Pingree - “I Have a Work for Thee” - October 2017

Elder Pingree of the Seventy speaks about the important work that God has for each of us to accomplish.  He first tells us that each of us has work to do that God expects of us.

• God has important work for each of us.
• Our Heavenly Father has specific and significant things for you and me to accomplish.
• These divine assignments are not reserved for a privileged few but are for all of us—regardless of gender, age, race, nationality, income level, social status, or Church calling. Every one of us has a meaningful role to play in furthering God’s work.

He points out four ways that we can discover what God has for each of us to do.  These four ways will help us learn what we need to accomplish.

FOCUS ON OTHERS

• We can approach decision points in our lives—like what to study, what to do for work, or where to live—in the context of helping others.

DISCOVER AND DEVELOP SPIRITUAL GIFTS

• Discover and develop spiritual gifts. Heavenly Father gave us these gifts to help us identify, perform, and enjoy the work He has for us.
• How do we come to know our gifts? We can reference our patriarchal blessing, ask those who know us best, and personally identify what we are naturally good at and enjoy. Most important, we can ask. He knows our gifts, since He gave them to us.

MAKE USE OF ADVERSITY

• Our trials help us discover and prepare for the work Heavenly Father has for us.
• We can use knowledge gained from difficult experiences to lift, strengthen, and bless others.

RELY ON GOD

• When we ask Him in faith with real intent, He will reveal our divine assignments to us. Once we discover them, He will help us fulfill those assignments.

Elder Pingree warns us that things can get in our way of discovering and learning what our ultimate responsibilities are.

A WORD OF WARNING

• Sin is perhaps our greatest stumbling block, dulling our sensitivity to the Holy Ghost and restricting our access to spiritual power. To perform the work Heavenly Father has for us, we must strive to be clean.
  
• Satan discourages us with feelings of inadequacy. He makes our work appear too difficult or intimidating. However, we can trust God! He loves us. He wants us to succeed.
  
• Satan may also coax us to view our work as less valuable than the work assigned to others. But every assignment from God is important, and we will find fulfillment as we “glory in that which the Lord hath commanded [us].”
  

In conclusion, Brother Pingree leaves us with this invitation.

• My beloved brothers and sisters, I invite each of us to “yield [ourselves] unto God … as instruments of righteousness.” Yielding ourselves involves letting Him know we want to be of use, seeking His direction, and accessing His strength.
  

This talk is so inspiring.  My ultimate goal in life is to make it easier for those that I love to return to Heavenly Father.  This talk lets each of us know that God has a special work for each of us to accomplish.  He has given us talents and placed people in our paths that will allow us to help return to Him.  Elder Pingree points out that the easiest way for us to know what God needs us to do is to reach our personal worthiness qualification and to ask God what He needs us to do.  Worthiness will allow the Spirit to communicate the things of God to us personally.  I hope we can all discover what God needs us to do to make the path easier for His children to return to Him.