Responsiblity to Serve

Responsibility to Serve Diligently
April 24, 2005
Ellsworth Ward

Introduction:
One evening this week I decided to test my children and their willingness to fulfill an assignment from their father. I had a lot of Church-related work to do and I had noticed that the front yard had a lot of weeds that needed to be pulled. So I asked all 5 of the children living at home to please go out in the yard and work for fifteen minutes pulling weeds. I thought it was interesting to note the reactions I received to this assignment. My four year old daughter was excited. “Okay”, she said, “Let me go get my shoes”. I wondered why all of my children couldn’t have the same attitude of eagerness to serve and obey. One of my children asked “How much will you pay us?” Another reluctantly moped out through the door, not really desiring to do the job, but knowing that she should obey. Another went and did some work…the minimal amount of work required so that he could say “I worked”, just to make sure privileges weren’t taken away…like computer time or TV time. Another refused to go altogether…knowing that shortly I was to leave the house and she would be left alone to either obey or not. Is it no wonder that the Lord has said “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

I would like to liken this situation to our Father in Heaven calling us to serve in the church. The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ does not have paid clergy. We all have the opportunity to serve one another in various callings in the ward…and as ward home and visiting teachers. We might ask ourselves, “How have I answered my calling?” Or do I not answer at all? Do we eagerly go get our shoes on and go out to pull weeds? Or do we neglect our duties.

Speaking of answering calls, we live in an interesting time where we have the ability to know who is calling before we answer. I’m talking about the telephone, with caller ID and answering machines. We as a Ward do a lot of making and following up on assignments in the Church by telephone. If you get a phone call from church leaders or from the Executive Secretary, do you answer it, or do to let the answering machine answer it? Do we follow up and return calls that we receive? If we are not, we are slowing the progress of the Lord’s kingdom.

We might consider the Lord’s counsel in D&C 58:27-29
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward. But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.

We should heed President Gordon B. Hinckley’s admonition to all of us when he said: “I have been quoted as saying, ‘Do the best you can.’ But I want to emphasize that it be the very best. We are too prone to be satisfied with mediocre performance. We are capable of doing so much better”

“O ye that embark in the service of God,” said the Lord, “see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.” (D&C 4:2.)

I don’t know how much time you put into fulfilling your callings. Is it an hour a week? One evening a week? 10 hours a week? We all have busy lives. We need to provide for our families. We need to spend time with our families. But, we are also called to serve the Lord by serving His children, so we need to make His work also one of our priorities. President Smith is a good example. I know that he spends hours and hours each day..and night doing Church relate work on our behalf. And he’s glad to do it. I think he understands the Lords instructions in D&C 107:99-100, Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence. May I repeat, in all diligence. Continuing with verse 100…He that is slothful shall not be counted worthy to stand, and he that learns not his duty and shows himself not approved shall not be counted worthy to stand. Even so. Amen.

We might consider the covenants that we have made with the Lord. At baptism we covenant to “remember him always”. To serve one another. We as Priesthood holders have convenanted to magnify our callings. In the temple we covenant to obey, to sacrifice and to consecrate or time.

D & C 84 109-110 Therefore, let every man stand in his own office, and labor in his own calling; and let not the head say unto the feet it hath no need of the feet; for without the feet how shall the body be able to stand. Also the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified together, that the system may be kept perfect.

I think that this guidance from the Lord explains how important it is that we all work together and fulfill the callings that we receive and that no calling is more important than another.

Sometimes we might receive a calling from our leaders that we don’t want, or we don’t think we have the capacity to fulfill. I want you to know that we as a bishopric prayerfully consider all of the callings that we extend. Each one is thought out. Sometimes, that is why we are slow in extending callings. We know we aren’t just filling in an organization chart. Callings change lives. I testify of that…and that we are trying to follow the Lord’s will when making those callings.
Sometimes it is hard to accept callings because we know they come from just mortal men.
Elder Eyring talked about this in a recent conference address when he talked about our need to have faith in priesthood keys. I quote: “But just as in the time of Paul, the power of those priesthood keys for us requires our faith. We have to know by inspiration that the priesthood keys are held by those who lead and serve us. That requires the witness of the Spirit.
And that depends upon our testimony that Jesus is the Christ and that He lives and leads His Church. We must also know for ourselves that the Lord restored His Church and the priesthood keys through the Prophet Joseph Smith. And we must have an assurance through the Holy Ghost, refreshed often, that those keys have been passed without interruption to the living prophet and that the Lord blesses and directs His people through the line of priesthood keys which reaches down through presidents of stakes and of districts and through bishops and branch presidents to us, wherever we are and no matter how far from the prophet and the apostles.

That is not easy today. It was not easy in the days of Paul. It has always been hard to recognize in fallible human beings the authorized servants of God. Paul must have seemed an ordinary man to many. Joseph Smith's cheerful disposition was seen by some as not fitting their expectations for a prophet of God.

Satan will always work on the Saints of God to undermine their faith in priesthood keys. One way he does it is to point out the humanity of those who hold them. He can in that way weaken our testimony and so cut us loose from the line of keys by which the Lord ties us to Him and can take us and our families home to Him and to our Heavenly Father.” End quote
We might ask ourselves, How can we find the desire to serve more diligently in our callings. How can we increase our dedication to the Lord’s kingdom? Elder Marion G. Romney stated:
“Through studying the scriptures, we should know what the Lord has revealed through his prophets concerning the plan of salvation. From regular night and morning prayer and honest compliance with gospel teachings, we should enjoy the peace and spirit of the gospel. By earnestly and specifically seeking it, we should, by the power of the Holy Ghost, obtain and retain a testimony of its divine truth. We should be so converted and dedicated to it that our total lives are influenced thereby. The right and wrong of our decisions and actions should be consistently determined by its light. If they were, we would make no mistakes in our judgments and actions on the vexing questions and problems of our day.”

Conclusion:
I testify that the Lord’s Kingdom has been restored to the earth and that this is His work. I know that the priesthood keys are one the earth. I know that President Hinkley is called of God. I know that President Smith has been called of God. I have received a witness in my heart that this is true. May I conclude with the words of Mormon to his son. Moroni 9:6 And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.