Thoughts on Service

When individuals are baptized and confirmed as new members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they make two covenants with God. First, they promise to serve Him, and second, they promise to keep his commandments (Mosiah 18:10). King Benjamin taught his people that the way we may serve God is by serving our fellowmen (Mosiah 2:17). This truth applies whether our fellowmen be members of Christ’s Church or not, whether they be living or deceased.

For the sake of emphasis, let us consider in this writing service opportunities in three possible areas: church callings among our fellow Saints; service among non-members with whom we are often related, befriended, or associated; and work in behalf of those of our kindred spirits who are deceased.

Members

We should accept the callings that come to us. We should not think of ourselves as being too busy or too old to serve. We should not stop growing and serving as long as we possess the necessary mental and physical faculties. We should always do our best to magnify our Church callings. We should study the scriptures or some gospel writing every day. Exaltation or eternal life should be our goal, and we should never stray from actively pursuing that objective.

Non-members

The second great commandment is that we love our fellowmen as we do ourselves (Matthew 22:39). The opportunities in this area are legion. In some cases, our employment may be relevant to this goal. Others may be involved in humanitarian roles within our communities in an effort to return some of the benefits the surrounding community provides to its members. Within the ranks of our relatives, our friends, our associates, and the community-at-large opportunities to strengthen, encourage, inform, and comfort are always present. We need only to exercise love and some initiative to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Those who are deceased

The opportunities to serve our kindred dead are so numerous that every one of us can and is obligated to be meaningfully involved in this work. With personal initiative and prayerful consideration of our opportunities, we will be directed toward some aspect of family history and temple work wherein we may satisfy our obligation to be “saviors on Mount Zion” (Obadiah 1:21) and enjoy the satisfying understanding that we are participating in a very important work.

Qualifying ourselves

In a revelation, Hyrum Smith was told to prepare himself before expecting to be called into the Lord’s service (D&C 11:21). For us, this preparation must be both religious and secular in nature. From our youth, we are taught the truth of our origins, the importance of mortality, our eternal possibilities, and our responsibilities towards others. Granted this understanding, we should prepare ourselves mentally, spiritually, and physically for our earthly labors both within the Kingdom and the world in which we live. As such, we will need a keen understanding of gospel principles, a maturing love for all of God’s children, a willingness to sacrifice ourselves in the service of others, and a working knowledge of such secular fields as history, language, the arts, technology, and human relations.

The blessings of service are also personal. If we lose ourselves in the Lord’s service, He does bless us. In fact, He is never in our debt. We are always in his debt because of the blessings He pours out upon us (Mosiah 2:20-25). If we are personally troubled by the challenges of mortality, the saving balm is to turn our attention to serving others. Our personal healing will follow.

Our Father in Heaven and his Son, Jesus Christ, know us personally, as individuals, and the priesthood and auxiliary work in which we are engaged is directed in fact by them, even at times in considerable detail. If we will trust in the Lord, we may rely on his divine assistance as we go about serving in our families and communities. Our professional, family, and church preparations will allow the Lord to use us in the building of his Kingdom on earth in places and in ways we never imagined.