I gave a lesson today on Duty. I have included the text of it here below.
{Begin Lesson
We are going to talk about duty today. I am going to ask a lot of questions in this lesson and we are going to discuss them somewhat, but for the most part they are for us to ponder in our hearts if our lives are in balance. Maybe you will find after pondering and praying about these things that you life is in balance as best you can based on your circumstance and that’s great, but let’s keep our hearts and minds open as we discuss these things today.
What are some synonyms for Duty
What are our duties
If we have agreed to teach a lesson or bring something to an activity or be at a service project, whose responsibility is it to make sure the task gets completed?
Now you might have an instance where someone doesn’t call you to remind you that you had that you had agreed to do this thing. The person who didn’t call you is accountable for your failure to do your duty, correct?
If you have a seminar that you have to attend for school or work, does your teacher or boss call you the night before to remind you or is it expected that you be a responsible for your own calendar and make sure you get there on time?
Occasionally one of our siblings will give birth to a child and there will be a subsequent baby blessing that we want to be a part of. You should skip the blessing and come teach your lesson or bring the bread you signed up to bring for the second Sunday social, true? Probably not, but whose duty is it to see that your responsibility is fulfilled, since you are going to be out of town?
If you take on an assignment, it is your responsibility to fulfill the assignment or make sure that there is someone to take your place. No matter how big or small you feel the assignment is.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We all have a lot of responsibilities that draw on our time and sometimes some of our duties don’t get enough time devoted to them. If we are not spending enough time on some of our duties we should first determine which things are not our duty and trim them down.
What are the things that take a lot of your time that are not necessarily your duty.
After we trim the things that are not our duty then we can assess which duties are taking more time than necessary.
Are we spending too much time at work? Do we work more hours than are required just to climb the ladder of success more quickly? Often employers require us to work overtime. Sometimes we need to volunteer for overtime in order to provide for our families. We should assess if we volunteer for more overtime than we can afford to still be able to do our other duties?
Are we spending too much time with school? Are we taking more classes
than we have time or money for?
It is a worthy goal to get through school as quickly as possible or to provide financial security for our family as quickly as possible, but ponder what it means to be possible. If we are sacrificing essential parts of our life to make it possible then it should not be on our list of possibilities.
Elder Oaks stated, “We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.” (Good, Better, Best, October 2007 General Conference)
Let’s consider a couple of scriptures
Are we sacrificing some of our duties now, so that we can do our duty more easily later? Are our wives having to take on our duties because we have chosen to run faster than we have strength.
“By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)
“Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)
“In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World) Do we find “other circumstances” that are of our own making that we could change that cause our wives to have to take on our responsibilities?
What are some duties that our wives might have to take on if we do not manage our time wisely?
{Begin Lesson
We are going to talk about duty today. I am going to ask a lot of questions in this lesson and we are going to discuss them somewhat, but for the most part they are for us to ponder in our hearts if our lives are in balance. Maybe you will find after pondering and praying about these things that you life is in balance as best you can based on your circumstance and that’s great, but let’s keep our hearts and minds open as we discuss these things today.
What are some synonyms for Duty
What are our duties
- Work
- School
- Home teaching
- Fulfilling what we have agreed to do.
If we have agreed to teach a lesson or bring something to an activity or be at a service project, whose responsibility is it to make sure the task gets completed?
Now you might have an instance where someone doesn’t call you to remind you that you had that you had agreed to do this thing. The person who didn’t call you is accountable for your failure to do your duty, correct?
If you have a seminar that you have to attend for school or work, does your teacher or boss call you the night before to remind you or is it expected that you be a responsible for your own calendar and make sure you get there on time?
Occasionally one of our siblings will give birth to a child and there will be a subsequent baby blessing that we want to be a part of. You should skip the blessing and come teach your lesson or bring the bread you signed up to bring for the second Sunday social, true? Probably not, but whose duty is it to see that your responsibility is fulfilled, since you are going to be out of town?
If you take on an assignment, it is your responsibility to fulfill the assignment or make sure that there is someone to take your place. No matter how big or small you feel the assignment is.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We all have a lot of responsibilities that draw on our time and sometimes some of our duties don’t get enough time devoted to them. If we are not spending enough time on some of our duties we should first determine which things are not our duty and trim them down.
What are the things that take a lot of your time that are not necessarily your duty.
- TV
- Video games
- Sports
After we trim the things that are not our duty then we can assess which duties are taking more time than necessary.
Are we spending too much time at work? Do we work more hours than are required just to climb the ladder of success more quickly? Often employers require us to work overtime. Sometimes we need to volunteer for overtime in order to provide for our families. We should assess if we volunteer for more overtime than we can afford to still be able to do our other duties?
Are we spending too much time with school? Are we taking more classes
than we have time or money for?
It is a worthy goal to get through school as quickly as possible or to provide financial security for our family as quickly as possible, but ponder what it means to be possible. If we are sacrificing essential parts of our life to make it possible then it should not be on our list of possibilities.
Elder Oaks stated, “We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.” (Good, Better, Best, October 2007 General Conference)
Let’s consider a couple of scriptures
- Mosiah 4:26-27
26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.
27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.
The scripture states that “ALL” these things must be done, but they have to be done in wisdom and order. Working 16 hours a day 7 days a week to have lots of money to impart to the poor wouldn’t leave much time for family home evening, date nights, schooling, or home teaching. - Doctrine and Covenants 10:4
4 Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end.
In this chapter the Lord is giving Joseph Smith a heads up about what is being done with the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon and where the work needed to go from there. One message I perceived in this verse was the Lord telling him that the work is important, so get it done at a reasonable pace. You are no good to the work if you are spent, nevertheless the work is important and be diligent.
Are we sacrificing some of our duties now, so that we can do our duty more easily later? Are our wives having to take on our duties because we have chosen to run faster than we have strength.
“By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)
“Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)
“In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World) Do we find “other circumstances” that are of our own making that we could change that cause our wives to have to take on our responsibilities?
What are some duties that our wives might have to take on if we do not manage our time wisely?
- Providing for the family
- Gathering the family for prayer, FHE, and so forth
- Protecting the home
End Lesson}
In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus reads from the words of Isaiah
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Isaiah 61:1-2
1 The Spirit of the Lord bGod is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Jesus tells the synagogue several stories from the scriptures about people who were not of Israel, yet they had greater faith than those in Israel in his day.
The content of the message is more important than the messenger. The messiah could come from where ever God sent him from. Leaders in the church can be anyone the Lord chooses.
The fishermen called by Jesus dropped their nets and went straight way and followed him. We should manage our responsibilities to follow the Lord?
Disciple means the follower of a discipline.
Apostle means a special witness or one sent forth.
“I wish to say something this morning of the apostleship and the importance of its perpetuation in the true Church of Jesus Christ. In so doing I speak not of the men who hold that office but rather of the office itself, a calling in the holy Melchizedek Priesthood which the Savior Himself has designated for the watchcare of His people and the witnessing of His name.
“In order to establish a church that would continue under His direction even after He was taken from the earth, Jesus "went . . . into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
"And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles."2
“Later on, Paul would teach that the Savior, knowing the inevitability of His death, had done this to give the Church a "foundation of . . . apostles and prophets."3 These Brethren and the other officers of the Church would serve under the direction of the resurrected Christ.
“Why? Among other reasons, so "that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."” (Elder Jeffery R. Holland, Prophets, Seers, and Revelators, October 2004 General Conference)
“The ancient Apostles were common men, and that was part of their credential. It had to be the Lord’s work because, given the magnitude of the work, it could not have been accomplished through uneducated fishermen. The same is true today. We are very ordinary men, and this work cannot prosper because of any capacities that we may have. It is the Lord’s work, it is His restored Church, and it is His direction that enables us to accomplish what He needs to have done.” (Elder David A. Bednar, Elder David A. Bednar Talks about the Ministry of an Apostle, August 25, 2010)
From the Bulletin
"Our testimony of gospel truth should be reflected both in our words and in our deeds. And our testimonies are proclaimed and lived most powerfully in our own homes. Spouses, parents, and children should strive to overcome any hesitancy, reluctance, or embarrassment about bearing testimony. We should both create and look for opportunities to bear testimony of gospel truths — and live them." Elder David A. Bednar, "More Diligent and Concerned at Home," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 19.
In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus reads from the words of Isaiah
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Isaiah 61:1-2
1 The Spirit of the Lord bGod is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Jesus tells the synagogue several stories from the scriptures about people who were not of Israel, yet they had greater faith than those in Israel in his day.
The content of the message is more important than the messenger. The messiah could come from where ever God sent him from. Leaders in the church can be anyone the Lord chooses.
The fishermen called by Jesus dropped their nets and went straight way and followed him. We should manage our responsibilities to follow the Lord?
Disciple means the follower of a discipline.
Apostle means a special witness or one sent forth.
“I wish to say something this morning of the apostleship and the importance of its perpetuation in the true Church of Jesus Christ. In so doing I speak not of the men who hold that office but rather of the office itself, a calling in the holy Melchizedek Priesthood which the Savior Himself has designated for the watchcare of His people and the witnessing of His name.
“In order to establish a church that would continue under His direction even after He was taken from the earth, Jesus "went . . . into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
"And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles."2
“Later on, Paul would teach that the Savior, knowing the inevitability of His death, had done this to give the Church a "foundation of . . . apostles and prophets."3 These Brethren and the other officers of the Church would serve under the direction of the resurrected Christ.
“Why? Among other reasons, so "that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."” (Elder Jeffery R. Holland, Prophets, Seers, and Revelators, October 2004 General Conference)
“The ancient Apostles were common men, and that was part of their credential. It had to be the Lord’s work because, given the magnitude of the work, it could not have been accomplished through uneducated fishermen. The same is true today. We are very ordinary men, and this work cannot prosper because of any capacities that we may have. It is the Lord’s work, it is His restored Church, and it is His direction that enables us to accomplish what He needs to have done.” (Elder David A. Bednar, Elder David A. Bednar Talks about the Ministry of an Apostle, August 25, 2010)
From the Bulletin
"Our testimony of gospel truth should be reflected both in our words and in our deeds. And our testimonies are proclaimed and lived most powerfully in our own homes. Spouses, parents, and children should strive to overcome any hesitancy, reluctance, or embarrassment about bearing testimony. We should both create and look for opportunities to bear testimony of gospel truths — and live them." Elder David A. Bednar, "More Diligent and Concerned at Home," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 19.
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