Eyring - Act in All Diligence - April 2010

President Eyring speaks during the Priesthood session in April 2010.  The recent publication of the Fulfilling My Duty To God booklet prompted him to speak about being diligent in our priesthood service.  He speaks to the Aaronic Priesthood and Melchizedek Priesthood brethen both.  To the young men he says:

• You will become more diligent as you feel the magnitude of the trust God has placed in you.
  
• Your priesthood allows you to offer the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper to the members of His Church today. That is the same privilege the Savior granted the Twelve Apostles in His mortal ministry. He did it again when He called twelve disciples after His Resurrection to lead His Church. The Lord Himself, as described in the Book of Mormon, provided the emblems of His infinite sacrifice and administered them to the people. Think of Him and how He honors you when you perform your priesthood service. As you remember Him, you will be determined to perform that sacred service, as nearly as you can, as well and faithfully as He did.

He encourages us to take our priesthood service to the next level and realize that not only are we to do our duty as outlined in the scriptures, it is our ultimate goal to become like the Savior.  Becoming like the Savior is the ultimate goal of priesthood service.

• Like the Aaronic Priesthood, the Melchizedek Priesthood is more than a trust to do what the Lord would do. It is an invitation to become as He is.
  

Sometimes we feel that we have accomplished all we can do in our calling.  Sometimes we think we deserve a rest of a break from serving others.  President Eyring discourages this mindset and gives us things to help us through this period in our life.

• We are to learn our duty from the Lord, and then we are to act in all diligence, never being lazy or slothful. The pattern is simple but not easy to follow. We are so easily distracted. Studying the daily news can appear more interesting than the priesthood lesson manual. Sitting down to rest can be more attractive than making appointments to visit those who need our priesthood service. When I find myself drawn away from my priesthood duties by other interests and when my body begs for rest, I give to myself this rallying cry: “Remember Him.” The Lord is our perfect example of diligence in priesthood service. He is our captain. He called us. He goes before us. He chose us to follow Him and to bring others with us.

President Eyring says that the Savior gives him courage to continue on.  He reflects on the Savior's earthly mission and his diligence to serve even after his earthly mission was done.  Even after His death, he still worked to bring salvation to those that had passed before Him.

• The Savior’s example gives me courage to press on. His labors in mortality were finished, but He entered the spirit world determined to continue His glorious work to save souls. He organized the work of the faithful spirits to rescue those who could still be made partakers of the mercy made possible by His atoning sacrifice.
  

He gives us a promise that as we serve and are faithful, we will see our hearts changed and we will become more and more like the Savior.

• By faithful service and through His Atonement, we can come to want what He wants and be what we must be to bless those we serve for Him. As we serve Him long enough and with diligence, we will be changed. We can become ever more like Him.

Finally, he offers this advice to all of us.

• Ponder deeply and diligently in the scriptures and in the words of living prophets. Persist in prayer for the Holy Ghost to reveal to you the nature of God the Father and His Beloved Son. Plead that the Spirit will show you what the Lord wants you to do. Plan to do it. Promise Him to obey. Act with determination until you have done what He asked. And then pray to give thanks for the opportunity to serve and to know what you might do next.

I think we all have felt the need for a period of rest after we have given our hearts and souls to a calling within the church.  This period of rest my be short as the Lord needs your skills and abilities to help in other parts of His vineyard.  In those moments of need, President Eyring encourages us to rely on the Lord and ask for His assistance to be diligent in fulfilling all that we have been asked to do.  The Lord will lift the burden off our shoulders as we are faithful to Him.  I have seen this occur in my life and in the life of others.  With work, I have very little time to spend on my calling but I have turned to the Lord for assistance and He has made ways to accomplish both tasks that I have.  I am grateful to know that God knows my struggles, my needs, and my limitations, and yet, continues to bless me with His love and support.