Short Thoughts On Leading In Church

    A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting with some general church leaders that had a question and answer session. Actually, other than a very short message at the outset, it was a question and answer meeting. At the beginning, the presiding authority reminded us that we should ask questions that are likely to be of interest to everyone, and not focus on topics of strictly personal interest. Since the meeting I've reflected on this statement in addition to the various questions and answers, and I recognize a short, but powerful message: being asked to serve in the church isn't about me or the person being asked to serve; instead, it's about the people we are serving.

Difficulty In Recognizing and Receiving Answers To Prayers

    I've been thinking lately about the biggest impediments I've experienced and observed in receiving answers to prayers. They include: looking for one specific answer, not being open to the answer that God has for us, and not being ready or needing to change something to accept God's answer. Of course, there are plenty of other potential reasons, but I wanted to share my thoughts on overcoming these three common challenges. Two weeks ago, the Come, Follow Me reading included D&C 112:10, which I believe gives us counsel that can help with all three of these scenarios:

Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answers to thy prayers.

Looking For a Specific Answer

    I can remember a time in my life where I was praying for something, when I felt certain I knew exactly what God's answer was and prayed - full of faith - that He would grant it to me. Over time, I began to feel frustrated that I wasn't receiving an answer. I hadn't gotten the specific thing I was certain God would give me, and I took that to mean that He was ignoring me. Eventually, I realized that God had indeed answered my prayers, and His blessing was wonderful, but I ignored it because I was so focused on my own idea of what should happen. If I'd been humble instead of assuming I knew the Lord's will for me, then I would have recognized the blessings I´d been receiving.

Not Being Open To God's Answer

It is not easy to accept it when God wants us to do something that we really don't want to do, or when He forbids us from doing something that we really want to do. If we have our minds made up already about what we will or won't do, then it may cause God to not answer us, or it may cause us to refuse to acknowledge the answer that He sends. In either outcome, the only solution is for us to become more humble and willing to listen and accept His will. This scripture offers hope as actually becoming more humble can be a difficult task: He will lead us by the hand in order to give us answers. I know that He has been patient with me while helping me develop the humility needed to accept His will, and that continuing to live the Gospel while waiting for answers helps us develop the needed humility to be willing to receive His answer.

Not Being Ready / Needing to Change in Order to Accept God's Answer

When something difficult happens in life, it can be seemingly impossible to understand why God would let this happen to us or to someone we care about. Sometimes when we pray for relief in such a situation, it can feel like the Heavens are closed. This may be because we aren't yet ready to accept the truth of the matter, have pridefully decided we know how it ought to work, or we may just need more growth and maturity to comprehend the answer. Just as in the previous example, God works with us according to His time-table to help us grow, repent, or humble ourselves sufficiently to receive the truth on a given topic. 

I testify that God wants to speak to us; He is willing to forgive us when we resent Him, when we refuse to listen, or even when we arrogantly think we know better. Somehow, He doesn't take any of it personally, and only attempts to help us understand better. Even if you don't experience any of these difficulties I have, I believe that humility can strengthen all of us to better recognize the answers to our prayers.

Establishing Zion

    In Church history, the Saints were called to establish Zion in Missouri, and as we know, they were unable to do so. In recent weeks, we were studying as a church several of the sections that are revelations about the Saints' struggles in Missouri, which ultimately culminated in Governor Boggs signing an extermination order, assigning a state militia leader to murder members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who wouldn't leave the state. 

    Whenever this is discussed in Church - or in seminary when I was younger - the Saints' failure to establish Missouri is usually explained by the fact that the Saints were too prideful and didn't do enough to ingratiate themselves to the people that lived in the surrounding areas, including assuaging their fears that the Saints - a sizeable and growing population - would vote as a block. (The Saints were generally abolitionists, and that played a central role in the Missourians feeling a major need to act against them becoming a political force in the state.) As far as I understand, these are all accurate reasons, but as we've been studying I've realized something that is often missing or under-emphasized in these discussions: establishing Zion is an incredibly demanding task, and it requires a large population to have a very high degree of personal righteousness.

    I want to share some of the counsel the Lord taught them this principle about establishing Zion: "Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself." That statement gives us some idea of the difficulty, and some of the counsel the Lord offered the Saints during their many trials highlight just how difficult it will be:

• In the face of violent mob attacks, the Lord said: "And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name’s sake, shall find it again, even life eternal. Therefore, be not afraid of your enemies..."
• Additionally, and in response to the same event, the Lord requires: "if men will smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge, ye shall be ^erewarded; But if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you as being meted out as a just measure unto you." 
• Explaining the need for trials: He taught: "they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son. For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified."
• Finally, I'll note that the Lord simply describes Zion as "the pure in heart."
  

Re-reading these sections of scripture recently, I've been impressed by how far we all have to go to prepare for the Lord's Second Coming, and really to be ready to be true disciples of Christ. This is a more recent time example of Peter's teaching: "For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps." If we are to truly follow Christ, we must regularly work to rely on Him and become like Him.