Who Is on Your Dream Team? — Mosiah 7–10

Come, Follow Me: Book of Mormon 2024 (May 6—May 12)

Aspens grow in clusters connected by their roots and a stand of trees is considered one organism. If one becomes disconnected from the shared root system, it can be fatal. Like aspens, human connections are lifesaving and needful for health and well-being.

A significant study of over 300,000 people determined the lack of strong relationships was found to increase the risk of premature death from all causes by 50%. This is equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, greater than the risks of obesity and the lack of physical activity!

Mosiah 7-10 is all about people connections. It begins with Mosiah choosing “sixteen of their strong men” (Mosiah 7:2) to go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi to inquire about brethren who had left Zarahemla years ago. I love this Book of Mormon detail. Imagine Mosiah looking over his congregation, considering each person’s strengths and talents, trying to put together his dream team for this important mission. Maybe he was only looking for ten, but there were so many good choices, he just had to go for sixteen!

When you’re in need and facing a wilderness journey, who’s on your dream team? Depending on your personality, the size of your team may vary. It could be sixteen or six. A good team will have folks who provide different talents like those who are experts on the subject, coaches who give feedback and help problem-solve, and cheerleaders who notice your efforts and cheer you on. 

Creating a dream team requires us to prioritize relationship building. Greg McKeown, author of the book Essentialism, wrote in his January newsletter: “What’s most important? I’ve been asking myself (and others) this question for years. It has guided both my professional and personal life. After some serious reflection, I’ve decided this question needs an update. So here’s what I’m doing this year. Instead of asking, ‘What’s most important?’ I’m asking, ‘Who’s most important?’”.

Sometime this week, make a list of your “strong” men and women. Are you making them a priority? Are you missing anyone?   

Do Hard Divinely Better Lesson #18: Create and maintain a strong stand of relationships that help and sustain you.