Cast Into the Lord's Storehouse

This week we studied Doctrine and Covenants 81-83 as a part of the Come, Follow Me program. The manual says this: “In several passages in Doctrine and Covenants 81–83, the Lord invites us to help people in need around us.” One of these that it highlights is this passage: “And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord. 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” (Doctrine and Covenants 81:4-5). I love that invitation, and I read something this week that illustrates well this principle. Sister Sharon Eubank told this story last year: “Conner Mantz and Clayton Young are friends, training partners, former BYU runners, and Latter-day Saint returned missionaries. On February 3 in Orlando, Florida, they secured the two guaranteed spots on the Olympic team bound for Paris, France. Mantz was favored to place in the top three, but commentators were skeptical Young would do as well. The two friends ran with each other for the whole race. Somewhere around mile 24, Mantz hit a wall. He didn’t feel well; he didn’t think he could finish. His training buddy, Clayton Young, saw what was happening and said to him, ‘Just fall in behind me and follow me, I’ll get you there.’ They ran the last two miles that way and when they got to the ribbon, the commentators were saying, ‘Oh they’ll jockey now, we’ll see which of the two of them has the greater competitive spirit to win.’ What they couldn’t see was Clayton saying to Conner, ‘Go ahead. This is yours.’ And Mantz, after drafting behind Young for the last few miles, crossed the finish line first. Young came in second and together they made the Olympic team.” What a powerful example of following this counsel by the Lord to strengthen the feeble knees! Mantz and Young both went to the Paris Olympics where they placed 8^th and 9^th, once again running together.

               The Lord also invited us to do good to our fellow beings by contributing to His storehouse. In one section the Lord said this: “And the storehouse shall be kept by the consecrations of the church; and widows and orphans shall be provided for, as also the poor” (Doctrine and Covenants 83:6). A physical storehouse is where we keep food in order to help those in need who are hungry. The Lord wants us to use our means to give to those who do not have enough for their families. We can do that in His Church by paying fast offerings which are then used to stock the storehouse or give directly to those who do not have adequate money for food or shelter or clothing. The Lord expanded on this concept of a storehouse in another revelation when He spoke about a more general storehouse: “And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church—Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God” (82:18-19). We can put our individual talents in the Lord’s “storehouse” so they can bless the lives of others. In other words, just like we might donate food to be given away at a bishop’s storehouse, we can offer our abilities to be used in His kingdom as they are needed. As we do that, we will be able to seek the interest of our neighbor by sharing the gifts He has given us.