Our Sphere

In one of his first talks in General Conference as the prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley said:  "This church does not belong to its President. Its head is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose name each of us has taken upon ourselves. We are all in this great endeavor together. We are here to assist our Father in His work and His glory, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere. No calling in this church is small or of little consequence. All of us in the pursuit of our duty touch the lives of others. To each of us in our respective responsibilities the Lord has said: “Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5).

I am grateful for his words and the reminder that we each have an important role to play.  Each one is very different, but so needed.  The prophet can't be the one to sit next to the lonely sister in sacrament meeting or invite the person we work with to come to church with us.  I believe that the Lord uses us and our unique personalities and talents and opportunities to build His kingdom in large and small ways.  The small ways are "no less serviceable" as President Howard W. Hunter taught.  For some reason I've wondered about my place and purpose and "sphere" lately and have felt a little bit like I'm spinning my wheels, but this quote has helped me remember that we need to "act well our part."

No one else can make the same difference that we can.  As we diligently do our best with the opportunities we've been given and seek to do the Lord's will I know we'll be happy and blessed and be a blessing to others.  It's not a competition or a comparison but remembering who we are and being ourselves.  Obviously we should be trying to improve ourselves along the way and work to find out and fulfill our missions, but I really think that if we are simply being real, genuine, and have a sincere desire to do His will we will be able to assist in His work.  "If [we] have desires to serve God [we] are called to the work" (see D&C 4:3).  He knows us and loves us and we are enough when we're doing our best.