Personal Ministry: Part I (Some Assembly Required)

A few days before last weekend's General Conference, I read in Third Nephi:

"Behold, [Jesus] stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants."

Well timed, no?

Every conference talk begs discussion. Every talk.
But today I want to discuss the idea of ministry implied in Christ's words above.

We often talk of the Savior's ministry. How he "went about doing good." How he healed bodies, lifted burdens, washed feet, and attended to individuals one by one. He commissioned his apostles to minister in the same way - as "servants" and stewards. And it seems obvious that he expects a similar ministry from each of his followers:

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13: 34-35

This isn't a new idea.
I know.
But it's an idea that has been clarified and emphasized in my life and reading recently and I want to write a few thoughts down.

I'm not going to try very hard to make a point.
You'll have to take these piecemeal ponderings for what they're worth, assemble them as you will, and then prepare yourself for Part II - More of the Same - which is coming next week.

(All that being said: good luck!)

Have you ever read Carol Lynn Pearson's poem The Steward? It describes a man whose father entrusts him with a piece of land and, teaching him about stewardship, says:

"When...we get together again
I'm going to call you to account
I'm going to say 'Heber did you make it more
Than you found it? Did you watch it
And tend it? Did you make it grow?
Is it everything it can be?
That's what I'll want to know."

Heber lives true to his Father's commission, and spends his life improving the land.
But Heber also had a wife. A wife who played the violin. Music was her passion. And after several years of practicing (performing only twice a year in church), Margaret was invited to join the town symphony. And she was thrilled.

But Heber said no.

Margaret promised to wake up at four a.m. to accommodate the extra commitment. She vowed she wouldn't let her household duties or her hungry babies suffer neglect.

But Heber said no.
For various, reasonable sounding reasons.

She...seemed to take it all right,
Though she was quieter than usual
And more and more an afternoon would pass
Without her practicing.

Eventually she gave up her playing altogether and the violin grew dusty on a shelf. In old age, as the couple prepared to move from their home:
[Margaret] slowly made her way to the porch
And put the violin with the things
For the children to sort through.
"Will any of them remember?
I don't think so."

At the same time,
Heber gave one last look at his lands
And he was pleased
He could face his father with a clear mind
"Here's my stewardship," he would say
"And I think you'll find
I did everything you asked
I took what you gave me - and I made it more.

A heartbreaking, thought-provoking poem. A great lesson that our stewardship over souls is more important than our stewardship over...well, anything else.

I remembered Heber and Margaret while I was doing a little pre-Easter reading in Matthew last week. Among other things, I read about the servants and their talents (you know, "unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one").

I've always chalked that parable up as a nice, "neglect not the gift that is in thee" lesson. Which I think it is. I believe the Lord expects us to cultivate our personal abilities and talents and gifts. But with thoughts of stewardship and ministry on my mind, last week's reading brought an additional interpretation: couldn't the Master's gift of "talents" also represent a gift of trust over souls? Couldn't talents mean our children? Our spouses? Our neighbors and friends? "Unto one he gave five...to another two, and to another one." Some of us have large spheres of influence, and some of us have small. Spheres certainly overlap and change over time. But don't we ultimately believe that God will hold us accountable for how we have (or have not) increased the value and built up the worth of the souls in our various stewardships? Couldn't that be part of this parable? A command to invest in each other?

I love what the Lord says to John Whitmer in Doctrine and Covenants 15:

"For many times you have desired of me to know that which would be of the most worth unto you. ... And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen."

And amen.

More musing on this subject next week...
Cheerio!