Diligence opens a pathway to personal progress
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"Well done thou Good and Faithful Servant" — Matthew 25:23.
Living in Kirtland, Ohio, has given me a great love and appreciation for the early Saints who embraced the gospel, worked, sacrificed and grew with the Church in those early days. As in the Parable of the Talents, they took the things the Lord presented to them and worked diligently to build the Kingdom. The things accomplished by so few in such a short time are a monument to their faith and hard work.
In the midst of their poverty and trials the Lord commanded, "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God," (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119).
This revelation is associated with the commandment to build the first temple of this dispensation in Kirtland. However, this wonderful recipe has come to mean much more to me as a plan for personal progress, as we strive to build ourselves, families, wards and our communities.
Each of us can build something of great value as we diligently strive to:
Organize: plan to improve some area of your stewardship.
Pray: counsel with the Lord for guidance and confirmation.
Fast: be willing to make sacrifices to follow the plan.
Faith: diligently carry out your plans.
Learning: from our mistakes, improve the plan.
Glory: recognize the hand of the Lord in all things.
Order: we continue to see improvement as we repeat the pattern.
God: we can reach a Celestial state in this area.
Each of us has a "stewardship" over those things the Lord has entrusted to us. By following the Lord's admonition to the early saints in Kirtland we can multiply and enlarge our stewardship.
Over the years I have observed two types of stewards. Caretakers cover the minimum requirements to keep things together but don't challenge themselves or take their situation to new levels. Caretakers return things just as they found them. Builders, on the other hand, take a calling or situation and seek the Lord's direction on how to expand or magnify. Builders work hard to return more to the Lord than what they started with. These are those diligent kingdom builders, striving to "Come Unto Christ" and bring others with them.
As another year approaches, 190 years since a young boy entered a grove, I ask myself, "What can I do to follow these great pioneer examples and make a difference this year?" It doesn't have to be something big, just my little part of what the Lord needs me to do.
Membership in this kingdom — discipleship — is not a "Spectator Sport." We all need to diligently strive to follow Christ and build His Kingdom as we daily "put our shoulder to the wheel."
Kent M. Packer is bishop of the Kirtland Ward, Kirtland Ohio Stake.
