I
loved Elder Eyring's talk in this session! I want to quote all of it, but I'll confine myself to a few favorite parts. He starts out by citing a bunch of scriptures that talk about the importance of "this day" and warn against delaying our choice to commit to God. Then he talks about how easy it is to forget the urgency of "this day":
All of us will need His help to avoid the tragedy of procrastinating what we must do here and now to have eternal life. For most of us the temptation to delay will come from one or both of two feelings. They are polar opposites: one is to be complacent about what we have already done, and the other is to feel overwhelmed by the need to do more.…
Complacency can affect even the seasoned adult. The better and the longer you serve, the more likely that the tempter can place this lie in your mind: “You have earned a rest.” You may have been the Primary president in your little branch twice. Or you may have worked long and hard on your mission and sacrificed so much to serve. Or perhaps you were the pioneer in the Church where you live. The thought may come: “Why not leave the service to the new people. I have done my part.” The temptation will be to believe that you will return to serve again, someday.…
This rings so true because I have felt it to some degree myself, and I've seen the results of it in other places. Abe served in a little branch on his mission where there were a number of members who just…got tired of doing everything. Of always being the one with a calling. Of always have to help others. Of never really being appreciated or having a rest. And it totally makes sense! I suppose in a Zion society no one would have to bear those lopsided burdens! But…the trouble is (and this is what Elder Eyring points out), if we start thinking that way, we actually are depriving ourselves of blessings, actually limiting our own ability to have joy in God's service. Elder Eyring says:
It is hard to know when we have done enough for the Atonement to change our natures and so qualify us for eternal life. And we don’t know how many days we will have to give the service necessary for that mighty change to come. But we know that we will have days enough if only we don’t waste them.…
In the hardest trials, as long as you have the power to pray, you can ask a loving God: “Please let me serve, this day. It doesn’t matter to me how few things I may be able to do. Just let me know what I can do. I will obey this day. I know that I can, with Thy help.”
Then he continues:
For those who are discouraged by their circumstances and are therefore tempted to feel they cannot serve the Lord this day, I make you two promises. Hard as things seem today, they will be better in the next day if you choose to serve the Lord this day with your whole heart. Your circumstances may not be improved in all the ways which you desire. But you will have been given new strength to carry your burdens and new confidence that when your burdens become too heavy, the Lord, whom you have served, will carry what you cannot. He knows how. He prepared long ago. He suffered your infirmities and your sorrows when He was in the flesh so that He would know how to succor you.
The other promise I make to you is that by choosing to serve Him this day, you will feel His love and grow to love Him more.…
By serving Him this day, you will come to know Him better. You will feel His love and appreciation. You would not want to delay receiving that blessing. And feeling His love will draw you back to His service, wiping away both complacency and discouragement.
It's so fitting that God's love—which we feel more and more as we serve Him and His children—is the cure for both extremes, for the complacency and for the discouragement. It's exactly what every person needs. And it's available to us at all times! We just have to begin somewhere (this day!), reaching for that love by making some effort to serve the people around us.
Other posts in this series:
