JSH 1:50 I obeyed
It’s that simple—when the Lord directs we need to obey. That means to take action, “go and do as commanded.” (JSH 1:50) We can take courage and assurance in trusting that the Lord has a plan and that he is completely aware of all circumstances that surround our lives, and will lead us perfectly. “God had a work for me to do.” (JSH 1:33) We can be absolutely positively assured that the Lord will lead us perfectly as we seek after His leadership. “I took myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God” (JSH 1:29)
The Lord has “a work for [us] to do.” Which is going to require divine guidance achieved through our own kneeling in sincere petition to Heavenly Father. “I betook myself to prayer and supplication to the Almighty God for forgiveness of my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I might know of my state and standing before him.” (JSH 1:29) As we seek to know what the Lord needs us to do, we need to expect an answer. “I had full confidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I previously had one.” (JSH 1:29) The confidence that Joseph had acquired came from experience. He followed the words of James and knelt in prayer. The result was the first vision. This is the same process that we must go through in order to confidently KNOW that the Lord will answer us. This assurance allows us to be patient as we wait upon the Lord with confidence that he is with us.
One of my favorite stories is of a young boy, Lopez Lomong, stripped from his mother’s arms at the age of six while attending church in Sudan. Lopez recognized God’s hand in his life, even during the most difficult moments, when others were lost in despair. This gratitude and awareness that he practiced during the years of abduction, and then while in refugee camp, carried him confidently through the rest of his life. He held firm to the trust he had acquired and prayed with confidence that the Lord would respond.
God never let him down and he will never let us down either. “Five minutes didn’t give God much time to give me an answer, but I knew He already had a plan for my life. He was the one who gave me my gifts and dreams, and He was the one who brought me to America. ‘Oh God, hear my prayers. Let my cry come to You,’ I prayed. ‘I need to know what You want me to do, and I need to know fast.” (Lopez Lomong in His book Running for My Life pg. 138)
The Lord will answer our prayers, he has a work for us to do. We need to prayerfully go to him and ask him, “Help me to know who a I really am!” “What can I do today to help with the work.” There are many prayers we can pour into heaven, to help us accept the invitation to be part of the greatest-most important work going on right now. “And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.” (JSH 1:39) What exactly is this asking of each of us? That’s the magic question, we need to ask the Lord. God will open our minds so that we can see our mission for today. (JSH 1:42) We need to keep our desires pure and ask with sincerity. “I must have no other object in view…and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his kingdom.” (JSH 1:46)
“Family history and temple work have a great power, which lies in their scriptural and divine promise that the hearts of the fathers will turn to the children and those of the children will turn to their fathers. Woodrow Wilson stated: “A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about.” Well might this be said of families also: A family “which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about.” (Dennis B. Neuenschwander April 1999)
We need to take our responsibilities just as seriously as Joseph Smith did, “The same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge: that I should be responsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any neglect of mine…I would use all my endeavors to preserve them…they should be protected. I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict charges to keep them safe, and why it was that the messenger had said that when I had done what was required at my hand, he would call for them. For no sooner was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from me. Every stratagem that could be invented was resorted to for that purpose. The persecution became more bitter and severe than before, and multitudes were on the alert continually to get them from me if possible. But by the wisdom of God, they remained safe in my hands, until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand.” (JSH 1:59-60)
“You may have confidence in the Lord’s service. The Savior will help you do what He has called you to do, be it for a time as a worker in the Church or forever as a parent. You may pray for help enough to do the work and know that it will come.” (Henry B. Eyeing April 2000)
The adversary will throw every distraction possible at us to attempt to minimize our focus and cause us to put other priorities ahead of what the Lord has charged us with. All those attempts are in vain, however, if we keep our minds and hearts centered on what the Lord directs us to do. When we come to a crossroad that leaves us frustrated and confused, a simple prayer will give us the gentle instruction of what to do to avoid the wrong turn. The Lord needs us! He is laboring beside us, we just have to trust him to guide us and then OBEY!
-written by Sherri Jorgensen
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