A Work For Me

I listened to a discussion about Abraham Lincoln, and I was really impressed by this statement that he made shortly before being elected president: “I know there is a God and that he hates injustice and slavery.  I see the storm coming and I know that His hand is in it.  If he has a place and a work for me, and I think he has, I believe I am ready.  With God’s help I shall not fail.”  He knew that his mission would be to help bring about the end of slavery, and that’s exactly what he did.  This determination of his makes me wonder what the work God has for me is.  Surely God has a great work for all of us, if we are ready and can put our trust in Him.      

                God stated that His work was to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).   Whatever great work the Lord has for each one of us to accomplish in this life surely is a subset of His overarching work.  Abraham Lincoln’s role in bringing to pass the end of slavery surely helped in a major way to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of God’s children as millions of slaves and their descendants would have the ability and freedom to exercise their agency and receive the ordinances of the gospel.  In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord made this interesting statement to Hyrum Smith about his work: “Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind, and strength” (D&C 11:20).  I have no doubt that the Lord expects the same for each of us—our work is to keep His commandments with all of our heart.  But I don’t think that the “commandments” here refers only to the general commandments given to the Saints as a whole.  We each have to seek to understand the will of God concerning us in our individual circumstances and then our “work” is to do it “with all [our] might, mind, and strength.”  For example, one of the very first things that the angel Moroni told the boy Joseph was that “God had a work for [him] to do” (JSH 1:33).  Joseph was then told all about the Restoration and what was in store for him to do.  Oliver Cowdery was told specifically about his work: “Behold the work which you are called to do is to write for my servant Joseph” (D&C 9:4).  Sidney Rigdon was told as well that he had a work to do: “I have heard thy prayers, and prepared thee for a greater work” (D&C 35:3).  Thomas B. Marsh was told, “I, the Lord, have a great work for thee to do, in publishing my name among the children of men” (D&C 112:6).  Each of us surely has a similar work to do that is tailored just to us that we might participate in some small way in the Lord’s “marvelous work.”