Don’t Miss This Devotional
Divine Responsibilities We Have as Disciples of Jesus Christ
From a devotional address, “Divinely Appointed Responsibilities, Heavenly Blessings,” given to students at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA, on March 2, 2021. For the full address, visit speeches.byu.edu.
As we strive to fulfill divine responsibilities as part of the Lord’s work, we will receive so many blessings from heaven.
What does it mean to belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
Many of us are familiar with an expression used by a company in numerous ad campaigns: “Membership has its privileges.”1 Well, we are not a secular organization; we are the restored Church of Jesus Christ. As such, if I were to articulate similar sentiments as a member of the Church, it might sound something like this: “Belonging brings blessings.” And yet there is more, isn’t there? Belonging brings responsibility as well.
Today I would like to identify responsibilities associated with our Church membership. I will then discuss in greater length heavenly blessings given to us as members of the Church that enable us to accomplish those divinely appointed responsibilities.
The responsibilities I want to share with you are listed in the Church’s General Handbook:
“The work of salvation and exaltation focuses on four divinely appointed responsibilities. …
“We come unto Christ and assist in God’s work by:
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Living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Caring for those in need.
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Inviting all to receive the gospel.
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Uniting families for eternity.”2
As we strive to fulfill these divinely appointed responsibilities as part of the Lord’s work, the Church provides a multitude of resources. These are blessings that are pouring down upon us from heaven. Some of these blessings result from covenants we make as Church members. Others bless the lives of all of God’s children.
The Responsibility of Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ
First, I would like to identify blessings available to accomplish the divinely appointed responsibility of living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
One of these is our accessibility to education. President Russell M. Nelson remarked: “I encourage each person, regardless of age, to continue to learn. Pursue whatever path will be most valuable to you and your family. You will be blessed as you do this. You will grow academically, professionally, and spiritually as you seek to enhance your education.”3
The Church is a substantial provider of the education that prophets have consistently encouraged. Today there are more than 30,000 students attending BYU. There are an additional 43,000 students who attend BYU–Idaho, BYU–Hawaii, and Ensign College. BYU–Pathway Worldwide provides certificates and degrees completely online to students from more than 150 countries around the world, many of whom otherwise might not have access to higher education. Its online enrollment is just over 50,000 students.
Spiritual education is also provided to students around the world. More than 700,000 students are enrolled in seminary and institute classes. In aggregate, more than 900,000 students are enrolled in some element of offering from the Church Educational System. What a blessing accessibility to education is in helping members of the Church live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Also, consider how the blessing of more than 20,000 meetinghouses populating the world is assisting us in our responsibility to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. The meetinghouse gives a place to gather, to participate in ordinances, and to feel a sense of fellowship and belonging.
The Responsibility of Uniting Families for Eternity
Second, I would like to focus on the divinely appointed responsibility of uniting families for eternity, which would be impossible without the blessing of temples dotting the earth.
Our dear prophet, President Nelson, leads and encourages our divinely appointed responsibility to unite our families for eternity. Besides encouraging temple worthiness and attendance, President Nelson is also announcing and overseeing the building of temples at a prolific pace. This truly exemplifies the principle that belonging brings blessings.
Consider the following invitation and promise:
My dear brothers and sisters, the assaults of the adversary are increasing exponentially, in intensity and in variety. Our need to be in the temple on a regular basis has never been greater. I plead with you to take a prayerful look at how you spend your time. Invest time in your future and in that of your family. If you have reasonable access to a temple, I urge you to find a way to make an appointment regularly with the Lord—to be in His holy house—then keep that appointment with exactness and joy. I promise you that the Lord will bring the miracles He knows you need as you make sacrifices to serve and worship in His temples.4
The Responsibility of Inviting All to Receive the Gospel
Third, let us now consider the divinely appointed responsibility of inviting all to receive the gospel—or missionary work—and heavenly blessings to accomplish that work.
Samuel Smith was called in June 1830 as the first missionary to serve in this dispensation. Hundreds of thousands of missionaries have served since that time.
In 1852, my fourth-great-grandfather, William Holmes Walker, who was married with children at the time, was informed that a mission call for him had been announced with instructions to depart as soon as possible to Cape Town, South Africa.
Elder Walker left his family, traveling for three months by horse and wagon to New York City and then sailing for 18 days to England. Preparations in England to go to Africa took two months. Boarding a boat in Liverpool, he sailed another 66 days for Cape Coast, Africa. From the time he departed Salt Lake to the time he arrived in Africa was 216 days! Aren’t we grateful for the example of the early missionaries of this dispensation and for their considerable sacrifice for the work?
It seems that each generation of missionaries is blessed to be able to stand on the shoulders of those who preceded them. Prior to the pandemic, there were approximately 68,000 missionaries serving. Missionaries were out among the people, engaging in traditional proselyting activities. Many had completed their MTC experience right here in Provo. Others may have been in one of nine other active MTCs, such as the one in the Philippines.
Today, in spite of the worldwide pandemic, the work moves forward. Missionaries diligently follow local COVID guidelines in the areas in which they serve. In some instances, they teach outside, socially distanced. In other locations in which greater restrictions are in place, missionary teaching originates from missionary apartments and is done virtually.
For some time now, newly called missionaries have completed their MTC training in an online virtual framework from their homes. The diligence of missionaries, with the support of their families and members combined with Church resources, blesses us to fulfill the divinely appointed responsibility of inviting all to receive the gospel. Belonging truly brings blessings.
The Responsibility of Caring for Those in Need
Finally, we have the divinely appointed responsibility as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of caring for those in need. Remarkable blessings in the form of resources are available to us, enabling the care for those in need.
Church support includes critical immunization campaigns around the world, including an important role in helping get COVID-19 vaccinations to those who might otherwise go without. The Church has provided significant support to displaced populations of refugees. This aid has ranged from basic relief and shelter supplies for emerging crises to educational support for the more prolonged situations.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Church humanitarian efforts in 2020 have been by far the most extensive in our history, comprising hundreds of projects spanning 151 countries and including more than 28 million items of personal protective equipment; more than 1.3 million medical items, such as ventilators and thermometers; 2.1 million hygiene kits; and food items for an estimated 4 million beneficiaries, both domestic and abroad.
And finally, the worldwide impact of the pandemic unfortunately did not spare us from other natural disasters. In addition to COVID-19, Church funds and volunteers were drawn upon to respond to an undiminished number of natural disasters. In many of these instances, it was once again our members who were the heroes, donning their yellow vests—now accompanied frequently by masks—and braving the conditions of the pandemic to continue to provide the selfless post-disaster relief efforts that they have come to be known for.
In summary, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have been given four divinely appointed responsibilities: living the gospel of Jesus Christ, uniting families for eternity, inviting all to receive the gospel, and caring for those in need.
I would like to invite each of you to consider your role in accomplishing these divinely appointed responsibilities. How do you anxiously engage in this work? As you do so, I promise you will be humbled and overcome with joy. I would like to bear my witness of the great blessings that come from belonging, and of the great responsibilities attendant to those blessings that we receive.