My Creed:

I would live so that Heavenly Father and my Savior are welcome to be part of my life. I would like to think that they could be comfortable to be with me in my day to day activities. That means that I must control myself and think appropriate thoughts, view appropriate and uplifting television shows and movies, communicate in wise and loving ways, listen to good music, read good books, study the scriptures more diligently, pray each night (and not just fall into bed). The computer should be my aid and not my master. I need to stop wasting time, losing my temper and, above all, I need to not be critical, judgmental, jealous and selfish. 

I would treat all my fellow beings with kindness. My goal, through all my life, has been to be kind to all and treat all people as I would like to be treated. In practice, I have found it more difficult to treat well those who have wronged me. I have learned, through long years of practice, that it is best to attempt to make peace with all and to think well of even those who do not like me. I have more compassion for those who do not like me with good reason. Sometimes my actions in standing up for what I believe have been justified. Sometimes they have not, but I do not like to have bad feelings with anyone. Especially when it is my error, I need to continue to work toward peace. I would be forgiving.

Another goal, based on principle, is to always keep on working to improve and to learn and to accept new challenges. I think that failure is only that if I cease trying. As I age, I would endure to the end. I know that Heavenly Father is in control and that there are no accidents. Someone said that everything happens for a reason. I am learning that even trials in life are for my best good.

I would work at nurturing my most important relationships by being affirming, positive, considerate and giving of self and personal time. I will continue to seek out those who need a show of increased love and give them that love. I need to always stop, pause, and remember that I am a daughter of God and He loves me and I love Him. I also love my Savior. I would show this love by treating my family as though they are the princes and princesses of a royal lineage.

Principles vs Resolutions

And just what are principles? We had the discussion today at Relief Society that a resolution, made at the beginning of each new year, is different from a principle based creed that can be lived a lifetime. I quit making resolutions at the New Year. I have made some life-changing resolutions, from time to time, but I have not waited until New Year's Day to do so.

So what is the difference in a resolution, a guiding principle, a creed? My thoughts were still unclear. Are there different types of principles that would guide us? Are some of them religious and some not?

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The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: "When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the Gospel--you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil [died] before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 348).

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This is the way our Heavenly Father became God. Joseph Smith taught: "It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God. . . . He was once a man like us; . . . God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-46).

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“That word principle in the revelation is a very important one. A principle is an enduring truth, a law, a rule you can adopt to guide you in making decisions. Generally principles are not spelled out in detail. That leaves you free to find your way with an enduring truth, a principle, as your anchor."

(The Word of Wisdom: The Principle and the Promises, President Boyd K. Packer April 1996 Conference)

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"We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Fourth Article of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

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Definition of PRINCIPLE

1 a: a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption

b (1): a rule or code of conduct (2) : habitual devotion to right principles

c: the laws or facts of nature underlying the working of an artificial device
2: a primary source : origin
3 a: an underlying faculty or endowment
b: an ingredient (as a chemical) that exhibits or imparts a characteristic quality

Definition of RESOLUTION

1: the act or process of resolving: as
a: the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones
b: the act of answering: solving
c: the act of determining
d: the passing of a voice part from a dissonant to a consonant tone or the progression of a chord from dissonance to consonance
e: the separating of a chemical compound or mixture into its constituents
f (1): the division of a prosodic element into its component parts (2): the substitution in Greek or Latin prosody of two short syllables for a long syllable
g: the analysis of a vector into two or more vectors of which it is the sum
2: the subsidence of a pathological state (as inflammation)
3 a: something that is resolved
b: firmness of resolve
4: a formal expression of opinion, will, or intent voted by an official body or assembled group
5: the point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out
6 a: the process or capability of making distinguishable the individual parts of an object, closely adjacent optical images, or sources of light
b: a measure of the sharpness of an image or of the fineness with which a device (as a video display, printer, or scanner) can produce or record such an image usually expressed as the total number or density of pixels in the image

Definition of CREED

1: a brief authoritative formula of religious belief

2: a set of fundamental beliefs; also : a guiding principle 

(Merriiam-Webster Dictionary)

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Guiding principle: an idea which influences you very much when making a decision or considering a matter.

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The last definition is the one that finally made some sense to me. I would make my creed something that would last a lifetime and it would be something that I could live daily; that would guide my decisions; that would determine what positions I took. Am I finally on to something, or not?