do not go to meeting enough, you do not pray enough, you do not read the scriptures enough, you do not meditate enough, you are all the time on the wing, and in such a hurry that you do not know what to do first."

So how can we use this information?  If I found that my family was trying to run faster than it had strength, I'd go through our family commitments and ask myself this question:  "What bearing does little league have on our covenants?"  If the answer was "little" or "nothing" I'd consider little league as one of the things that might be eligible for elimination from our lives.

Tonight at 6:30 in La Grande is Don Jensen's weekly choir practice in preparation for the rendition of The Messiah which will be performed here in Baker on December 12th.  I'd dearly love to participate in that.  Every Sunday I make a mental note that I need to tell Nick Cox that he and I need to go be a part of that, but every Sunday evening has been taken up with either family or Church responsibilities.  Family and Church both involve covenants, but choir practice doesn't—so I haven't gone.

In summary we must not let the things that matter most be at the mercy of those that matter least.  We must not allow ourselves to be caught up in the thick of thin things.  We need to remember that our first priority is our own spirituality—our relationship to God.  Second is our family.  Third is the Church.  Then come our professions and all the rest.

In any other order we're likely to get ourselves in difficulty, and at the end of the race find that we've been chasing mechanical rabbits that we can never catch.

If we don't choose the kingdom of God first, it will make little difference in the long run what we have chosen instead.