The Very Best

After Joseph Smith and many others arrived for the first time in Zion, the prophet received a commandment concerning the need to gather funds to purchase lands in Missouri. In order to make that happen, the Lord gave this command to Sidney Rigdon: “And I give unto my servant Sidney Rigdon a commandment, that he shall write a description of the land of Zion, and a statement of the will of God, as it shall be made known by the Spirit unto him; And an epistle and subscription, to be presented unto all the churches to obtain moneys… to purchase lands for an inheritance for the children of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:50-51). This was given on August 1, 1831, and after a short stay in Missouri many in the group subsequently returned to Kirtland. A few days after arriving back there, on August 30, Joseph received another revelation with some answers to questions about how to proceed to build up Zion. Sidney had by this time written his report as commanded, and Joseph wanted to know if it was acceptable to the Lord. This was the answer the Lord gave: “And now behold, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, am not pleased with my servant Sidney Rigdon; he exalted himself in his heart, and received not counsel, but grieved the Spirit; Wherefore his writing is not acceptable unto the Lord, and he shall make another; and if the Lord receive it not, behold he standeth no longer in the office to which I have appointed him” (Doctrine and Covenants 63:55-56). Apparently his writing was not accepted by the Lord, but he subsequently “humbled himself and wrote a description of the land of Zion based very much on this revelation and the previous ones” (Steven Harper, Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants). This was at last accepted of the Lord.

               This story has caused me to reflect on my own efforts to fulfill the commandments of the Lord. Recently I heard a teacher tell of an experience he had that also caused him to ponder his own spiritual efforts. He described the backbreaking work of installing new window wells, his current job. He told of the tremendous physical efforts he has to put forth in this process and how at the end of the day he is physically exhausted. He told of how at one point as he considered the difficulty of his job and how he gave so much of himself for it, he felt the Spirit ask him why he didn’t put forth the same kind of effort in spiritual matters. I believe this story of Sidney Rigdon shows that the Lord expects more than mediocrity when we strive to fulfill His commandments. Simply doing the minimum will not suffice—the Lord expects us to give spiritual matters as much weight and effort as our temporal responsibilities. President Hinckley said this: “I have been quoted as saying, ‘Do the best you can.’ But I want to emphasize that it be the very best. We are too prone to be satisfied with mediocre performance. We are capable of doing so much better.” Surely Sidney Rigdon learned from this experience where his first draft was rejected that he needed to do better for the Lord—and that he needed to depend more fully on the Lord. As we face our responsibilities in the Lord’s kingdom we must learn to give Him our very best no matter what the assignment. As we accomplish “all we can do” we will have His grace to help us do whatever is expedient in Him.