The Blessing of Work

The story is told of Sharru Nada, a slave.  In his concern over being forced to work on the walls of the city, a hard and grueling task, he consults with another slave, Megiddo, who tells him the secret to being a successful slave:

When no buyers were near, he talked to me earnestly to impress upon me how valuable work would be to me in the future: “Some men hate it. They make it their enemy. Better to treat it like a friend, make thyself like it. Don’t mind because it is hard. If thou thinkest about what a good house thou build, then who cares if the beams are heavy and it is far from the well to carry the water for the plaster. Promise me, boy, if thou get a master, work for him as hard as thou canst. If he does not appreciate all thou do, never mind. Remember, work, well-done, does good to the man who does it. It makes him a better man.”

Sharru Nada heeds this advice and becomes very successful, first as a slave and then eventually as a free man.  (see “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George S. Clason).

When Adam was cast out of the Garden of Eden, he also learned this important lesson: “And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said…cursed shall be the ground for thy sake…By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread…” (Moses 4:23&25)

Heavenly Father knows how important it is for us to work.  In this scripture, Adam was told that the ground would be cursed for his sake.  One interpretation of this is that Adam would be required to work in order to eat–and that this work would be good for Adam (“for thy sake” being interpreted as being “for thy good”).

How many people do you know that dislike work?  How many people have you associated with who believe they just have to do enough to not get fired or who let others do the work and avoid as much as possible?  How far do these people usually go?

I believe that one of the keys to an abundant life–and truly one of the best things in life–is to learn to work hard.  I learned this lesson as a missionary in Brazil.  As missionaries, we set our own schedule, we decide who we are going to teach, and we determine our own work load.  The missionaries who were most successful were the ones who were teaching more and had busy schedules.  I had one companion who did not like to work hard.  He made sure we had ample time in between appointments “so as to not be late” and he was particularly fond of taking a nap after lunch.  We also had a part-member family that just needed to get some legal things cleared up before they could get baptized.  My companion loved to stop by every night because they always had cookies for us–we rarely taught them anything but he could always justify it (at least to himself) because the wife was technically an investigator.  Lets just say that our companionship wasn’t the best and that we didn’t find a whole lot of success in our labors.  On the contrary, I was transferred into one area where I had a junior companion who loved to work.  We were out and running as soon as we could in the morning and we worked all day long–and sometimes even on our preparation day.  I didn’t last long in that area before I was transferred out; however, that was my most successful area and one of my fondest memories as a missionary.  This lesson served me well later in school and currently in my employment.

Our Savior taught of the value of work as well when He was on the Earth for He said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17).  He also commanded us “Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garment of the laborer.” (D&C 42:42) and again He said, “Now, I, the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them” (D&C 68:31).

Truly work is a blessing–and we should view it as such.  Indeed, work is one of the principles whereupon successful families are established and maintained (see The Family: A Proclamation to the World).  I love work and I know that it is important for our present life as well as our life in the eternities.

So what are your thoughts about work?  How do we make it less of a drudgery and more of a blessing?

“[A]ll the multitude, with one accord, did go forth”

When the Savior appeared to the people in the New World (as recorded in The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 11-30), He taught them His gospel.  After what must have been a very long day of teaching (I imagine the people might have felt similar to the way you feel at the end of a conference or a seminar where your brain is stuffed and it feels like you just can’t put anything else in), Jesus tells them to go home and ponder on the things that He taught and that He would return and teach them some more (see 3 Ne 17:1-4).

How would you feel, after having waited all your life for the coming of the Savior to have Him appear and teach you?  How would you feel if He then told you that He was leaving?

I don’t know about you, but I would be sad to see Him go–and I would want Him to stay longer.  That is exactly what happened (see 3 Ne 17:5).  Our loving Savior looked around Him and realized that they wanted Him to stay–and so He felt compassionate on these people and, I imagine, wanted to help alleviate their suffering.  As He always does, and still does today, He then asked the multitude of people (around 2,500 of them) to bring forth their sick and afflicted.

I love what the Book of Mormon says happened next:

And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted…and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him.  And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him… (3 Ne 17:9-10)

In my mind’s eye, I picture an old man, frail with age, blind and lame, being lead by his son to the feet of Jesus and Jesus healing him.  What effect do you think that would have on the old man?  What effect do you think that would have on the son?  I also picture a worried father, carrying an infant who has a rare disease, timidly approaching the Savior, full of hope that his child will be healed.  I picture a sister, who has labored long to help provide for her family, leading a loved sibling who is deaf to the Master and witnessing that miraculous healing.  I imagine a host of these types of stories–and one by one Jesus heals them.  The crowd of those who were healed, and those dear to them who lead them to the Savior, grows but slowly gives way as each individual is brought forth and healed.  One by one it happens.  The afflicted are healed.  The individuals who witness these miracles are touched.  Joy unites families as they rejoice in the workings of our Redeemer.  Tearfully, husbands and wives, children and parents, embrace at this miracle.  Can you also see it?  What are the expressions on the faces of those in this crowd?  How do they feel?  For those who are healed, how do they feel about our Savior?  How do they feel about those that brought them to the Savior?

Our Savior lives and heals today.  His healing power isn’t in the superficial and temporary healing of physical ailments–though indeed He still does that.  In our day, we witness this miracle as individuals are brought, one by one, to the knowledge of our Redeemer.  Both those that are brought and those that do the bringing rejoice together (see D&C 18:10-16) over this modern-day miracle.

I love our Savior.  I want to be one of those who does the bringing.  I want to bring and bring and bring.  I know that He heals us, spiritually, and helps us return to our Father in Heaven.  He can and will heal you!

What are your thoughts?

To Act and Not Be Acted Upon part II

For this week’s post, I wanted to continue on the theme that I started last week in order to expand upon my thoughts.  I wanted to include these ideas last week but my post was already quite long and I needed to end it.  In any case, I also wanted to bring in the teachings of Jesus and His servants in order to help us draw nearer to our Savior–because ultimately that is the only way we can find lasting happiness and is truly the very best in life.

When Jesus appeared to the people in the Western Hemisphere (as recorded in The Book of Mormon), He taught them many of the same things that He taught those in Jerusalem (because His gospel is always the same).  One important lesson, known as the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament and the Sermon at the Temple in The Book of Mormon, helped us to understand a little more about our power to choose how we will respond–and indeed that we have this power and can control it.

Sure we know that we shouldn’t kill, that was part of the Law of Moses; however, Jesus taught us that we shouldn’t even get angry with our brethren (see 3 Ne 12:21-25).  Now that is a hard law to live by!  How many of us are guilty of just getting angry?  How easy is it to “lose” our tempers?  The world would have us believe that getting angry is natural and even uncontrollable.  I have even heard people tell me that it is bad to try to control your anger because then you just pent it all up inside and eventually it will explode.  However, I believe that our Savior only gave us commandments which we can keep–why would He tell us to do something which He knew we wouldn’t be able to do?

The truth is we have the power of choice!  We can CHOOSE whether or not we will act out of anger or whether or not we will control those angry impulses. Is that possible?  President Thomas S. Monson, our living prophet today, definitely thinks so.  He said, “No one can make us angry. It is our choice. If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry. I testify that such is possible.”  What an amazing thought!  This counsel doesn’t just apply to men, even though President Monson delivered the address to a gathering of the priesthood.  When we choose not to control our anger, we are choosing to be acted upon; however, we can live the higher law and we can choose to act–to control our anger.

In fact, anger can drive the Spirit away, as we see in this episode from Joseph Smith’s experience in translating The Book of Mormon:

During this time, Joseph Smith learned that the divine gift was with him only when he was worthy to be guided by the Spirit. David Whitmer recounted: “One morning when [Joseph Smith] was getting ready to continue the translation, something went wrong about the house and he was put out about it. Something that Emma, his wife, had done. Oliver and I went up stairs, and Joseph came up soon after to continue the translation, but he could not do anything. He could not translate a single syllable. He went down stairs, out into the orchard and made supplication to the Lord; was gone about an hour—came back to the house, asked Emma’s forgiveness and then came up stairs where we were and the translation went on all right. He could do nothing save he was humble and faithful.” (Chapter 9: Gifts of the Spirit,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),116)

The same is true for adultery (and, by association, fornication).  Jesus taught that we can control these emotions and not lose ourselves to lust (see 3 Ne 12:27-30).  This is another one of those powerful emotions that some in the world would claim we have no control over, but wherein the Savior is inviting us to act and not be acted upon.  When we choose to be acted upon, we let go of control and give in to these desires–or even make room for them–to the utter destruction of our souls.  When we choose to live the higher law and choose to act, we choose to be in control.  We choose not to let our thoughts wander, we choose not to view pornography, and we choose to conduct ourselves according to the highest standards of chastity.  This includes those who suffer from same-sex attraction or who feel a strong desire for intimacy outside the bonds of marriage.

I believe that we have a choice.  I believe that we were made to act and not merely be acted upon.  Please join me in becoming better and finding the best in life as we choose to have control and exercise our agency!  I am interested in your comments–please take some time to share with me your thoughts.  Have a tremendous week!