Stop Asking What God Will Permit and Ask What God Would Prefer

 

Participate to Prepare for Christ’s Return

By Elder Steven D. Shumway

Of the Seventy

When we say yes to serving, we are saying yes to Jesus Christ. And when we say yes to Christ, we are saying yes to the most abundant life possible...

We engage in God’s work not because God needs us but because we need God and His mighty blessings....

Callings do not determine or validate a person’s worth or worthiness. Rather, as we labor with God in whatever way He asks, we grow into the measure of our own creation....

When we serve because we love God and want to live our covenants, service that seems dutiful and draining becomes joyful and transformative....

Our preparation to meet Jesus Christ accelerates when we stop asking what God will permit and start asking what God would prefer....

We will fall many times as we engage in God’s work. But in our effort, Jesus Christ catches us....When we consecrate our meager but best effort, God magnifies it. When we sacrifice for Jesus Christ, He sanctifies us. This is the transformative power of God’s grace....

Callings are sacred gifts from a loving Heavenly Father to help bring others with us to Jesus Christ. So I invite leaders and each of us to more intentionally seek those without callings. ...

When we serve to magnify Christ and not ourselves, our service becomes joyful. When others leave our class, meeting, ministering visit, or activity remembering Christ more than they remember us, the work is energizing.

Always Hold a Calling in the Church

 

Love Is Spoken Here

By Elder Gerrit W. Gong

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

When Sister Gong and I were married, Elder David B. Haight counseled: “Always hold a calling in the Church. Especially when life is busy,” he said, “you need to feel the Lord’s love for those you serve and for you as you serve.”

A Calling You Don't Feel Up To

 

Sir, We Would Like to See Jesus

By Elder Robert M. Daines

Of the Seventy

A few years ago, I got a calling I didn’t feel up to. I awoke early, nervous—but with a phrase in mind I had not heard before: that to serve in this Church is to stand in the river of God’s love for His children. This Church is a work party of people with picks and shovels trying to help clear the channel for the river of God’s love to reach His children at the end of the row.

Whoever you are, whatever your past, there is room for you in this Church.²⁹

Grab a pick and shovel and join the team. Help carry His love to His children, and some of it will splash on you.

Liahona Nov 2023

We Don't Need a Calling

 

An Instrument in the Hands of the Lord

By Elder Ciro Schmeil

Of the Seventy

Through these events I have learned that we don’t need a calling to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands. We just need to have the desire. “Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work” (Doctrine and Covenants 4:3)....

The Lord placed Esther in the king’s house for a purpose—to save the Jews. Just as He did with Esther, the Lord puts us where we can help to fulfill His purposes. For this reason, we must be ready and worthy when faced with the opportunities He presents....

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said: “The Lord gave you your responsibilities for a reason. There may be people and hearts only you can reach and touch. Perhaps no one else could do it in quite the same way.”

Callings Can Be Hard

 

What the Parable of the Talents Has to Do with My Calling as Primary Pianist

By Alison Wood

Church Magazines

Callings can be hard; sometimes we’re called to do things that we don’t feel qualified for and that take up a lot of our time. Other times it’s the opposite—we might feel like our calling isn’t fully using our abilities and our efforts would be better directed somewhere else. But the Lord knows how to use our talents in a way that blesses not only the people we’re serving but also ourselves.

As I have learned from my own experience, any effort we make to serve the Lord brings an increase to our own lives. If we consecrate our time and talents to the Lord, He will always use them for our good.

Waiting on the Lord Implies Action

 

Hope in Christ

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

waiting upon the Lord implies continued obedience and spiritual progress toward Him. Waiting upon the Lord does not imply biding one’s time. You should never feel like you are in a waiting room.

Waiting upon the Lord implies action. I have learned over the years that our hope in Christ increases when we serve others. Serving as Jesus served, we naturally increase our hope in Him....

To you stake presidents, bishops, and quorum and sister leaders, I ask you to consider every member of your stake, ward, quorum, or organization as a member who can contribute and serve in callings and participate in many ways.

Attitude Toward Church Responsibilities

Are You Living the Gospel Half-Heartedly?

By Chakell Wardleigh

Church Magazines

Our attitudes toward our Church responsibilities really make a difference.

“Do I have to?”

Have you ever had this thought before? It has run across my mind many times. And I’ve learned that such a seemingly insignificant thought is an important indicator of my attitude. Sure, we can all reach out and minister to others, we can accept and uphold our Church callings, and we can attend our Church meetings. Even done half-heartedly, these things can make a difference in our lives. But does it limit God’s ability to use you? Does it limit God’s ability to change you? For me, I think it does.

This idea makes me think of Laman and Lemuel, who did leave Jerusalem, who did go back for the plates, who did help build the ship, who did do a number of obedient things—but they did these things begrudgingly and half-heartedly. They didn’t allow their experiences to change them for the better. Instead, they always murmured and had rotten attitudes in every set of circumstances they found themselves in. And after realizing that, I really don’t want to be a Laman or a Lemuel.

Take a moment to really think about the reasons behind your actions. Do you reach out to others with a focus on the blessings in store for you? Or do you reach out to others because you sincerely want to share light and love with them? Do you do all that’s required for your calling because it’s what’s expected of you? Or do you do it because you want to serve the Lord and those around you?

These are the sort of questions I try to ask myself from time to time. Am I doing all I can to live like a true disciple of Christ with real intent? Or is my heart not completely in it? I think Bishop Gérald Caussé, Presiding Bishop, said it best: “Are we active in the gospel, or are we merely busy in the Church?” (“It Is All about People,” Ensign, May 2018, 112).

Active vs. Busy

For me, when I’m only “busy” in the Church, indifference has sneaked into my mind. This indifference can stem from a less-than-enthusiastic attitude or even from allowing less-important tasks on my schedule to interfere with the ones that really matter. This indifference sneaks in when I’m sitting in sacrament meeting and not paying attention, when I’m saying my nightly prayers and my mind starts wandering to other things, when I quickly scan my scriptures without pondering them, or when I reach out to someone just to say I did so rather than to sincerely try to befriend them.

Sometimes I even feel frustration when I don’t see any progress in my life—when I’m simply being indifferent and “busy” in the gospel—and these feelings linger until I realize what the problem is. Sometimes I have to sit back, reconnect, and ask myself, “Am I giving this calling or this person or this prayer or this scripture my full attention and heart right now?”

After some such epiphany hits me, that’s when change really happens in my life. When I truly pray to see others the way Heavenly Father sees them, when I pray for ministering opportunities, when I pray for guidance in my calling, in my career, and in my day-to-day life, and most importantly, when I act on the promptings He gives me, when my actions mirror my inner desire to become better—that is when I’m being active in the gospel. That is when I feel a true shift in my attitude, in my heart, and in my soul. That is when I see miraculous things unfold. That is when I feel true happiness enter my life. That is when I’m truly trying to change for the better.

Actions vs. Feelings

I think we can all look back at a few moments in our lives when our actions were noble, but our feelings behind them weren’t so much. Sometimes life does get busy, sometimes we aren’t always going to be completely happy in our circumstances, and sometimes things might not always work out the way we want them to. We aren’t perfect, but if we ask Heavenly Father to help us put our full heart into the sometimes tedious or time-consuming things we’re asked to do, we can learn to do them in a more Christlike way.

I can think of times when I reluctantly agreed to do a service project, only to have my heart softened and changed after the experience. Or when I got a calling and complained about it taking too much of my time, only for me to break down in bittersweet tears when I was released because I had learned to love it.

We can share light, fulfill our responsibilities, and receive answers to our prayers most effectively if our hearts are in the right place. If we take the time to analyze the attitudes and intents behind our actions and do everything we can “with a sincere heart, [and] with real intent” (Moroni 10:4), we will be able to better recognize Heavenly Father’s guidance, find greater joy, and make so much more of a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.

Being a Faithful Disciple

Being a Faithful Disciple

“All Church leaders are called to help other people become ‘true followers of … Jesus Christ’ (Moroni 7:48). …

“Leaders can best teach others how to be ‘true followers’ by their personal example. This pattern—being a faithful disciple in order to help others become faithful disciples—is the purpose behind every calling in the Church.”

Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), 3.1.

Don't Judge Servants of the Lord

The Lord Leads His Church

By President Henry B. Eyring

First Counselor in the First Presidency

 It takes faith to believe that He knows the people He calls perfectly, both their capacities and their potential, and so makes no mistakes in His calls.

That may bring a smile or a shake of the head to some in this audience—both those who think their own call to serve might have been a mistake as well as those who picture some they know who seem poorly suited to their place in the Lord’s kingdom. My counsel to both groups is to delay such judgments until you can better see what the Lord sees. The judgment you need to make, instead, is that you have the capacity to receive revelation and to act on it fearlessly.....

Without their faith, the bishop, who was called of God, will find it harder to get the revelation he needs to help them. He will not succeed without the faith of the members to sustain him.....

For a leader to succeed in the Lord’s work, the people’s trust that he is called of God must override their view of his infirmities and mortal weaknesses. ...

I try not to judge servants of the Lord or to speak of their apparent weaknesses....

It takes faith and humility to serve in the place to which we are called, to trust that the Lord called us and those who preside over us, and to sustain them with full faith.

********

"..... their spirit of criticism and jealousy spread like a plague." (DON'T DO!)

Precious Gifts from God

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

If we have faith as small as a mustard seed, the Lord can help us remove the mountains of discouragement and doubt in the tasks ahead of us as we serve with God’s children, including family members, Church members, and those who are not yet members of the Church....

If we do not find time to unplug, we may miss opportunities to hear the voice of Him who said, “Be still, and know that I am God.”8 Now, there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of the advances in the technologies inspired by the Lord, but we must be wise in their use. Remember the gift of the Sabbath day.

The blessing of receiving the sacrament in sacrament meeting must never become routine or just something we do. It is only 70 minutes in a whole week when we can pause and find more peace, joy, and happiness in our lives....

Church members—both men and women—should not hesitate, if they desire, to run for public office at any level of government wherever they live. Our voices are essential today and important in our schools, our cities, and our countries. Where democracy exists, it is our duty as members to vote for honorable men and women who are willing to serve.

Magnifying Our Callings

Magnifying Our Callings

“What does it mean to magnify a calling? It means to build it up in dignity and importance, to make it honorable and commendable in the eyes of all men, to enlarge and strengthen it, to let the light of heaven shine through it to the view of other men. And how does one magnify a calling? Simply by performing the service that pertains to it. An elder magnifies the ordained calling of an elder by learning what his duties as an elder are and then by doing them. As with an elder, so with a deacon, a teacher, a priest, a bishop, and each who holds office in the priesthood.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “The Call of Duty,” Ensign, May 1986, 38–39.

The Most Important Calling

The Greatest among You

By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

In God's kingdom, greatness and leadership means seeing others as they truly are - as God sees them - and then reaching out and ministering to them. It means rejoicing with those who are happy, weeping with those who grieve, lifting up those in distress, and loving our neighbor as Christ loves us. 

To be effective Church leaders, we must learn this critical lesson: leadership in the Church is not so much about directing others as it is about our willingness to be directed by God.

 If we approach our callings as opportunities to serve God and minister to others with faith and humility, every act of service will be a step on the path of discipleship. 

We accept callings with grace, humility, and gratitude. When we are released from these callings, we accept the change with the same grace, humility, and gratitude.

In the eyes of God, there is no calling in the kingdom that is more important than another. 

Each time we give of ourselves to others, we take a step closer to becoming good and true disciples of the One who gave His all for us: our Savior.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to serve the Lord, but when we seek to gain influence in the Church for our own sake-in order to receive the praise and admiration of men-we have our reward. When we "inhale" the praise of others, that praise will be our compensation.

What is the most important calling in the Church? It is the one you currently have. 

Relying on His Strength

Relying on His Strength

“The Lord often places His servants in situations with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. In this manner He pushes us to humble ourselves and to rely solely on His strength. He makes us instruments of His miracles and the manifestations of His power and compassion. That is perhaps … the reason why so many members receive callings and responsibilities that often appear to them to be beyond their strength and abilities.”

Bishop Gérald Caussé, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, “For When I Am Weak, Then Am I Strong” (Brigham Young University Devotional, Dec. 3, 2013), 5, speeches.byu.edu

The Lord Blesses Our Efforts

The Lord Blesses Our Efforts

“Any calling we receive in the Lord’s kingdom requires more than our human judgment and our personal powers. Those calls require help from the Lord, which will come. …

“… I testify that He has called you and me into His service knowing our capacities and the help we will need. He will bless our efforts beyond our fondest expectations as we give our all in His service.”

President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, “You Are Not Alone in the Work,” Ensign, Nov. 2015, 80, 83.

Find Happiness

"When we accept duties willingly and faithfully, we find happiness. Those who make happiness the chief objective of life are bound to fail, for happiness is a by-product rather than an end in itself. Happiness comes from doing one's duty and knowing that his life is in harmony with God and His commandments. . . ."

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Learn Your Duty," Ensign, Aug 2012, 16.

Our Callings

 “Whatever our calling, regardless of our fears or anxieties, let us pray and then go and do, remembering the words of the Master, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who promised, ‘I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’”

“We can strengthen one another; we have the capacity to notice the unnoticed. When we have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that know and feel, we can reach out and rescue those for whom we have responsibility.”

Thomas S. Monson, “The Call to Serve,” Ensign, Nov, 2000, 47.

Visiting Teaching...

“One of the bishop’s duties was to send to every serviceman a subscription to the Church News and to the Improvement Era and to write a personal letter to him each month. Since President Monson had served in the navy in World War II, he appreciated the importance of a letter from home. He had 23 ward members serving in the military, so he called a sister in the ward to handle the details of mailing these letters. One evening he handed her the monthly stack of 23 letters.

“Bishop, don’t you ever get discouraged?” she asked. “Here is another letter to Brother Bryson. This is the 17th letter you have sent to him without a reply.”

“Well, maybe this will be the month,” he said. It was. The reply from Brother Bryson read: “Dear Bishop, I ain’t much at writin’ letters. Thank you for the Church News and magazines, but most of all thank you for the personal letters. I have turned over a new leaf. I have been ordained a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. My heart is full. I am a happy man.”

President Monson saw in that letter the practical application of the adage “Do you duty, that is best. Leave unto the Lord the rest.”

Thomas S. Monson, “The Call of Duty,” Ensign, May 1986, 39.

If We Do Our Part, We Won't Fail

 “[The Lord] will not permit us to fail if we do our part. He will magnify us even beyond our own talents and abilities. . . . It is one of the sweetest experiences that can come to a human being”

Ezra Taft Benson, in Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 20.

Whom You Might Have Saved

 “If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done your duty.”

Teaching of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor (2001), 164. 

Give Your Best Effort

“Your power will be multiplied many times by the Lord. All He asks is that you give your best effort and your whole heart. Do it cheerfully and with the prayer of faith. The Father and His Beloved Son will send the Holy Ghost as your companion to guide you. Your efforts will be magnified in the lives of the people you serve.”

President Henry B. Eyring, “Rise to Your Call,” Ensign, Nov. 2002, 76.