Elder Renlund’s talk shares fundamentals for understanding how the Lord teaches me when vulnerable. What matters most is my relationship with Him. Important in this consideration is understanding, acceptance for all that is ‘on my plate’, either perceived bad or good. When daily experiences and those with long term implications, go against me, do I feel meanly treated? When hurtful things happen that the Lord could have shielded me from, what are my thoughts, what questions do I ask myself? Are my reflections and approach in surrender to Him and His purposes?… or do I isolate myself from Him because of thoughts that He wasn’t there for me (… again!). I’ve grown used to thinking instead: “Lord, I could use some help on this one… please help. Nevertheless if not, please bless me to learn lessons that will make me more useful to thy purposes in the future.” kdm
Consider more of what, Elder Dale G. Renlund, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, taught in Conference April 2016: “That I Might Draw All Men Unto Me” [i]
“My dear brothers and sisters, while living in Africa, I sought advice from Elder Wilford W. Andersen of the Seventy about helping Saints who live in poverty. Among the remarkable insights he shared with me was this: “The greater the distance between the giver and the receiver, the more the receiver develops a sense of entitlement.”
… The concept—“the greater the distance between the giver and the receiver, the more the receiver develops a sense of entitlement”—also has profound spiritual applications. Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are the ultimate Givers. The more we distance ourselves from Them, the more entitled we feel. We begin to think that we deserve grace and are owed blessings. We are more prone to look around, identify inequities, and feel aggrieved—even offended—by the unfairness we perceive. While the unfairness can range from trivial to gut-wrenching, when we are distant from God, even small inequities loom large. We feel that God has an obligation to fix things—and fix them right now!
Illustration of these ideas through examples in scripture of Lehi’s family in the opening chapters of the Book of Mormon…
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Nephi had “great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, [he] did cry unto the Lord,” and his heart was softened.[ii] On the other hand, Laman and Lemuel were distant from God—they did not know Him.
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Nephi accepted challenging assignments without complaint, but Laman and Lemuel “did murmur in many things.” Murmuring is the scriptural equivalent of childish whining. The scripture records that “they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.”[iii]
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Nephi’s closeness to God enabled him to recognize and appreciate God’s “tender mercies.”[iv] In contrast, when Laman and Lemuel saw Nephi receiving blessings, they “were wroth with him because they understood not the dealings of the Lord.”[v] Laman and Lemuel saw the blessings that they received as their due and petulantly assumed that they should have more. They seemed to view Nephi’s blessings as “wrongs” committed against them. This is the scriptural equivalent of disgruntled entitlement.
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Nephi exercised faith in God to accomplish what he was asked to do. In contrast, Laman and Lemuel, “being hard in their hearts, … did not look unto the Lord as they ought.” [vi]
Because they were distant from the Savior, Laman and Lemuel murmured, became contentious, and were faithless. They felt that life was unfair and that they were entitled to God’s grace. In contrast, because he had drawn close to God, Nephi must have recognized that life would be the most unfair for Jesus Christ. Though absolutely innocent, the Savior would suffer the most. They seemed to feel that the Lord was obligated to provide answers to questions that they had not posed. “The Lord maketh no such thing known unto us,” they said, but they did not even make the effort to ask.[vii]This is the scriptural equivalent of derisive skepticism.~Elder Dale G. Renlund, Confence ‘That I Might Draw All Men Unto Me’ April 2016
re-posted from June 2016
