I
have recently given thought to that of service. I recalled a talk I read by
Elder Oaks about the reaons we serve. Yes, it’s good to serve, but it’s even
better if our reason behind it is the right reason. And so I pose the same
question to you, as he posed to me in his talk, Why do we serve?
Service has always been an important part of the church. King Benjamin told us
that when we are serving others, we are serving God (Mosiah 2:17). And Christ
was the ultimate example of service. He spoke of feeding the hungry, clothing
the naked, and visiting the sick.
Although
we may do these things, the Lord looketh on the heart and knows the intents of
our hearts. “These scriptures make clear that in order to purify our service
in the Church and to our fellowmen, it is necessary to consider not only how we serve, but also why we serve…. we should all strive to
serve for the reasons that are highest and best.”
Elder
Oaks lists 6 reasons of why we serve, from the lesser to the greater.
1. Hope
of earthly reward – they do this to receive prominence
or wealth, honors or power. Such service earns no gospel reward
2. Motivated
by a personal desire to obtain good companionship
– they only serve when fellow workers are acceptable
3. Fear
of punishment – they know they need to keep the commandments in order
to be happy and be blessed
4. Sense
of duty or loyalty – instinctively do what they are
asked without question
5. Hope
of an eternal reward – the expectation of enjoying the
fruits of our labors in the Celestial Kingdom
6. Charity
– motivated by the pure love of Christ
“If our service is
to be most efficacious, it must be accomplished for the love of God and the
love of his children…. Service with all of our heart and mind is a high challenge
for all of us. Such service must be free of selfish ambition. It must be
motivated only by the pure love of Christ.”
We
are all on different spectrums of the service scale. May we each try to do a
little better in serving our neighbor, but also in our reason behind it.
- NOVEMBER 1984
- WHY DO WE SERVE?
Why Do We Serve?
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
No comments:
Post a Comment