My question today was inspired by the following passage, which I also quoted in yesterday’s post:
The keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name (2 Nephi 9:41).
I’ve been thinking all day about the fact that there are some things the Savior can’t delegate. Only He could suffer for our sins. Only He could willingly give up His life and take it up again, inaugurating the resurrection for all of us. And only He can open the gate which admits us to the path leading to eternal life. He can’t subcontract any of those tasks. He asks us, as His disciples, to do many other things on His behalf, but when it comes to His central role as our Savior and Redeemer, “He employeth no servant.” As the hymn says, “He only could unlock the gate of heav’n and let us in” (“There Is a Green Hill Far Away,” Hymns, 194).
So the question I’ve been pondering is this: What are some things that I cannot delegate? And by recognizing that no one else can do those things, would I prioritize those tasks differently?
Here are some of the nondelegable tasks that have come to mind:
- Praying
- Exercising
- Spending time with my wife and children
- Learning
- Repenting
- Recognizing and responding to personal revelation
Today, I will pay particular attention to the activities in my life that no one else can do on my behalf. I will prioritize those activities, dedicating focused time and attention to them.
Good point I could add serving but that is covered by spending time with family and responding to revelation. Thank you again!
I agree that some service can’t (shouldn’t) be delegated. I left it off the list because it is often appropriate to enlist the help of others in service.
I did think of another one which can never be delegated, and which I just added to the list: repenting.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment!
Thank you for your post. I was studying how to manage my time more effectively and googled ‘book of mormon time management’ and your post was near the top. I appreciate your insight on what we shoudn’t delegate and am going to focus my energies on that list. On my list, I added gifts of the Spirit, talents, and my mortal mission but understand the first two could be included under learning. Thank you.
Daniel Morris
Thanks for the comment. I’ve had a number of good conversations about this post. Different people will have different lists of non-delegable activities. The important thing is to identify those activities and intentionally dedicate time to them. I’m glad you found the post useful!