Duty

What does it mean to you to do your duty?  I reposted a comment on Facebook the other day that was a quote from Elder Holland discussing the last days and the battle between good and evil.  He talks about how we know through prophecy and revelation that good will win.  He then wonders why there are some who just can't seem to decide which team they are going to be on.  That was obviously my paraphrasing, you get the idea though. 

I marvel at myself when I look back in my life and see times when I was not as diligent in doing my duty as maybe I could have been.  There are areas of my life where I have learned my duty and I do it well.  There are areas that I need to better understand that responsibility and improve.  This I do know, when I go forward in faith and do my duty to the very best of my ability I am blessed. 

Through life experiences I have learned that it can be easy to get caught up in worldy pursuits.  It can be very easy to let temporal things take priority over spiritual matters.  I have been through that struggle.  I know what it means to have to struggle and wrestle with career ambition vs. spiritual, family and priesthood duty.  I've learned that the Lord really doesn't care if I was the top air conditioning salesman back in 2001 or if I won the franchise of the year back in 2006.  It is 2012 and those things don't amount to a hill of beans today.  They don't matter. 

What does matter?  Well, am I leading my family as the Patriarch in our home?  Am I teaching my children what is right?  Am I honoring my Priesthood?  Am I worthy to exercise that Priesthood if I were called to do so right now?  Am I fulfilling my duty to God?  Am I being valient in my testimony of Jesus Christ?  Am I worthy to carry a current Temple Recommend and do I use it?  Am I fullfilling my responsibilities as a home teacher?  Do I sustain my Church Leaders?  Have I felt to sing the song of redeeming love and do I feel so now?  I look at this quick list and know that I have a lot of work to do. 

I was out home teaching tonight and the lesson discussed sustaining our leaders.  It reminded me in a verse in the book of Ezra.  In chaper 7 verse 10 it says:  For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it...     Elder F. David Stanley was visiting the Cape Town Mission and taught us this principle.  I was serving in Port Elizabeth at the time.  Anyhow, he talked about raising your hand to the square, sustaining your leaders and then doing it, doing what we are asked to do.    Isn't that our duty? 

I fail everyday, I do.  We live in challenging times and we come up short.   Thankfully we have a Savior who loves us, who is patient and understanding.  He wants us to get up and try again.  He suffered for each of us so that we could.  I am grateful for that, for the atonement of Jesus Christ.  I hope that I will always strive to understand and do my duty to God.