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Lesson Review
Teachings of the Prophets of the Church – Lorenzo Snow
Chapter 18 – Church Leadership and Selfless Service
President Snow said, “To become as God would wish us, we must accustom our minds to rejoice in seeing others prospered as ourselves; rejoice in seeing the cause of Zion exalted by whatsoever hands Providence may order; and have our bosoms closed against the entrance of envy when a weaker instrument than ourselves is called to greater honor; be content in magnifying a lesser office till called to a higher; be satisfied in doing small things and not claim the honor of doing great ones.”
What is a calling? More important that being an assignment or a responsibility, a calling is an act of service.
The Savior told his apostles to “feed my sheep.” [John 21:16-17]. He continued to say this until his apostles felt sorrowful that he should continue to call upon them in this manner. But he said “Feed my sheep.” That is, “Go forth with your whole heart, be devoted wholly to my cause. These people in the world are my brethren and sisters. My feelings are exercised towards them. Take care of my people. Feed my flock. Go forth and preach the gospel. I will reward you for all your sacrifices. Do not think that you can make too great a sacrifice in accomplishing this work.”
President Snow promised that if we do this, then God will give us revelation upon revelation, inspiration upon inspiration, and teach us how to secure the interests of those we serve in matters pertaining to their temporal and spiritual welfare.
What does it mean to magnify our calling? It means to expand. Marion G. Romney said that we magnify our callings when we serve with “full purpose of heart.”
How do we magnify our callings? For one thing, humility is necessary. We need to ask, what does the Lord want us to do in our callings, not what we want to do for our own glory.
President Snow said, “If a presiding elder will only seek to become as he may be and ought to be, ridding himself of selfish principles, and always act for the good of his people, and be humble, and not seek to do too much in a little time, or be too great until grown, he will never be at a loss how to magnify his office properly, nor will ever lack the power of God to bring about His wise purposes.”
We also need a motivating desire to magnify our callings. We need to be a good example. We need to prepare. We need to understand our assignment. We need to study and know the scriptures and the gospel. We need to pray always and ask for the Holy Spirit to be with us after we’ve done our part. We also need to have love – love for the gospel, love for the people we serve, and then we can serve the people we love.
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