PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT GOSPEL JUST MY TAKE ON THE GOSPEL!!
I had the opportunity to teach Young Women's today. When I was first called I was scared to death. I truly did not believe I could interact with these girls. I was certain I was supposed to be in Primary. Primary made sense to me, primary was safe, primary felt like home. I sobbed after the bishops' counselor extended the call to me. I truly did not know why the Lord would want me in the one place I never wanted to be. That was just over a year ago and my life has changed because of these girls. Who the Lord calls he qualifies. Interestingly enough I don't think I would be any good at primary. Young Women's makes so much sense and is my safe home now.
So I taught today on serving in our community. It was a great lesson. The girls came up with so many ideas and ways to serve and help others. I would've loved to have chatted on and on about my favorite topic. But church does end so we parted ways.
During Sacrament though I had pulled out my scriptures and I came across a scripture that really struck me. Moroni 6:9. Because my lesson I was thinking about dealt with service, this scripture stuck out in my mind. One of the questions in the lesson was: Why is it hard for some people to serve? There are many reasons and many of them are very valid. I've thought a lot about the Holy Ghost and his presence in my life and how I can more fully tune myself to hearing him. This scripture says by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, I was thinking about how I can use the Holy Ghost to help me know what the Lord requires of me for service. I've learned recently that I cannot solve everything nor can I blame myself for all the evil and suffering that is going on. Also through struggles of my own I have realized that struggling is good and I am thankful for the help that was given me but most of all I am thankful that the struggling could not be lifted, that I was required to participate and struggle. So how did so many know how to serve me?? The answer is the Holy Ghost. Okay, so the scripture lists 5 things that the Holy Ghost will lead to do.
(Please realize that this scripture is pertaining to church meetings. I am certain there are other things the Holy Ghost prompts us to do, it's just when I read the scriptures I am so myopic that I tend to think they all pertain to me.)
Preach
Exhort
Pray
Supplicate
Sing
So how did I link these to me and ways I can serve? Preach: To proclaim or make known. I can preach through my actions peace, strength, LOVE, understanding, etcetera. Exhort: to urge, advise, give caution. I don't know that I'm the best person to advise but if the Holy Ghost prompts me to say something then I should act upon that. Pray: to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to God. I love this one because there are so many trials in life that I can do nothing about. I truly cannot serve through my physical nature to lift burdens, however, prayer is something I can always do. When I pray for others I feel the Lord bless me with peace and I find myself closer to the person I have prayed for. Supplicate: to pray humbly. It's interesting that prayer would be listed twice. It must truly have a significant power. Supplication is different than prayer though. It requires humility. That's tough because that requires giving every ounce of it over to the Lord. Why does that scare me? He has my best interests in mind. He wants me to grow! He wants me to be back with Him. I think the biggest fear is that of the unknown (oh, yea of little faith). Look at me so weak, so worried about how much I will have to suffer. Supplication, praying humbly for myself and others. The final one listed is Sing: to tell about or praise someone or something in verse or song. There are many other definitions but since this is my blog I got to pick which one I wanted. I love this, sing!! It makes me think of the scripture that says: Mourn with those that mourn, comfort those that stand in need of comfort. And I would add and feel joy for those that are joyful. Singing can mean lots of things but when I think of singing I think of happy thoughts. Call me childish but I still love to sing. I have felt the Holy Ghost prompt me to sing. Music brings me strength, peace and closer to God.
So the question is why do some people choose not serve? One answer that came out is because they aren't sure how. I can see the truth in this. I can see the fear. Service can at times make us very vulnerable. The answer is that as I follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost he will show me how I can serve. I learned a lot this past few months and one gift I was given was the realization that I need to serve myself. I must preach, exhort, pray, supplicate and sing so that I can be strong enough to one day touch someone else's life with these truths.