Quentin L. Cook on finding time for inspiration

Elder Quentin L. Cook (1940- ) was called as a Seventy in 1996, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 2007.

"We live in a noisy, contentious world, where it is possible to be viewing or listening to information, music, or even pure nonsense virtually every waking hour. If we want to have the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, we must find time to slow down, ponder, pray, and live so we are worthy to receive and act upon His promptings. We will avoid major mistakes if we heed His warnings. It is our privilege as members to receive light and knowledge from Him even to the perfect day. (See D&C 50:24.)"
- Quentin L. Cook, "We Follow Jesus Christ," Ensign, May 2010, p. 83; click here to read the full article

Life in our day becomes increasingly complicated, as new distractions appear constantly. I suspect the adjectives "noisy" and "contentious" were carefully chosen to describe our world. And the distractions vary from "information" to "music" to "pure nonsense" — most of us can see examples of each of those in our own lives or those close to us!  What wise counsel this is: "slow down, ponder, pray." Turn off the distractions, at least part of the time. Look for opportunities to find blessed silence, to contemplate our blessings, to commune with God. It's hard to conceive that we would "receive light and knowledge from Him" while we're immersed in the distractions!