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Audience: Spotsylvania Ward Sacrament Meeting
Location: Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States of America Date: 21 July 2024 |
Introduce Myself
When I Was Upset With A Leader
– I had expected better.
– I truly felt they were in the wrong, I called them out on it, and completely unapologetic. That part frustrated me more than anything else.
– I am not blameless. I had lost my cool. Easy to see how they would get defensive.
– Something I wrestled with for weeks.
Hannah And Eli
– Eli was the priest at the temple. A bit of a combination of the Bishop and the Temple President.
– Eli and his two sons ran the temple. The sons had a bit of a reputation of being bullies. By no account were the sons good people.
– It is an interchange between Hannah and Eli that I want to focus on.
9 ¶ So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth.
13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.
16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
- Despite not being perfect, Eli was able to give a prophetic promise.
- Eli was able to mentor Samuel, one of the most awesome prophets in scripture.
No Perfect Tools
– When we think about church leaders, every instrument and tool the Lord has to work with is imperfect. It just is what it is.
– Including myself.
– The time I dealt with an objection during Stake business.
– My share of upset parents yelling at me. Their feelings are legitimate.
– I felt inspired to share all of this.
– Something I know and something I believe about church leaders, and I’ll pick on your Bishop.
– I don’t know him very well yet, but I already know he isn’t perfect.
– I truly believe that the vast majority of the time, he is going to be trying his best. He won’t be perfect about that either, but I do believe most of the time he’s doing the best he can.
How To Be A Better Instrument In The Hands Of Jesus Christ
– I want to talk about 3 ways we can be better instruments in the hands of Jesus Christ.
– Know what His work is
– Follow the Spirit
– Be anxiously engaged
Know His Work
– In Moses chapter 1, God shows Moses the creation of this Earth, and Moses saw all the children of men.
– A former member of Pharoah’s court was left saying to himself, “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.”
– Later, in verse 30, Moses calls upon God, saying, “Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so?”
– In verse 39, the Lord answers that question.
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
– To be an instrument in the hands of Christ means we are helping in this great work.
– The stated purpose of the church is to bring people to Christ.
– In 1981, Spencer W. Kimball divided the work of bringing people to Christ into a threefold mission of the church was to
– Proclaim the Gospel
– Redeem the dead
– Perfect the Saints
– Later, a fourth was added: Care for those in need
– More recently President Nelson has succinctly described the work as The Gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil.
– All of this work includes things like:
– Ministering to one another
– Inviting friends to church
– Serving in the temple
– Accepting and fulfilling callings
– Family history
– And the list goes on and on
– All of this work is most effective when you remember the purpose.
– When we remember the purpose things move from being a duty or a chore to an act of love and of joy.
– When you prepare a Primary lesson, or plan an activity, or reach out to a family to see how they are doing, I challenge you to do it remembering the purpose.
– Perhaps one way to approach our service in the church is to ask, how am I helping others and myself along the covenant path? What is the next covenant they need to make? What covenants do I need to be better at keeping?
– And perhaps a simpler way to approach anything we do, if we are being instruments in the hands of Jesus Christ is treat others as Jesus would treat them.
– Essentially, we become instruments in the hands of Christ, and we fulfill his purpose, when we love others.
Follow The Spirit And Be Anxiously Engaged
– My experience with Chik-Fil-A.
– I took something that didn’t belong to me.
– Nothing belongs to me, all is God’s
– This experience changed me.
– Whether a thought to do something good comes from my own thoughts or from the Spirit, it doesn’t matter. We should act on it regardless.
26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
27 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;
28 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.
– Our goal should to become more and more like our Savior.
– If we have a thought to do something good for somebody else, it coming from ourselves and acting on it is a sign you are becoming more like the Savior. If you don’t need the Spirit to be the one to tell you to do something is a good thing!
– When you have the thought to reach out to somebody, act on it!
– In Mosiah, chapter 4, Mosiah teaches how we should not judge those who are begging.
24 And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give.
25 And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless, otherwise ye are condemned; and your condemnation is just for ye covet that which ye have not received.
– I had always felt somewhat justified by this. That my heart was right.
– But I began to wonder.
– I used to say to myself, and even sometimes to somebody that approached me, “But I don’t have any cash.”
– Well, I could carry cash.
– Three experiences of giving.
– Had the thought, empty your wallet.
– Gave a woman a $20, saw her coming out of a store with a new pack of cigarettes, she came up to me, and asked me for more. I know people lie and don’t do wise things. But for me, the test has nothing to do with them, it has to do with me doing the right thing.
– Giving my groceries. I really do think he needed them.
– Experiences with opening my home to others. (Optional)
– You don’t need to do more than you are able.
27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.
Conclusion and Testimony
– Our Heavenly Father loves you. He wants you to be happy. He wants you to return to Him.
– He sent Jesus Christ to be our Savior. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can return and live with Our Heavenly Father forever.
– His work and his glory is our successful return to him.
– We can be instruments in the hands of Jesus Christ and be fellow workers with Christ in this great work.
– My testimony is that when we lose ourselves in serving others, it is in that process that we actually find ourselves.
– There is an immense joy when we act in love and see others and ourselves coming closer to Christ.