Families, communities, and nations are stronger when we
each do our duty. Parents and teachers
have the responsibility to teach children and teenagers the importance of duty and
the joy that comes from it. We each have
responsibilities in our homes, states and countries; we need to be prepared and
willing to perform and to serve others.
What is our response when our "call to
serve" comes? Do we willingly
accept that duty or do we murmur about the job being impossible to do or too
hard? A renowned poet and author wrote
the following poem about duty (Rabindranath Tagore, as quoted by Thomas S.
Monson, Ensign, May 2012, 67).
I slept and
dreamt
That
life was joy
I
awoke and saw
That
life was duty
I
acted and behold
Duty
was joy.
President Monson also quoted Robert Louis
Stevenson: "I know what pleasure
is, for I have done good work."
President Monson then added, "As we perform our duties …, we will
find true joy. We will experience the
satisfaction of having completed our tasks….
"Brethren, the world is in need of our
help. Are we doing all we should? … There are feet to steady, hands to grasp,
minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save. The blessings of eternity await you. Yours is the privilege to be not spectators
but participants on the stage of … service.
Let us hearken to the stirring reminder found in the Epistle of
James: `Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves" (James 1:22).
We each can learn and ponder our individual
duties. We each can be willing and ready
to reach out and bless the lives of other people. We can follow in the footsteps of the Savior
when we perform our duties and find true joy.
The rising generation must be taught that joy comes from doing our duty
in service to our fellowmen. When we do
our duty, we strengthen our home, community, and nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment