A Great Work

Yesterday President Nelson addressed new mission leaders, couples who will soon be departing to lead the missionaries in their assigned fields of labor in countries across the globe for three years. He bore witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the divine tutoring he received to establish the work of the Lord in this dispensation. He focused on how the Lord and other heavenly messengers taught the prophet for two reasons: “First, to bear my personal witness that this is God’s work, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that Joseph Smith is the prophet of this last dispensation. A testimony of the Prophet Joseph’s pivotal role in the Restoration is crucial for all of us who are preaching the Lord’s gospel. A testimony of the Prophet Joseph’s pivotal role in the Restoration is crucial for all of us who are preaching the Lord’s gospel. Second, to declare that you, too, can and will be guided by heaven in your work as you seek direction, guidance and inspiration from on high.” He encouraged them to stress the pivotal role of the Prophet Joseph Smith in ushering in the dispensation of the fulness of times to their missionaries. President Nelson also stressed the need for them to be directed by the Lord and receive revelation from the Lord in the work that they will do: “I plead with you to do the spiritual work necessary to receive such direction and promise you that, as you do, the Lord will shower direction, confidence and peace upon you and your missionaries.” As I read his instructions to these new mission leaders I realized my need in my home—my own little missionary training center—to similarly help my children gain a testimony of the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph. I also must seek to be personally guided by the inspiration of heaven to teach them and lead them to become the people the Lord wants them to become.

                One of the scriptures that President Nelson quoted was the famous statement by Moroni to young Joseph about what lay ahead of him in his life. Joseph described Moroni’s visit in these words: “He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do” (JSH 1:33). God had a work for Joseph to do—including the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon, establishing the church, sending forth missionaries to the world, and restoring the priesthood with its ordinances and covenants—and he spent his days trying to fulfill that mission God had for him. I hope that I can help my children understand that God has a work for them to accomplish in their lives as well. Each of us have unique gifts and talents given us by the Lord and He has a mission for us to perform on this earth if we will consecrate our lives to Him. For example, the Lord said to Sidney Rigdon, “Behold, verily, verily, I say unto my servant Sidney, I have looked upon thee and thy works. I have heard thy prayers, and prepared thee for a greater work. Thou art blessed, for thou shalt do great things” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:3-4). To Thomas B. Marsh the Lord similarly said, “Let thy habitation be known in Zion, and remove not thy house; for I, the Lord, have a great work for thee to do, in publishing my name among the children of men. Therefore, gird up thy loins for the work” (Doctrine and Covenants 112:6-7). I love the declaration of Nehemiah as he sought to rebuild and strengthen Jerusalem after the return of the Jews from Babylon. When his enemies sought to get him to come out of the city to meet them he said, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3) The Prophet Joseph, Sidney Rigdon, Thomas B. Marsh, and Nehemiah all had a great work that the Lord wanted them to accomplish, and surely it is the same for each of us: God has a work for us to do if we will gird up our loins and be led by Him. I hope especially that I can see past the “weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature” in my children and instead focus on the incredible potential they have to accomplish their great work for the Lord in their lives (JSH 1:28). I know that like Ammon of old, “with the strength of the Lord [they can] do all things” (Alma 20:4).