Eyring - Rise to Your Call - October 2002

A young man stopped President Eyring in an crowded place and asked him if he had any advice on how he could succeed at his new calling as an Elder's Quorum President.  He didn't have time to chat at that time but told him that he would address his question at the next General Conference.  This talk is his response to this man's question.

President Eyring talks about needs for people to be trained in their callings especially new members who may have never seen or observed others performing their new calling.

• Thousands of members of the Church across the earth are called every week to serve, many of them recent converts. The variety in their callings is great, and the variety of their previous Church experience is even greater. If you are the one who calls them, or trains them, or simply cares about them, as we all do, there are some things to know about how to help them succeed.
  

Although new callings bring added responsiblities, the greatest thing they can have is the spirit in their lives to direct them.

• What they will need, even more than to be trained in their duties, is to see with spiritual eyes what it means to be called to serve in the restored Church of Jesus Christ. This is the kingdom of God on the earth. Because of that, it has a power beyond any other endeavor in which humans can engage. That power depends on the faith of those called to serve in it. And so, to everyone, man or woman, girl or boy, who has been called or who will yet be, I give you my counsel. There are a few things you must come to know are true. I will try to put them in words. Only the Lord through the Holy Ghost can put them deep in your heart.
  • First, you are called of God. The Lord knows you. He knows whom He would have serve in every position in His Church. He chose you. He has prepared a way so that He could issue your call.
    
    • You are called to represent the Savior. Your voice to testify becomes the same as His voice, your hands to lift the same as His hands. His work is to bless His Father’s spirit children with the opportunity to choose eternal life. So, your calling is to bless lives. That will be true even in the most ordinary tasks you are assigned and in moments when you might be doing something not apparently connected to your call. Just the way you smile or the way you offer to help someone can build their faith. And should you forget who you are, just the way you speak and the way you behave can destroy faith.
      

You will be guided by the Holy Ghost.  He will provide you insights and understanding beyond your natural abilities.

• The Lord will guide you by revelation just as He called you. You must ask in faith for revelation to know what you are to do. With your call comes the promise that answers will come. But that guidance will come only when the Lord is sure you will obey. To know His will you must be committed to do it.
  
  • Your obedience to the commandments, your desire to do His will, and your asking in faith will determine how clearly the Master can guide you by answers to your prayers.
    
    • Just as surely as the heavens were opened to Joseph Smith after he pondered the scriptures in faith, God will answer your prayers and He will lead you by the hand.
      

You are promised that the Lord will magnify your calling and give you greater abilities than you naturally have.

• Just as God called you and will guide you, He will magnify you. You will need that magnification.
  

Feeling overwhelmed is normal.  Relying on the Savior in this time is essential as you will never be able to accomplish the things of God without His help.

• There will be times when you will feel overwhelmed. One of the ways you will be attacked is with the feeling that you are inadequate. Well, you are inadequate to answer a call to represent God with only your own powers. But you have access to more than your natural capacities, and you do not work alone.
  
• God magnifies those He calls, even in what may seem to you a small or inconspicuous service. You will have the gift of seeing your service magnified. Give thanks while that gift is yours. You will appreciate its worth more than you can imagine when it is gone.
  

Time commitments are real.  We have obligations to family that stop us from spending all our time in the service of God.  Although we need to do all we can, the Lord understands that there are things that prevent you from doing everything you would like to do.

• You will feel at some time, perhaps at many times, that you cannot do all you feel you must. The heavy weight of your responsibilities will seem too great. You will worry that you can’t spend more time with your family. You will wonder how you can find the time and the energy to meet your responsibilities beyond your family and your calling. You may feel discouragement and even guilt after you have done all you could to meet all your obligations. I have had such days and such nights. Let me tell you what I have learned.
  
  • If I only think of my own performance, my sadness deepens. But when I remember that the Lord promised that His power would go with me, I begin to look for evidence of what He has done in the lives of the people I am to serve. I pray to see with spiritual eyes the effects of His power.
    

When the time comes for our release from callings, we need to be able to look back on our experience and admit we served with our whole heart and did all we could to help God's children on their journey.

• He asks is that you give your best effort and your whole heart. Do it cheerfully and with the prayer of faith. The Father and His Beloved Son will send the Holy Ghost as your companion to guide you. Your efforts will be magnified in the lives of the people you serve. And when you look back on what may now seem trying times of service and sacrifice, the sacrifice will have become a blessing, and you will know that you have seen the arm of God lifting those you served for Him, and lifting you.
  

We all have been called to serve in callings that were overwhelming to us.  The Lord knows we are not adequate to handle the responsibilities he places on us.  He has provided ways for us to draw on the powers of Heaven to make us better, to enhance our natural abilities, and to resolve timing conflicts in our lives.  Accepting a call to serve is not just about performing the calling, it is about putting our trust in God and His ability to make us something more than we are.