Finding Joy in Our Duties

Elder Gerald Lund quoted a stake president whom he met a long time ago."In addition to the usual concerns about transgression and apathy, I worry about some of our stalwarts. They know the gospel is true. They serve faithfully. But the joy is gone."

I was reading the Book of Mormon today and something caught my eye. Speaking of Laman and Lemuel, Nephi said:

"Now when I had spoken these words, they were yet wroth, and did still continue to murmur; nevertheless they did follow me up until we came without the walls of Jerusalem.' -1 Nephi 4:4-

Even though Laman and Lemuel murmured, they still followed Nephi to Jerusalem. I thought, 'That's interesting. Do we, as members of the Church, murmur or complain when we do service projects or do our callings?' Yes! So let me ask you, Are we not like Laman and Lemuel?

I wrote about this in my journal so I am just going copy from it.

"What then is the solution? Charity. If we have the true love of Christ, we want to serve the Lord and His children. We wouldn't feel obligated to do our 'duties' but merely serve others to show our love to God and others. We would want to bless the lives of others and help them come closer to God. Isn't this our goal/purpose as member of Christ's church? 'Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.' (Preach My Gospel, p. 1) If we truly desire this, we will develop charity and we will find joy in serving others." -An excerpt from June 15, 2012 entry-

Let me repeat what Elder Lund quoted, "In addition to the usual concerns about transgression and apathy, I worry about some of our stalwarts. They know the gospel is true. They serve faithfully. But the joy is gone." I hope that all of you find joy in serving your Father in Heaven and His children. I hope that I also have a change of heart so that everyone knows that I love them and love serving them.