{"id":1715,"date":"2014-09-22T09:26:05","date_gmt":"2014-09-22T15:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/?p=1715"},"modified":"2014-09-22T09:31:27","modified_gmt":"2014-09-22T15:31:27","slug":"heroes-labor-for-the-welfare-of-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/?p=1715","title":{"rendered":"Heroes Labor for The Welfare of Others"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jacob 1<\/a><\/strong>. Nephi’s younger brother, Jacob, reminds us that Nephi was a “great protector<\/a>” for his people even so much that he fought in battle alongside them against the Lamanites. Furthermore, Nephi “labored all his days for their welfare<\/a>.” He lived two great hero principles that are\u00a0rooted in humility and duty: protect and promote others. Everything Nephi did was for the good of the Lord and the good of his family and his people.<\/p>\n

Jacob and his younger brother, Joseph, took over this leadership responsibility as they were “consecrated priests and teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi.<\/a>” They took upon them “the responsibility<\/a>” and sought to “magnify [their] office unto the Lord<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

They “labored diligently\u2026[to] persuade [their people] to come unto Christ and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest.<\/a>” They taught them to “believe in Christ<\/a>” in an effort to “persuade all men not to rebel against God<\/a>” and were saddened when the Nephites “began to grow hard in their hearts, and indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices<\/a>” and “began to be lifted up somewhat in pride.<\/a>”<\/p>\n

As their spiritual leader, Jacob desired to protect his people from the consequences of sin and promote their well-being. In order to do this, Jacob first “obtained [his] errand from the Lord<\/a>” and then he “taught [his people] in the temple<\/a>” regarding the beliefs and actions that would protect and promote both their temporal and eternal welfare as individuals and families.<\/p>\n

We likewise have the opportunity to labor for the welfare of our families and to invite others to come unto Christ that they might “partake of the goodness of God.” This is not an easy task. “Many years ago a new missionary in England was frustrated and discouraged. He wrote home saying he felt he was wasting his time. His wise father replied, ‘Forget yourself and go to work.’<\/span>\u00a0<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0<\/sup><\/span>Young Elder Gordon B. Hinckley went to his knees and covenanted with the Lord that he would try to forget himself and lose himself in the Lord\u2019s service.<\/span>\u00a0<\/sup><\/span>Years later, as a mature servant of the Lord, Elder Hinckley would say, ‘He who lives only unto himself withers and dies, while he who forgets himself in the service of others grows and blossoms in this life and in eternity'” (“Unselfish Service<\/a>,” Dallin H. Oaks, Apr 2009).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Elder Oaks concluded with these thoughts and promised blessings for those who labor for the welfare of others.<\/p>\n

The values of the world wrongly teach that \u201cit\u2019s all about me.\u201d That corrupting attitude produces no change and no growth. It is contrary to eternal progress toward the destiny God has identified in His great plan for His children. The plan of the gospel of Jesus Christ lifts us above our selfish desires and teaches us that this life is all about what we can become.<\/em><\/p>\n

A great example of unselfish service is the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose vow committed herself and her fellow workers to \u201cwholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor.\u201d She taught that \u201cone thing will always secure heaven for us\u2014the acts of charity and kindness with which we have filled our lives.\u201d \u201cWe can do no great things,\u201d Mother Teresa maintained, \u201conly small things with great love.\u201d When this wonderful Catholic servant died, the First Presidency\u2019s message of condolence declared, \u201cHer life of unselfish service is an inspiration to all the world, and her acts of Christian goodness will stand as a memorial for generations to come.\u201d\u00a0That is what the Savior called losing our lives in service to others.<\/em><\/p>\n

Each of us should apply that principle to our attitudes in attending church. Some say \u201cI didn\u2019t learn anything today\u201d or \u201cNo one was friendly to me\u201d or \u201cI was offended\u201d or \u201cThe Church is not filling my needs.\u201d All those answers are self-centered, and all retard spiritual growth.<\/em><\/p>\n

In contrast, a wise friend wrote:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYears ago, I changed my attitude about going to church. No longer do I go to church for my sake, but to think of others. I make a point of saying hello to people who sit alone, to welcome visitors, \u2026 to volunteer for an assignment. \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn short, I go to church each week with the intent of being active, not passive, and making a positive difference in people\u2019s lives. Consequently, my attendance at Church meetings is so much more enjoyable and fulfilling.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

All of this illustrates the eternal principle that we are happier and more fulfilled when we act and serve for what we give, not for what we get.<\/em><\/p>\n

How will you labor more effectively and joyfully for the welfare of others?<\/p>\n

Click\u00a0<\/span>here<\/a>\u00a0for additional Book of Mormon posts.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jacob 1. Nephi’s younger brother, Jacob, reminds us that Nephi was a “great protector” for his people even so much that he fought in battle alongside them against the Lamanites. Furthermore, Nephi “labored all his days for their welfare.” He … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,26,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-of-mormon","category-charity","category-heroeswarriors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1715"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1723,"href":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715\/revisions\/1723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountaintopmentoring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}