I was feeling burdened a few days ago by the demands of my particular leadership calling in cub scouts, and I felt I needed some scriptures to help buoy me up. I headed for my scriptures with a prayer in my heart that Heavenly Father would help me flip instantly to something that would help me.
Here’s where I turned to:
8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.
9 Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained, because of the strict commandment which I have received from God, to admonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge the wounds of those who are already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds; and those who have not been wounded, instead of feasting upon the pleasing word of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds.
10 But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task, I must do according to the strict commands of God… (Jacob 2:8-10)
This was from Jacob, who was about to deliver a chastity talk and an anti-pride-and-materialism talk to the Nephites.
At first I wondered whether I was going to be admonished for sins that I didn’t realize I had.
But then what suddenly struck me were Jacob’s words of how burdened he felt by the constraint of the Spirit to follow the commandment to admonish the people. But notwithstanding the great task and the overwhelm he felt as a leader, he waded into it determined to do what the Lord asked of him.
Aha! I thought, Another leader has felt overwhelmed by the demands of their calling. I’m not alone. Not that I’m required to admonish people for their sins right now, but it is neat to 1) find this openness in the scriptures about the burden of leadership and 2) find it right when I needed it. Heavenly Father had answered my prayer, and that gave me just the encouragement I needed to get back to the stuff I needed to do.
See? Heavenly Father answers our prayers to receive knowledge and encouragement from the scriptures.
I honor and salute the church leaders, past and present, who do their duty despite their overwhelm, and who do it with such grace. Sometimes it can seem like I am the only one who struggles. Maybe you feel the same in your calling. Jacob’s words show us his struggle, and then we see his obedience and we can see how the Lord magnified his efforts. That gives hope that the Lord can also magnify our efforts.
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