It took me a while to noticed the last part of Works of Mormon where it describes all King Benjamin did to get there. There was contentions at home and war with the Lamanites. There were false Christs, false prophets, and false preachers in the land. He dealt with each situation. He fought valiantly with the sword of Laban, when need be, and worked with other righteous men to preach the gospel and establish peace in the land.
King Benjamin's address begins in Mosiah 2 and is a wonderful treasure trove of spiritual truths. As I read this morning, the themes of Be Humble and Be Grateful stood out to me, and as always the message of service was loud and clear. King Benjamin is definitely a great example of service. He lets us in on the key to serving with gladness, even when it is hard to serve, in Mosiah 2:17 when he says:
"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of you fellow beings ye are only in the service of you God."It is a well-known, often quoted scripture. It is a scripture that I memorized when I was a teen-age seminary student. But memorizing is a different thing than truly taking a lesson into our hearts, and this lesson will only benefits us if we can put it into practice no matter what is asked of us. In the church, and in life too, we are not always called upon to do things that we are good at. It can be very difficult to labor in a challenging calling, but if we strive to serve as the Lord would have us to, if we pray and ask for help, he will help us serve faithfully and well. Knowing that we are serving him well can help us find joy in the service, and then the service that was once so hard is no longer a drudgery.
I do want to add one disclaimer here. I have spent most of my life seeking to serve (and I'm not referring to callings in the Church here, but everyday service) in ways that were hard and burdensome because I thought that only when I was really challenged and put out was I giving "real" service. As a mother of young kids, this became very stressful for me. To the point that I felt like giving up because I decided I just couldn't do it all anymore. This is called trying to "run faster than you are able," and it is not advised. We all have different talents and believe it or not your talents are needed. You can give service in small ways that bring real pleasure every day. It is not just the bringing of meals and the helping to move, pack, or clean for others that is service. I found a smile and kind word of understanding to be a much needed thing among my daily rushings to and fro. A listening ear is often all a person needs when they are struggling. A card or email can work wonders for a friend. These things are easy for me to give, and I so enjoy doing them that it makes my load for the day lighter, even when the listening ear may have taken a good chunk of my day, I feel better having given it. (Which could possibly be why I am so abysmal at getting tasks on my 'to do' list accomplished.) I would just like to say, be prayerful as you fill your day. Heavenly Father will help you know that which is most important for you.
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