From the book “On Earth as it is in Heaven”, co-authored by Elder Jeffrey R. and Patricia T. Holland (deceased), Sister Holland wrote in the beginning chapter, under the above title:
Every element of creation has its own purpose and performance, its own Divine role and mission. If our desires and works are directed towards what our heavenly parents have intended us to be, we will come to feel our part in the plan. We will recognize the “full measure of our creation,” and nothing will give us more ultimate peace.
When my daughter, Mary, was just a small child, she was asked to perform a talent for a PTA contest. This is her experience exactly as she wrote it in her seven-year-old script: “I was practicing piano one day and it made me cry because it was bad. Then I decided to practice ballet, and it made me cry more—it was bad too. So then I decided to draw a picture because I knew I could do that good, but it was horrid. Of course it made me cry. “Then my three year old brother came up and said, ‘Duffy, what can I be? I can’t be a piano player or an artist or a ballet girl. What can I be?” He came up to me and said, ‘You can be my sister.’ “
In an important moment, those five simple words changed the perspective and comforted the heart of a very anxious child. Life became better right on the spot and, as always, tomorrow was a brighter day.
All of us face those questions about our role, our purpose, our course in life—we face them long after we are children. I visit enough women to know that many, perhaps most have occasion, when they feel off balance or defeated—at least temporarily. And we ask, “What will I be? When will I graduate? Whom will I marry? What is my future? How will I make a living? Can I make a contribution? In short, what can I be?
When asking these questions, I have found it extremely reassuring to remember that one of the most important and fundamental truths taught in the temple is that “every living thing shall fill the measure of its creation.”
I must admit that when I first heard this directive, I thought it meant only procreation, having issue, bearing off spring. And I’m sure that is probably the most important part of its meaning. However, much of the temple ceremony is symbolic, so surely there can be multiple meanings in this statement as well. Part of the additional meaning I now see in this commandment is that every element of creation has its own purpose and performance; every one of us has been designed with a divine role and mission in mind. I believe that if our desires and works are directed toward what our heavenly parents have intended us to be, we will come to feel our part in the plan. We will recognize the “full measure of our creation,” and nothing well give us more ultimate peace.
I once read a wonderful analogy of the limitations our present perspective imposes on us. The message was that the ongoing process of creation—our creation and the creation of all that surrounds us—our heavenly parents are preparing a lovely tapestry with exquisite colors and patterns and hues. They are doing so lovingly and carefully and masterfully. And each of us is playing a part—our part—in creation of that magnificent, eternal piece of art.
But in doing so we have to remember that it is very difficult for us to assess our own contribution accurately. We see the rich burgundy of a neighboring thread and think, “That’s the color I want to be.” Then we admire yet another’s soft restful blue or beige and think, ” No, those are better colors than mine.” But in all this we don’t see our work the way God sees it, nor do we realize that others are wishing they had our colors or position or texture in the tapestry—even as we are longing for theirs.
Perhaps most important of all to remember is that through most of the creative period, we are confined to the limited view of the underside of the tapestry where things can seem particularly jumbled and muddled and unclear. If nothing really makes very much sense from that point of view, it is because we are still in process and unfinished. But our heavenly parents have the view from the top, and one day we will know what they know — and every part of the artistic whole will equal in importance and balance and beauty. They know of our purpose and potential and they have given us the perfect chance to make the perfect contribution in this divine design.
The Lord has promised just that the only qualification required to be part of this magnificent plan is to bring forth and establish this work.” (Doctrine and Covenants 12:7.) “Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God. Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you.” (Doctrine and Covenants 14:4-5.)
Sometimes in our sowing and reaping and sifting, it may seem as if God says “no” or “not now” or “I don’t think so” when we want for him to say, what we wish our tapestry to receive, is an affirmative “yes,” or “certainly, right now” “of course it can be yours.” In my life when I’ve had disappointments or delays, I have lived to see that if I continue to knock with unshakable faith and persist in my patience—waiting upon the Lord and his calendar — I have discovered that the Lord’s “no’s” are merely preludes to an even greater “yes.” I have learned that the very delays and denials we worry about most, the very differences from each other that trouble our self-esteem, are differences and delays that are for our happiness and fulfillment.
I’ve often wondered about the struggles that may have plagued the mind of Moses when the Lord asked him to leave his royal privileges and position in order to serve in abject poverty and meagerness. Contrast Moses’ mission with the Lord’s design for Joseph to stay in Egypt and to use his power and prestige for righteous purposes. Apparently Jeremiah was never given the blessings of marriage or children, while Jacob had the comfort of companionship of four righteous women and many children. Joshua seems to have been an incredibly, charismatic, take-charge kind of leader, while Moses often reluctant, tentative, and sometimes had to ask the Lord twice for directions. Each had a crucial but very different role to play.~~~ Patricia T. Holland (deceased) (Salt Lake City,:Deseret Book, 1989), p.3-6
