Quotes on Accepting and Magnifying Callings
"I know sanctification comes not with any particular calling, but with genuine acts of service, often for which there is no specific calling."
Glenn L. Pace - "Confidence in the Lord" - Ensign, May 1985, page 78
"If you will accept every call that comes to you within the Church, you will grow in a remarkable and marvelous and wonderful way. With responsibility comes growth, and the Lord will magnify you and make you equal to every responsibility which is given you."
President Gordon B. Hinckley - From member meeting, Guam, Jan. 31, 2000
"A limit on what you will do puts a limit on what you can do."
Dexter Yager
"I was present at a solemn assembly when David O. McKay was sustained as President of the Church. President J. Reuben Clark Jr., who had served as First Counselor to two Presidents, was then sustained as Second Counselor to President McKay. Sensitive to the possibility that some might think that he had been demoted, President Clark said: 'In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines.'"
Boyd K. Packer - "Called to Serve," Ensign, Nov. 1997, p. 7
"Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies."
President Thomas S. Monson - "Duty Calls" May 1993 Ensign, p. 43
"In the kingdom, the greater our responsibilities,
the greater is our need to see ourselves as servants."
Spencer W. Kimball (Ensign May 1979, page 107)
He (the man of Christ) expects a variety of assignments in the Church; some carry the thrills of making a beachhead landing deep in enemy territory, and others involve "minding the store" back home. When he sings, "I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord" (Hymns, no. 75), it is not only a promise to go to a Nineveh, but it is also a pledge to stay at his present post.
Neal A. Maxwell - April 1975 General Conference "The Man of Christ"
"Whatever our calling, regardless of our fears or anxieties, let us pray and then go and do."
Thomas S. Monson, "They Pray and They Go," Ensign, May 2002, 49
"He (the Lord) expects each of us to be faithful members of the Church; to do what we are asked to do; to move the work forward; to serve wherever we are called to serve, and build the kingdom in the world.
President Gordon B. Hinckley — From member meeting, Jakarta, Indonesia, Jan. 28, 2000
"God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability!
"It's Service, Not Status, That Counts" - Neal A. Maxwell - July 1975 Ensign
"There is no finer way to demonstrate love of God than by serving Him in the positions to which we may be called. Occasionally, the reward for that service will be prompt, and we'll see the light in the eyes of the person whom we have helped. Other times, however, the Lord will let us wait a little while and let our reward come another way."
Thomas S. Monson "Live the Good Life," [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1988], p. 111-112
"It does not require a calling more than being a member to nourish by reaching out in kindness."
Elder Henry B. Eyring - "Feed My Lambs", Ensign, Nov. 1997, 83
"Calls will stretch you, often at the start and always over their course, but He will give you the Holy Ghost to be your companion."
Elder Henry B. Eyring - "Watch Over and Strengthen" - Ensign, May 2000, 66
"Through humble prayer, diligent preparation, and faithful service, we can succeed in our sacred callings."
President Thomas S. Monson - "Your Eternal Voyage", Ensign, May 2000, 48
"The Savior will let you feel the love He feels for those you serve. The call is an invitation to become like Him."
Elder Henry B. Eyring - "Watch Over and Strengthen", Ensign, May 2000, 66
"I urge you to discern through the Spirit your divinely given capacities."
General Conference, October 2003 Elder Richard G. Scott, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
"A new calling can beckon us away from comfortable routine and from competencies already acquired."
Neal A. Maxwell - "Willing to Submit," Ensign, May 1985, 70
"Every Latter-day Saint knows that to be found in the discharge of his duty makes him a happy man, and when he is not in the discharge of his duty there is an uneasiness about him which makes him feel that something is wrong."
"General Conference Reports", p. 39 - April 1902
"This is the Church of Jesus Christ, and He leads it. No assignment in it need ever overwhelm you if you know that and listen for the Master's voice."
Elder Henry B. Eyring - "Ears to Hear" - Ensign, May 1985, p. 76
"Within your sphere of responsibility you have as serious an obligation as do I within my sphere of responsibility. Each of us should be determined to build the kingdom of God on the earth and to further the work of righteousness."
President Gordon B. Hinckley - "An Ensign to the Nations, a Light to the World", General Conference, October 2003
"(In your callings) you have access to more than your natural capacities, and you do not work alone. The Lord will magnify what you say and what you do in the eyes of the people you serve. He will send the Holy Ghost to manifest to them that what you spoke was true. What you say and do will carry hope and give direction to people far beyond your natural abilities and your own understanding."
Henry B. Eyring, "Rise to Your Call," Ensign, Nov. 2002, 77
Topic: Two Reasons To Serve
"Officers in the Church of Jesus Christ are called for two distinct purposes: First and foremost, to serve the people; and, secondly, to gain the development and enlarged understanding which always follow earnest service in a responsible position. It is an honorable privilege and a personal benefit to be allowed to serve in an official position in the Church; and an office, whatever it may be, should be accepted in a spirit of grateful appreciation."
John A. Widtsoe, "Priesthood and Church Government," p.199
"I think we should be aware that there can be a spiritual danger to those who misunderstand the singularity of always being in the spotlight. They may come to covet the notoriety and thus forget the significance of the service being rendered. As students, you are at a crucial juncture in your lives when life-shaping judgments are made and future courses set. You must not allow yourselves to focus all the fleeting light of popularity or substitute that attractive glow for the substance of true, but often anonymous labor that brings the attention of God even if it does not get coverage on the six o'clock news. In fact, applause and attention can become the spiritual Achilles' heel of even the most gifted among us.
Howard W. Hunter BYU Fireside, Sept. 2 1990 - "No Less Serviceable"s
Topic: Spiritual Preparedness
"In our Church work it is hard to be as spiritually prepared as we need to be. Sometimes others think that if we are where we are supposed to be and are attending our meetings that we are doing our best. However, we know if we are faking it. It takes great effort to be spiritually inspiring to those about us. It means regular daily study, pondering, and prayer about the scriptures. It means not losing our cool in a tense situation. It means never giving in to anger or cutting words. It means being thorough in our reports, in our lesson preparation, in our study of the manual and job description for the position we accept.
"At times we are thrown suddenly into positions that seem too big for us and for which we have little preparation. The Lord stimulates our growth this way.... The Lord blesses us far beyond our natural ability and experience. However, it has been my experience that he expects us to quickly exert ourselves and acquire the things we need. He gives us a little time to improve our management skills and detailed knowledge so that we don't have to rely upon him for everything. We'll always need inspiration in these areas we couldn't possibly understand without his help."
Robert E. Wells, "Faking It and the Fourth French Horn," New Era, Apr. 1977, 6
"So much depends upon our willingness to make up our minds, collectively and individually, that present levels of performance are not acceptable, either to ourselves or to the Lord. In saying that, I am not calling for flashy, temporary differences in our performance levels, but a quiet resolve to do a better job, to lengthen our stride."
Spencer W. Kimball, Regional Representative's Seminar, 3 Oct. 1974
"The overwhelming joy of conversion or a new calling is often followed by feelings of being overwhelmed with duties and doctrines. The first joyous feelings are real and give one much-needed initial momentum. But the genuine exhilaration is soon followed by the need to perspire and to pedal."
Neal A. Maxwell, "Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward,"
"If any brethren within the sound of my voice feel unprepared, even incapable of responding to a call to serve, to sacrifice, to bless the lives of others, remember the truth: 'Whom God calls, God qualifies.' He who notes the sparrow's fall will not abandon the servant's need."
President Thomas S. Monson "Tears, Trials, Trust, Testimony" - Ensign, May 1987, p.44
"Now, some of you may be shy by nature, perhaps feeling yourselves inadequate to respond affirmatively to a calling. Remember that this work is not yours and mine alone. It is the Lord's work, and when we are on the Lord's errand, brethren, we are entitled to the Lord's help. Remember that the Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed upon it."
President Thomas S. Monson, "The Sacred Call of Service," Ensign, May 2005, 54
"God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."
"As we follow that Man of Galilee—even the Lord Jesus Christ—our personal influence will be felt for good wherever we are, whatever our callings."
President Thomas S. Monson - "Your Personal Influence", Ensign, May 2004, 20
"Your calling is to bless lives. . . . Just the way you smile or the way you offer to help someone can build their faith."
Elder Henry B. Eyring - "Rise to Your Call", Ensign, Nov. 2002, 76
"You can have the utmost assurance that your power will be multiplied many times by the Lord. All He asks is that you give your best effort and your whole heart."
Elder Henry B. Eyring, "Rise to Your Call" - Ensign, Nov. 2002, 78