Kim and I love to travel and we especially
like cruising.
This summer we went on a cruise out
of Boston to Maine, Nova Scotia Canada, Prince Edward Island (which was my favorite), Quebec City and Montreal.
While in Montreal we visited the
Notre Dame Basilica. It is a huge
beautiful cathedral originally built in the late 1600’s. Because it was too small for their
congregation, it was rebuilt in the early 1800’s. The chapel holds about 2500 people. A
smaller chapel was added to the cathedral in the late 1800’s to accommodate
smaller congregations for events such as weddings and funerals.
We went on tour of this
cathedral. It was beautiful. But the thing that struck me the most was the
statement that they have over 20,000 members of their congregation and less
than 200 attend their weekly masses.
That struck me for a couple of
reasons. First of all –how sad to have
that many members but have that few that attend.
2nd—how do you know your
members when there are that many?
And there is no way you could have
the opportunity to serve with that many people.
It’s mind boggling to think about trying to organize it.
My point, we belong to a
church where we believe in serving within the church. When we were baptized we made a covenant to
serve Jesus Christ all our lives. One
way to do that is to accept callings within the church.
I’ve thought back on my life and
the callings I have had and feel very strongly that I would not be the person I
am today if I had chosen to not serve and accept callings in my wards and stake. The first calling I remember having was when
I had gone home from BYU for the summer. I was called to be the Jr. Sunday School
Chorister. {nothing wrong with being a chorister, Doug! haha :)} I lived
in southwest Iowa in a very small branch.
Jr. Sunday School was similar to what Primary is like
now. ANY way, I was the chorister and I don’t know if I really knew
what I was doing and I don’t think I put my whole self into it. I say that because I remember choosing songs
while I drove with my parents to church on Sunday morning.
The next calling I remember having
was probably my senior year at BYU and I was called to be the Relief Society historian or
maybe photographer. I would take pictures
at RS activities and put them into a scrapbook kind of book. That calling actually made me stretch because
I was very quiet and didn’t really want to be noticed but when you’re taking
pictures of everyone you definitely get noticed. A bit awkward for me to say the least. I always wondered what the point was because
as far as I knew nothing was ever done with the book and no one ever even looked at it.
The next calling I remember was
after we were married and we had moved into Kim’s homeward. I was called to teach Primary. It was
the first calling I remember really wanting
to do my best and to really make a difference in the lives of these kids
that I was teaching. I think that is when I truly gained a
testimony of the importance of serving in the church and to serve with all your
heart, might, mind and strength.
I have since served in many different callings. I have had opportunities to serve in the
nursery and primary and Sunday school and young women’s both on the ward level
and on the stake level. The callings I
have had have taught me, and molded me.
They have made me stretch. They
have made me search. They have taught me
to get out of my comfort zone and to
rely on the Lord. They have taught me to love.
4 years ago, Pres. Mullen called
Kim to be on the high council in this stake.
At the time, I was serving in a stake Young Women’s presidency in my home
stake. Pres. Mullen told me he would
like me to attend with Kim but that I could keep my calling. I was grateful because I hadn’t been in that
calling very long and loved serving with the sisters I was working with. 2-3 months later he called me into his office
and called me to be the Stake Relief Society President for this stake. I was shocked. He had told me I could keep my calling in my
home stake! I had never even had a Relief Rociety calling before. I had no
idea what a Stake Relief Society president did.
My mind was flooded with thoughts of inadequacies. But as quickly as those thoughts went through
my head I knew that my Heavenly Father had called me to this position. And that He loved me and had complete
confidence in me. I knew that He would
guide me and help me. And He did. When I got discouraged and thought I don’t
know how to do this….I remembered the words that Pres. Hinckley’s father gave
to him while he was on his mission, to forget
yourself and go to work. I had
to forget that I was this little girl from a little town in Iowa who didn’t
know very much. I had to forget myself
and my inadequacies. I had to get on my knees and plead for
direction. I had to study and ponder and
learn. And then I had to go to work! And Heavenly Father was there with me every
step of the way. I felt His hand in my
life. He guided me and inspired me and
gave me the confidence I needed to help the Relief Society sisters in this
stake. Then 2 years ago when my dear
husband was called to be the Bishop of this ward, Pres. Mullen gave me the
choice to continue being the Stk. RS Pres. or be released. I chose to keep the calling and keep doing
what I was doing. A couple of months
later as I sat in this room in a sacrament meeting, the feeling flooded my mind
with the thought that it was time for me to be released and give my full
attention to this ward. I did all that I
could to control my emotions until I was alone and then I cried (maybe bawled) because I didn’t
want to be released. I loved serving and
working with so many sisters in the stake.
I didn’t want to loose that. But
the Lord knows what he is doing, and I didn’t loose anything. I just got something different. And I have been able to concentrate on this
ward and I have loved every member that has passed through those doors.
That’s the way the church
works. That’s the way the Lord
works. He needs us to be the instruments
in His hands to further the work. We know that:
"When ye are in the service of your fellow
beings ye are only in the service of your God."
Mosiah 2:17
We also believe the words in the 5th
& 6th Articles of Faith which say…
5 We
believe that a man must be called of God, by
prophecy,
and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority,
to preach
the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 We
believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely,
apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists,
and so forth.
I also love the scripture that says:
D&C 1: 23 That the fulness of
my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world,
THAT’S US—the weak and the simple. Even though all of you have great talents, abilities, testimonies, and strength!!! You're great examples to me.
This is Christ’s church and He
needs us to further His work. We do it
by accepting callings. Some of you may
receive your first real calling while living at Lanai. You may think, that it’s a stupid calling or
that it’s a made up calling or that you don’t know what you do in that calling,
or that you are not qualified for that calling.
Whatever that calling is, you
need to get on your knees and pray for direction. You need to study and find out what it is you
need to do. And then you need to forget
yourself and go to work.
(Didn't include this part to cut it down on time.) My second counselor when I was
the Stk. RS Pres. was a young single adult in the stake. She told me that her first calling in her
ward was to be a sacrament meeting greeter.
She thought it was a worthless, no purpose calling. But she did it and she did it
cheerfully. She greeted the members each
Sunday as they came to sacrament meeting with a smile. After she had been released, a member of the
ward told her how much they looked forward to her smile every Sunday. It was a strength for him and helped him want
to come to church. At that point, my
counselor had a change of heart and she was glad that she had taken her calling
seriously.
Pres. Uchtdorf said, no matter what your responsibilities or
circumstances may be, you and I know there is always a special joy that comes
from dedicated … service….he went on to
say also…. Whether in a large ward or a small branch, we are called upon to serve,
to bless, and to act in all things for the good of everyone and everything
entrusted to our care.
When Pres. David O. McKay was a
missionary in Scotland, he was feeling very homesick so he went out touring
castles when he saw a stone above a door that read, “What e’er thou art, Act
well thy part.” That simple saying made
a life changing impression on him. He
thought, “You are a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. More than that, you are here as a
representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You accepted the responsibility as a representative of the Church.” He had been out sightseeing that day, not
doing missionary work. He says, “I
accepted the message given to me on that stone, and from that moment we tried
to do our part as missionaries in Scotland.”
As you accept callings in the ward,
remember these words: “What e’er thou
art, Act well thy part”
In other words, no matter what the
calling, give it your all. Do it with
all your heart, might, mind and strength.
Learn your duty and do it—no matter how big or how small. Remember you are a representative of the Lord
Jesus Christ—even if you’re just a chorister or a RS photographer.
We all come from different circumstances, and we have different experiences and different personalities and different talents. The Lord knows this. He knows what each of you needs and he will
call you to a position that will help you grow and expand. He will call you to a position that will give
you opportunities to help others to grow and change and expand. And you may not get to see that and you may
never know the impact that you had on the lives of others. And that’s ok. We still serve.
(Left this part out of my talk to cut the time down.) Last week in Sunday School we
were talking about the prophet and apostles and in a video Pres. Hinkley made
the comment that non of the apostles had chosen that career path. I thought about that. Each of them had chosen a career path, they
are doctors and lawyers and educators and accountants and all kinds of careers,
but none of them had set out to become an apostle or prophet of God. The same is true for us. We really don’t come to church expecting to
be the Relief Society president or the gospel doctrine teacher, but each of
these callings have to be filled to help the ward function and to help the
members gain stronger testimonies and a myriad of other purposes. And the Lord needs us to accept those
callings.
Proverbs 3:5 ¶Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own dunderstanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy cpaths.
In Mosiah:
Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings and He will direct them for good.
Who He calls He qualifies.
We must trust God that He will help us. I have
truly seen God’s hand in my life. I have
learned so much about the gospel and about the church. My testimony has grown tremendously. I have gained confidence in myself and have
learned so much about myself. I have
gained more love for people than I ever thought was possible. We are truly blessed to be members of a
church that gives us so many opportunities for growth. We don’t have a great cathedral to meet in
each Sunday, but we are divided up into small enough congregations, that we can
get to know each of our members and reach out to each one in friendship and
love by serving them.
Where e’er thou art, act well thy part.
Pray, Study and Go to Work.
THIS IS THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST! WE ARE A BLESSED PEOPLE to be a part of this
great work! I love you and look forward
to getting to know you new people. I
love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
I love my husband and support him.
He loves each of you as well. Where e’er thou art, act well thy part.
