Are we grateful for our responsibilities?
As Mormon began a sermon to a group church members, he acknowledged that he was only able to speak to them because of God’s grace and His will, manifest in “the gift of his calling unto me” (Moroni 7:2). In an earlier chapter, Moroni spoke of “the gifts and callings of God” (Moroni 3:4), but here, Mormon identifies his calling itself as a gift.
Mormon’s words remind me of King Benjamin’s similar acknowledgement. In his final address to his people, Benjamin reminded the people that he was just like them, but that he had been “suffered by the hand of the Lord” to be their king and had been “kept and preserved by his matchless power, to serve [them]” (Mosiah 2:11). He later said, “Even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly while attempting to speak unto you, but the Lord God doth support me, and hath suffered me that I should speak unto you” (Mosiah 2:30).
I once heard a church leader say the following in a training session: “I’ve heard some of you speak longingly of the time when you’ll be released from your callings. I wish you wouldn’t do that.” He went on to say, “When I am released from my current calling, I will feel many things. One of them is sorrow: I will miss this opportunity to serve.”
When we see our responsibilities as gifts, we tend to do a better job. We work harder at them and are more conscientious. Mormon talks later in the chapter about the ineffectiveness of doing things grudgingly. (See Moroni 7:6-10.) When we serve out of a reluctant sense of obligation, we will never be as productive as we will when we serve with a sense of gratitude and love.
On multiple occasions, President Thomas S. Monson quoted the following passage by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore:
I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was duty.
I acted, and behold—
Duty was joy.
“The Sacred Call of Service,” General Conference, April 2005; “The Call of Duty,” General Conference, April 1986
Today, I will be grateful for the responsibilities I have been given. I will recognize them for the gift that they are, and I will strive to fulfill them willingly, not grudgingly, so that I can be effective and joyful in my service.
Thanks for these true words!
Amee Roome 704.699.6070
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Thanks for the comment, Amee! I’m grateful for your example of fulfilling callings enthusiastically and conscientiously, because you see them as gifts from God. Have a great day!
I like this: “I once heard a church leader say the following in a training session: ‘I’ve heard some of you speak longingly of the time when you’ll be released from your callings. I wish you wouldn’t do that.’ He went on to say, ‘When I am released from my current calling, I will feel many things. One of them is sorrow: I will miss this opportunity to serve.’
“When we see our responsibilities as gifts, we tend to do a better job. We work harder at them and are more conscientious.”; I am not boasting in anyway, I do my best to embrace humility; but over the 40 plus years since I was baptized I have always felt honored to have been given so many opportunities to serve; whether it was cleaning the meetinghouse or being in the bishopric; sure there were times when initially I may have felt “inconvenienced” to respond to such opportunities, however, when the service was completed I have always felt genuine satisfaction, never have i felt regret or cynical about what was accomplished but always cherished the feeling of doing my duty to help but mostly feeling a “smidgeon” of hope that what I did was pleasing to my Heavenly Father. On a slightly different note the quote from Moroni 7 verses 6-10 are a bit unsettling: “6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. 7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness. 8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God. 9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such. 10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift.” Unfortunately, my 71 year old mind needs a little help understanding these verses. Might you be able to help me understand them using a metaphor or an analogous interpretation with real and current world illustrations?
Thanks for the comment, Ronald. I’m glad you enjoyed this post.
Regarding your question about Moroni 7:6-10, I liked it so much that I wrote a new post about it. Here’s a link to the post:
https://bookofmormonstudynotes.blog/2024/12/10/doing-good-and-being-good/
I hope my analysis and thoughts about that passage are useful to you in your study.