Called For What You Can Become

In the most recent general conference Elder Schmeil spoke about becoming better disciples of the Savior. He told of the a conversation he had with President Nelson in which he asked for advice in his calling as a general authority. The prophet gave him this counsel: “You are called for what you can become.” I think this is often applicable to each of us in our callings; we aren’t called for our expertise or our talents or because we are already very skilled in doing what is asked of us. Rather, we are called because that’s what the Lord wants us to learn and for the skills and talents he wants us to develop. That’s how it was for me when I was called to play the organ in our sacrament meetings: I didn’t know how to play the organ at the time. I did play the piano, but I had a lot to learn and skills to develop. The Lord did not call me because I was an accomplished organist but rather because he wanted me to seek to become one. Surely that is the same for many of us in callings when we have to teach or lead or serve in ways that we aren’t comfortable with. The world gives accolades and positions for what we have accomplished; the Lord calls us in our weakness for what, through His help, we can in the future accomplish. He put it this way in one revelation: “Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:13).

               The Lord spoke of His servants in several other occasions as well as “weak.” In the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants He said this: “The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:19). Then in the preface, given at nearly the same time, He similarly said: “To prepare the weak for those things which are coming on the earth, and for the Lord’s errand in the day when the weak shall confound the wise, and the little one become a strong nation, and two shall put their tens of thousands to flight. And by the weak things of the earth the Lord shall thresh the nations by the power of his Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 133:58-59). So three times in these two verses He referred to His servants as “weak.” And then in one other revelation He said this to Joseph Smith: “For unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my wisdom through the weak things of the earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:1). As I consider this, on the surface it is not very flattering to be called weak by the Lord. I don’t believe, though, that the Lord is suggesting that His servants are always weak. Rather, He wants us to be humble and takes the weak and makes them strong through His power and grace. If we were to ask the question, Was Joseph Smith weak?, I think we would answer both yes and no. He was certainly weak when he was called as a prophet as a young boy by the Lord. But by the end of his life he was a powerful instrument in the hands of the Lord and performed miraculous works.  

Perhaps the famous verse in Ether 12:27 sums up best why the Lord calls us weak and what He can do with the “weak things” of the earth: “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” We are all weak in some ways, but we don’t have to remain so: He can make us strong as we overcome weakness through His strength and grace. Perhaps we might say that all of God’s children are weak; the servants of the Lord are those who recognize their weakness and turn to Him for strength. As President Nelson said, the Lord calls us each to become something better and we do that through humility and faith in Christ. Elder Schmeil summed it up this way: “[The Lord] has a great work for each one of us. Through prayer, scripture study, and action, we can unlock the blessings of heaven and become better followers of the Savior Jesus Christ.”