This young man—who already understood the
fatherhood of God—had come face-to-face with the reality
of the brotherhood of man. And he had caught the vision
of the 107th section of the Doctrine & Covenants.
“Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and
to act in the office in which he is appointed, in
all diligence” (D&C 107:99).
It’s true that we’re sometimes asked to
work with people who are not as experienced or as
gifted or even as committed as we would like. It’s
also true that, no matter where we are on the
experience-gifts-commitment scale, someone, somewhere
was patient and loving enough to help us along.
That’s precisely what the Lord expects. He never promised
that serving him and his children would always be
fun or convenient or easy. He promised only that it
would be worth it.
– Rodger Dean Duncan
Challenge:
The people I lead have some fears and need
to be trained in some skills. How can I prepare them
to be more proficient in their duties?
Opportunity:
The new missionaries arrived. They were
nervously anticipating the work before them. We fed
them dinner, gave them a blessing, let them bear their
testimonies and they prepared for their first day
in the mission. The following morning my assistants
spent four hours teaching them some of the procedures
and proselyting skills necessary to do contacting.
Then the new missionaries met their companions who
told them, “Here’s where we’ll work and here’s where
we’ll baptize.” We sang the mission song and sent
them out on the streets with their new dialogues—questions
they could use to start up a gospel conversation.
The missionaries went out, then returned
bubbling with enthusiasm. They had found people actually
willing to listen to a discussion, actually willing
to accept a copy of the Book of Mormon and read it
and have a return appointment to discuss how they
felt about it. It was exciting. So many missionaries
would come out with fear and doubts, but once they
had been taught, once they had been trained and once
they had practiced the things they had been taught,
their fears were overcome. They were full of love,
they were prepared, they had the knowledge, and being
faithful missionaries, the experience of door-to-door
and street contacting caused them to overcome all
fears.
In all leadership roles, we must remember
that people need to participate in order to overcome
fears and doubts. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, many
people are less active simply because of their lack
of involvement, and people don’t want to be involved
because they’re fearful. Fear can be overcome with
faith, love, knowledge, preparation and an experience
where they can practice the things they’ve been taught.
– Ed J. Pinegar
Quotes Worth Remembering
As
all of us blend into the programs of the Church, it
behooves us to set goals for ourselves in order to
reap the blessings of self-improvement and excellent
performance in given assignments. – Marvin J. Ashton
3
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in
a good cause, and do many things of their own free
will, and bring to pass much righteousness.
–
D&C 58:27
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth
it not, to him it is sin.
–
James 4:17
For
ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done
the will of God, ye might receive the promise. –
Hebrews 10:36
Note:
The excerpts of Leadership for Saints posted
on Meridian are only a fraction of the contents of
this 349-page book. To learn more about this ground-breaking
book and to order copies, click
here.
©
by Rodger Dean Duncan & Ed J. Pinegar, All Rights
Reserved
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