“A Lively Member”

When Frederick G. Williams became a member of the First Presidency of the church, he also became part of an organization called the United Firm, which had been established to help fund the work of the church. After instructing existing members of the Firm to “receive him into the order,” the Lord directed Brother Williams to “be a lively member in this order” (Doctrine and Covenants 92:1-2).

I’ve been thinking today about what it means to be a “lively member” of an organization. I think a lively member is observant, is an active participant, and feels a sense of responsibility for the success of the organization. I think such a member naturally finds ways to contribute and looks for ways to support other people in their efforts.

Lehi urged his sons, “Awake! and arise from the dust” (2 Nephi 1:14). Captain Moroni urged Pahoran to “be up and doing” (Alma 60:24). Sometimes the first step in being a lively member is simply to begin to do something.

This morning, I participated in a service project organized by my employer. There were a lot of us at this event, and I was given an assignment with very few instructions. It would have been easy to do very little with this assignment, but as I dove in and started working, I was able to figure out how to make the assignment work and how to add value to the activity. I think that is the spirit of being a lively member: catching the vision and proactively working to help realize it.

Today, I will recommit to become a more lively member in the organizations I am a part of, including my family, my church congregation, and my team at work.