Quotes on Accepting
and
Magnifying Callings - 2:
"I know sanctification
comes not with any particular calling, but with genuine acts of
service,
often for which there is no specific calling."
Glenn L. Pace - "Confidence in the Lord"
- Ensign, May 1985, page 78
"If
you will accept every call that comes to you within the Church, you
will
grow in a remarkable and marvelous and wonderful way. With
responsibility
comes growth, and the Lord will magnify you and make you equal to every
responsibility which is given you."
President Gordon B. Hinckley - From
member
meeting, Guam, Jan. 31, 2000
"A limit on what you will do puts a limit on what you can
do."
Dexter Yager
"I
was present at a solemn assembly when David O. McKay was sustained as
President
of the Church. President J. Reuben Clark Jr., who had served as First
Counselor
to two Presidents, was then sustained as Second Counselor to President
McKay. Sensitive to the possibility that some might think that he
had been demoted, President Clark said: 'In the service of the
Lord,
it is not where you serve but how. In the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called,
which place one neither seeks nor declines.'"
Boyd K. Packer
- "Called to Serve," Ensign, Nov. 1997, p. 7
"In the kingdom, the greater our responsibilities,
the
greater
is our need to see ourselves as servants."
Spencer W. Kimball (Ensign May 1979,
page
107)
He (the man of
Christ)
expects a variety of assignments in the Church; some carry the thrills
of making a beachhead landing deep in enemy territory, and others
involve
“minding the store” back home. When he sings, “I’ll go where you
want me to go, dear Lord” (Hymns, no. 75), it
is not only a promise to go to a Nineveh, but it is also a pledge to
stay
at his present post.
Neal
A. Maxwell - April 1975 General Conference "The Man
of
Christ"
"Whatever our calling, regardless of our fears or anxieties, let us
pray and
then go and do."
"He (the Lord) expects each of us to be faithful members of the Church;
to do what we are asked to do; to move the work forward; to serve
wherever
we are called to serve, and build the kingdom in the world.
President Gordon B. Hinckley —
From
member meeting, Jakarta, Indonesia, Jan. 28, 2000
"God
does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our
availability,
and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability!
"It's
Service, Not Status, That Counts" - Neal A. Maxwell
-
July 1975 Ensign
"There is no finer
way
to demonstrate love of God than by serving Him in the positions to
which
we may be called. Occasionally, the reward for that service will be
prompt,
and we'll see the light in the eyes of the person whom we have
helped. Other times, however, the Lord will
let us wait a little while and let our reward come another way."
Thomas S. Monson
"Live the Good Life," [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book
Co., 1988], p. 111-112
"It
does not require a calling more than being a member to nourish by
reaching out in kindness."
"Calls will stretch you, often at the
start and always over their course, but He will give you the Holy Ghost
to be your companion."
"Through humble
prayer, diligent preparation, and faithful service, we can succeed in
our sacred callings."
"The Savior will let you feel the love He feels for
those you serve. The call is an invitation to become like Him."
"I
urge you to discern through the Spirit your divinely given capacities."
General Conference, October 2003
Elder Richard G. Scott, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
"A new calling can beckon us away from
comfortable routine and from competencies already acquired."
Neal A. Maxwell - “Willing to
Submit,” Ensign, May 1985, 70
"Every Latter-day Saint knows
that to be found in the discharge of his duty makes him a happy
man, and when he is not in the discharge of his duty there is
an uneasiness about him which makes him feel that something is wrong."
Matthias F. Cowley
"General Conference Reports", p. 39 - April 1902
"This is the Church of Jesus
Christ, and He leads it. No assignment in it need ever overwhelm
you if you know that and listen for the Master's voice."
Elder
Henry B. Eyring - "Ears to Hear" - Ensign, May
1985, p. 76
"Within your sphere of
responsibility you have as serious an obligation as do I within my
sphere of responsibility. Each of us should be determined to
build the kingdom of God on the earth and to further the work of
righteousness."
President Gordon B.
Hinckley - General Conference, October 2003
"(In your callings) you have
access to more than your natural capacities, and you do not
work alone. The Lord will magnify what you say and what you do in the
eyes of the people you serve. He will send the Holy Ghost to
manifest to them that what you spoke was true. What you say and
do will carry hope and give direction to people far beyond your natural
abilities and your own understanding."
Henry B. Eyring, "Rise to Your Call," Ensign, Nov. 2002, 77
Topic:
Two Reasons To Serve
"Officers in the Church of Jesus Christ are called
for two distinct purposes: First and foremost, to serve the
people; and, secondly, to gain the development and enlarged
understanding which always follow earnest service in a responsible
position. It is an honorable privilege and a personal benefit to
be allowed to serve in an official position in the Church; and an
office, whatever it may be, should be accepted in a spirit of grateful
appreciation."
John
A. Widtsoe, "Priesthood and Church Government," p.199
Howard W. Hunter:
"I think we should be aware that there can be a spiritual danger to
those
who misunderstand the singularity of always being in the
spotlight.
They may come to covet the notoriety and thus forget the significance
of
the service being rendered. As students, you are at a crucial
juncture
in your lives when life-shaping judgments are made and future courses
set.
You must not allow yourselves to focus all the fleeting light of
popularity
or substitute that attractive glow for the
substance of true, but often anonymous labor that brings the attention
of God even if it does not get coverage on the six o'clock news.
In fact, applause and attention can become the spiritual Achilles' heel
of even the most gifted among us.
Topic:
Spiritual
Preparedness
"In our Church work
it is hard to be as spiritually prepared as we need to be. Sometimes
others think that if we are where we are supposed to be and are
attending our meetings that we are doing our best. However, we know if
we are faking it. It takes great effort to be spiritually inspiring to
those about us. It means regular daily study, pondering, and prayer
about the scriptures. It means not losing our cool in a tense
situation. It means never giving in to anger or cutting words. It means
being thorough in our reports, in our lesson preparation, in our study
of the manual and job description for the position we accept.
"At times we
are thrown suddenly into positions that seem too big for us and for
which we have little preparation. The Lord stimulates our growth this
way.... The Lord blesses us far beyond our natural ability and
experience. However, it has been my experience that he expects us to
quickly exert ourselves and acquire the things we need. He gives us a
little time to improve our management skills and detailed knowledge so
that we don't have to rely upon him for everything. We'll always need
inspiration in these areas we couldn't possibly understand without his
help."
"So much depends upon our willingness to make up our minds, collectively and individually, that present levels of performance are not acceptable, either to ourselves or to the Lord. In saying that, I am not calling for flashy, temporary differences in our performance levels, but a quiet resolve to do a better job, to lengthen our stride."
Spencer W.
Kimball, Regional
Representative's Seminar, 3 Oct. 1974
"The overwhelming joy of
conversion or a new calling is often followed by feelings of being
overwhelmed with duties and doctrines. The first joyous feelings are
real and give one much-needed initial momentum. But the genuine
exhilaration is soon followed by the need to perspire and to pedal."
Neal A.
Maxwell, "Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward,"
President Thomas S. Monson:
"If any brethren within the sound
of my voice feel unprepared, even incapable of responding to a call to
serve, to sacrifice, to bless the lives of others, remember the truth:
'Whom God calls, God qualifies.' He who notes the sparrow's fall
will not abandon the servant's need."
"Tears,
Trials, Trust, Testimony" - Ensign, May 1987, p.44
"Now, some of you may be shy by
nature, perhaps feeling yourselves
inadequate to respond affirmatively to a calling. Remember that this
work is not yours and mine alone. It is the Lord’s work, and when we
are on the Lord’s errand, brethren, we are entitled to the Lord’s help.
Remember that the Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed
upon it."
"God doesn't call the qualified, He
qualifies the called."
"As we follow that Man of Galilee—even the
Lord Jesus Christ—our personal influence will be felt for good wherever
we are, whatever our callings."
President Thomas S. Monson - Ensign, May
2004, 20
"Your calling is to bless lives. .
. . Just the way you smile or the way you offer to help someone can
build their faith."
Elder Henry B. Eyring - Ensign, Nov.
2002, 76
"You can have the
utmost assurance that
your power will be multiplied many times by the Lord. All He asks is
that you give your best effort and your whole heart."
Elder Henry B. Eyring, "Rise to Your Call" - Ensign,
Nov.
2002, 78
Quotes
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