The Wisdom to Discern

This last Sunday President Nelson spoke to all of the women of the Church about their influence in the world. As I listened to it, I commented to my wife that when President Nelson talks to the men he tells them they need to be better, and when he talks to the women he tells them how good they already are. He called for improvement from the brethren in a priesthood session of general conference a few years ago in these words: “Brethren, we need to do better and be better because we are in a battle…. Identify what stops you from repenting. And then, change! Repent! All of us can do better and be better than ever before…. Brethren, we all need to repent. We need to get up off the couch, put down the remote, and wake up from our spiritual slumber.” On the other hand, to the women in this most recent broadcast he praised them in these words, “I am deeply grateful for you and feel indebted to you. So much of the good this Church accomplishes—and so much of the good that happens in the world—takes place because of you! Thank you for your devotion to the Lord as well as your efforts to ennoble others. I know how much the Lord loves you and depends upon you. I marvel at your faith and sensitivity to things of the Spirit. I am inspired by your diligence, dynamic leadership, and your ability to see a need and meet it.” Of course, I do not disagree with him, and such praise of the sisters of the Church is certainly merited and the call for men to get up off their couch and repent is surely still needed!  

                President Nelson did also invite the sisters to continue to improve with these words: “So, today, I invite you to make the scriptures your personal Liahona, the temple your place of refuge and recalibration, and your personal prayers the way you learn where the Lord needs you to be that day. Over time, you will be astonished by how He will guide you to be exactly where you can lead, guide, and walk beside someone who needs you.” Surely those principles are valid for all of us, and despite the endless distractions of the world we need to stay focused on communing with the Lord through scripture study, prayer, and the temple. Those will always be the answer to how we can learn His will and hear His voice. President Nelson then left a blessing upon the women of the Church: “To that end, I bless you with increased spiritual discernment and the ability to find joy in offering relief to others. I bless you with the wisdom to discern what is needful and not to run faster than you are able. I bless you with the courage to live up to your divine privileges as a covenant daughter of God. I bless you to feel deeply that Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, know you and love you. They sent you to earth now because you are vital to the kingdom of God now! I bless you to realize that your divine gifts as a daughter of God give you the power not only to change lives but to change the world!” Those are blessings that we all need, especially the “wisdom to discern what is needful and not to run faster than you are able.” There always seems to be more in a day that we are supposed to do than we have time to do, and so we need the wisdom and inspiration to help us see what really needs doing and what can be left undone. In addition to scripture study, prayer, and the temple, his comments suggest that on the top of that list should be helping others and offering relief to those in need. He alluded to this statement from King Benjamin: “And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength.” What is interesting about that invitation is that it was specifically given in the context of serving others; these are the words that directly preceded it: “I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants” (Mosiah 4:26-27). There is far more to be done to help those in need than we can do individually, and we cannot do more than we have strength, but we should still “be diligent” in trying to offer help and relief to others. We need the discernment of the Lord to see how we can best serve and bless someone, and then no matter how small our efforts, we will be doing our “part… in building up the kingdom of God.”