This morning instead of reading from the Book of Mormon as I ate breakfast, I picked\u00c2\u00a0 up the January issue of the Ensign and read Elder Carl B Cook’s article that was on the same theme as his October 2011 conference talk. As I read the opening story I felt a need to share it on this blog. Early in PMG the missionary is told not to compare their progress, baptisms, etc with anyone but themselves. If they can write in their journal that served with all the heart, mind, might and strength they did all that the Lord asked of them.<\/p>\n
As Elder Cook points out the same is true for each member of the Kingdom. We only need to report our stewardship – that is how well we did what He wanted us to do that day -\u00c2\u00a0 to the Lord. Here is Elder Cook’s opening story…<\/p>\n
“As a young man I was called to serve a mission in Hamburg, Germany. At the Language Training Mission\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u201dthe predecessor to today\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s missionary training center\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u201dI struggled to learn the language. As the first and then the second week passed, I noticed that the others in my district were progressing much faster than I was. While they were advancing to complex concepts, my die<\/span>s, der<\/span>s, and das<\/span>es were a disaster.<\/p>\n I started to become concerned\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u201dand discouraged. How could I serve a successful mission if I couldn\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122t communicate with the people I was called to teach?<\/p>\n I prayed for help and sought a priesthood blessing, which provided some reassurance. But I continued to search and struggle, and one day I felt more uptight and worried than ever. As my companion and I walked down the hallway, I stopped at a small janitor\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s closet. I asked my companion to wait for me for a moment. I slipped into that tiny room and knelt down on a mop. I began to plead with Heavenly Father for some relief.<\/p>\n The Lord answered that prayer. I felt this thought come into my mind: \u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u0153I never called you to master the German language. I just called you to serve with all of your heart, mind, and strength.\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u009d<\/p>\n I immediately thought, \u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u0153I can do that.<\/span> I can serve with all of my heart, mind, and strength. If that\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s what the Lord has called me to do, I can do that.<\/span>\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u009d I stood up feeling tremendously relieved.<\/p>\n From that point on, my measuring stick changed. I no longer gauged my progress and success against that of my companion or other members of my district. Instead, I focused on how the Lord felt I was doing. Instead of looking to the side to compare myself to others, I began to look up, so to speak, to know what He<\/span> thought of my efforts.<\/p>\n I don\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122t know that I learned the language much faster or much better from that point on, but I no longer felt the concerns I once had. I knew what the Lord wanted me to do, and it was in my power to do it.<\/p>\n I began counseling with Heavenly Father in the morning, telling Him that I didn\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122t know what the day would bring but that I would do my very best. \u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u0153Whatever I can learn, allow me to learn it,\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u009d I prayed, \u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u0153but no matter what, I\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122m going to give Thee my very best today.\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u009d<\/p>\n At night I would pray again to report on what I had studied and what I had done. I shared with my Father in Heaven my struggles and my successes alike. I had begun to turn to Him\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u201dnot to others or even myself\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u201dto validate my progress.<\/p>\n That lesson that I learned in a tiny broom closet more than 35 years ago has stayed with me all my life, through a number of callings and assignments. Whenever I have been asked to do something where the expectations seem greater than what I have the capacity to do, I remember that experience and say to myself, \u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u0153Wait. Who called you? Who are you serving? Who are you trying to please?\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u009d<\/p>\n The world we live in today has all kinds of measurements\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u201dmost of them external to us. I think such measurements can be especially harsh to young adults. You go to school and earn a grade, but that doesn\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122t necessarily take into account what else you experience in your other classes or your family<\/a> or your life situation. Sometimes we\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122re judged by the way we look or by the car we drive. We might base our sense of self-worth on how many friends are writing on our wall on social networking sites. We worry about what others think about the person we\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122re dating or what people will think if we marry before finishing school. It\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s easy to get caught up in trying to please others, but we can\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122t trust such external measurements; the world can be too quick both to praise and to criticize.<\/p>\n I think the challenge for all of us\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u201dbut perhaps particularly for young adults\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u201dis to try not to look sideways to see how others are viewing our lives but to look up to see how Heavenly Father sees us. He doesn\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122t look on the outward appearance but on the heart (see 1\u00c2\u00a0Samuel 16:7<\/a>). And He knows, better than anyone else, what each one of us needs.”<\/p>\n