TOPIC: A Work To Do, Called Of God, Consecrated by the Lord
My dear friends, and family, each of you has blessed my life in more ways than you know, thank you for being here. I am so excited to be speaking with Seth today, hopefully now that he is home, we can go catch some rattlesnakes before I leave. For any who don’t know, I have been called to serve in the Helsinki Finland mission speaking finish. I start home MTC on August 18th and then leave for the Provo MTC for 12 weeks on August 28th.
When I was called to Finland I didn’t know a lot about the country and I’m assuming most of you don’t know much either, so here are a couple of things I’ve learned while preparing to serve. Finland is about as big as New Mexico and around 75% of its surface is covered with forests. There are over 3 million saunas throughout the country which is a lot considering the population is only about 5 million. Finland is also the happiest country on earth for the 7th year in a row which is incredibly impressive because they only receive 2 hours of sunlight for half of the year. There are 3 Stakes, 29 congregations and 124 missionaries in Finland. I am so excited to make it 125
I pray for the spirit today as I share the message I prepared. When I began writing this talk over half a year ago the words of President Nelson were fresh on my mind. He begins, “I believe if the Lord were speaking to you directly today the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true Identity.” He continues, "You are a child of god, a child of the covenant, and a disciple of Christ”. His words have stuck with me, as well as an ending I added myself which has become a phrase I remember often. As I prepare to leave, the words I added seem especially applicable. “You are a Child of God, you are a child of the covenant, you are a disciple of Jesus Christ”, “and you have a work to do.”
This is what I’ve decided to talk about today. The work I am called to do as a missionary, but not just that. The work that we are all called to do as disciples of Jesus Christ and the power we can receive from God, to do what He asks of us when we align our will with his. Knowing not just who we are, as children of god, and disciples of Christ, but what we are meant to do. What are each of our own “missions”? Our work to do, Called of God, and Consecrated by the lord.
At the beginning of the Book of Mormon Nephi is faced with many difficult challenges as he journeys with his family out of Jerusalem. Nephi, being a man of “exceedingly great faith”, has already left his home of luxury and wealth, returned twice, killed a man, seen a vision from god, and almost been killed by his brothers multiple times.
Then to no doubt Nephi’s shock, the lord commanded him himto build a ship. Not to his father Lehi the prophet, but to Nephi. To make things harder his brothers are unsupportive of him too, saying “Our brother is a fool.” Nephi, full of doubt, turnsdoubt, turns immediately to the lord. He is told, “Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.” Nephi, filled with the spirit, builds a ship of “exceedingly fine workmanship”. He was directed by the lord and his efforts were no doubt magnified by the spirit. He accomplished something 2000 years ago that many people couldn’t do today.
Nephi sets sail and something more amazing happens. Amid stormy seas, his family, humbled by the fear of drowning, untie him and Nephi, prays to the lord, calms the sea and directs his family out of danger to the promised land. To my knowledge, no other person in scriptural history has calmed a storm on the raging seas except for Jesus Christ himself 500 years after Nephi did, with Jesus Christ's help. When Christ calmed the sea it was surely a show of immense divine power,, so delivering Nephi with the same power must have been just as amazing for Lehi's family on the boat 500 years before.
Because we are sons and daughters of God we can literally become like Jesus Christ. We can calm our own stormy seas just as Nephi did. Our efforts will be added too, as we take initiative and immediately turn to the lord in faith, just like Nephi did throughout his life.
Nephi let God take him on a journey, not just through the wilderness and across the sea, but also a spiritual journey through hardship, joy, and faith. While Nephi may not have always known God's mission for him he must surely have trusted God's plan and because of that, he was able to accomplish the impossible through the lord.
This story has stuck with me now more than ever because I can’t help but feel like I am following in the same figurative footsteps as Nephi. In 6 days I am set apart as a missionary, and while I may be sent to a country I know very little about, far from home, I know that as I spend the next two years of my life devoted to Jesus Christ my efforts will be enough, as he allows his spirit to guide me to those who need His gospel. The Lord will help an imperfect boy, teach others about his perfect gospel. I hope I can show faith just like Nephi did and understand and accomplish what the lord will have me do as my mission for the next two years with His help.
Now unlike Nephi, who had no way of knowing the lord would ask him to leave his home and sail across the sea, I know exactly what the lord wants me to do for the next two years. As I teach others the gospel I love that my goals are laid out for me in exactness and that those goals perfectly align with God's plan for me. I am so excited to see how I can help the gathering of Israel with my Heavenly Father.
Now the best part of this is that you don’t need to be going on a mission to make and accomplish goals that align with God's plan for you. Under license given to each of us in section 4 of the doctrine and covenants ““If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work”. This work may not be proselytizing missionary work right now but it is any form of good work on the earth today that builds up the kingdom of Zion, spreads joy to Christ's children, provides service to our fellow man, and helps to gather Israel.
If you are unsure where to start, find comfort as I do in the words of Moroni, “every good thing cometh from god” and “that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.” This council from Moroni beautifully clarifies how we can take part in God's work. Start by doing good in any way you can.
I love the words of the opening hymn we sang today. What a perfect reminder, “Have I done any good in the world today. Have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad, made someone feel glad? If not, I have failed indeed”. To me, this hymn is the essence of the goodness of the gospel. A gospel of service, love, and kindness. Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father made a plan full of progress and action where we can help others to return to live in heaven. As we work hard every day to do good to God's children we become like King Benjamin’s people, having “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” and become more like Jesus Christ enabling us to overcome any challenge we face in our lives.
As we take action, it is my testimony the lord will show each of us how to align our thoughts, actions, and desires more fully with him. President Nelson has said many times that “The Lord loves effort.”
I have seen this more clearly than ever before, as my friends and I have prepared to leave on our missions. I have watched as we have been bound by King Benjamin's words, “The Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent … has wrought a mighty change in us, in our hearts…to do good continually”. As we have focused our lives more fully on Jesus Christ He has helped us to overcome challenges we thought were impossible.
Now of course, we aren’t perfect, but the change I have seen and felt within a bunch of teenage boys is very real as we have put forth effort to be ready to leave on our missions. We have been edified through the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, and most of all through efforts to “do good” amongst each other, for that I am the most grateful.
James 1 verse 22 says it perfectly, “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only”. I love this scripture, listen to James, pray to know what the Lord would have you do, and then do it, and if you are unsure keep praying and keep trying every day. Anyone can seek out personal revelation to understand who you are, what you are meant to do, and what your own “mission” is. God does not always call the qualified, but he always qualifies the called.
So when things are hard, I like to remember a promise Lehi made to his son Jacob. Being one with the lord does not always mean he will make it easy for us but I know the same promise applies to us still today when Lehi said “Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.” Jacob had a hard life in the wilderness, yet he still knew the greatness of god. If we can do the same, our perspective on trials changes completely. The lord didn’t let Jacobs' circumstances define his spirituality and because God is the same yesterday today and forever He can make the hard things in our life eventually work for our gain.
The Lord has said in Ezekiel 34:12, “As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.” Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost will not leave us during our hard times. The great shepherd will be there to rescue each of us as we exercise faith in his timing and power. I know there is a plan for each of us, possible because Jesus Christ knows us personally, laid out for our joy as we navigate mortality. Effort is a vital part of the plan and I know we will be blessed as we seek to do what the lord would have us do.
The Doctrine and Covenants are filled with remarkable promises in almost every section that God has offered to those who do what He would have them do. Some promises relate to our companionship with the Savior such as in section 32 verse 3, “He Himself will go with you and be in your midst. Nothing shall prevail against you.” Some pertain to happiness, health, and prosperity. Section 84 verse 80 explains, “You shall not be weary in mind, body, limb, or joint and you shall not go hungry or thirsty. Even a hair from your head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed.” Perhaps my favorite is that he has promised to fill us and our work with the holy ghost to help us every day. Section 84 verse 88 assures us that he will “go before our face and be on our right and on our left; his spirit will be in our hearts and his angels will bear us up.” These are just a few of the promised blessings that are surely given when we place the will of the lord before our own.
Even modern-day prophets have extended promised blessings to each of us if we be what the lord wants us to be. Ezra Taft Benson said, “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He can deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, and pour out peace.” When we let God prevail in our lives we allow ourselves to change to become more like the people we want to be and the people God wants us to become.
So I ask each of you to think of where the lord wants you to go. It doesn’t have to be to Finland or the Philippines, Brazil, or Balitomore but I know he has a plan for each one of you. Will you “say what he wants you to say, and be what he wants you to be”? I promise that if you do Jesus Christ will provide a way to accomplish all that he wants you to do.
I am excited to see who I can be as I try to be who the lord needs for his children. I know right now the lord wants me in Finland. I am so excited to become a representative of Jesus Christ.
Brothers and Sisters, I love you and I love the lord. Jesus Christ lives, and he has a plan for each of us. I promise that the lord is willing and ready and willing to help us through any hard thing we are going through if we follow him in faith. He stands ready to bestow the blessings of heaven upon each of us as we be who he wants us to be, of this I testify, In the name of Jesus Christ amen.
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