Elder Henry B. Eyring: Choose this day to diligently serve the Lord
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There is danger in the word "someday" when what it means is "not this day," said Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve.
"The scriptures make the danger of delay clear. It is that we may discover that we have run out of time. The God who gives us each day as a treasure will require an accounting. We will weep, and He will weep, if we have intended to repent and to serve Him in tomorrows which never came or dreamt of yesterdays where the opportunity to act was past.
"This day is a precious gift of God. The thought, 'Someday I will,' can be a thief of the opportunities of time and the blessings of eternity."
Speaking Sunday afternoon, Elder Eyring said the scriptures are filled with examples of wise servants of God who treasured the day they were in. Even the Savior, who was without sin, set an example of the need not to procrastinate.
"A morning prayer and an early search in the scriptures to know what we should do for the Lord can set the course of a day," he said. "We can know which task, of all those we might choose, matters most to God and, therefore, to us. I have learned such a prayer is always answered if we ask and ponder with childlike submission, ready to act without delay to perform even the most humble service."
On most days, doing what matters most will not be easy, Elder Eyring said. "It is not supposed to be. God's purpose in creation was to let us prove ourselves....
"Hard as we knew the test would be, we felt joy because we had confidence that we could pass it. Our confidence came from knowing that Jesus Christ would come into the world as our Savior. He would overcome death. He would make it possible for us to be cleansed of our sins by qualifying for the effects of His Atonement."
Elder Eyring said everyone will need His help to avoid the tragedy of procrastinating what they 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 is a danger for everyone, he said. "It can come to naive youths who feel that there will be plenty of time in the future for spiritual things."
It can also affect the seasoned adult, he said. "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.'
Elder Eyring said the Lord can help Church members see the danger of feeling they have done enough. "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 the mighty change to come. But we know that we will have days enough if only we don't waste them."
For those discouraged by their circumstances and tempted to feel they cannot serve the Lord this day, Elder Eyring made 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....
"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."
