Receiving the Call to Serve

I have loved reading the story of Moses this week. What a great man he was.

I was particularly intrigued by the story of Moses being called by the Lord to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Almost everyone knows the story of the burning bush. Moses finds a burning bush that is not being consumed by the flames. He hears the voice of the Lord telling him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses responds with doubt. He does not feel that he is the kind of speaker the Lord needs (reading through it reminded me of Fiddler on the Roof. "For someone slow of speech he sure has a lot to say!" Makes me laugh every time :) ).

I love how the Lord responds through the whole exchange. Every time Moses brings up his inadequacy, the Lord is quick to respond with love and support. He tells Moses over and over again that He will provide the words He wants Moses to say. Although the Lord did get angry at Moses for his doubt, the Lord still provided an alternative mouthpiece for Moses, his brother Aaron.

There are great things we can learn from this story. In our church, we are given callings. We are asked to do the Lord's work within our wards in various areas, like Young Women's and Young Men's (teaching kids ages 12-18), Primary and nursery (teaching kids ages 18months to 12 years), Sunday School, Relief Society, Priesthood, etc. And we all do it voluntarily. There are a lot of teaching and leadership positions that can seem very daunting to undertake. Right after Chad and I moved into this ward as newlyweds, I was called to be the 2nd counselor in the Young Women's presidency. I was terrified! I was 20 years old, barely out of Young Women's myself. What experience did I have to teach these young women? When I found out that I was going to be serving with women ten years older than me who had gone on missions, I felt even more unqualified.

As I have served in this position the last year and a half, I have felt the presence of the Lord with me. I have found that the one thing keeping me from being a great leader, my age, actually has been a great asset, helping me to relate to the girls and the situations they are facing. And I have also seen that my life experience level doesn't make any difference, they just need a stable, temple worthy example to look up to. I know now that the Lord knew exactly what He was doing when He called me into the position. He knew that the girls needed me and that I needed them. He has helped me every step of the way to fulfill my leadership role. He has done the exact same thing for me as He did for Moses.

One more thing to add about callings. I read in Moses 1: 17, 25-26 a new piece of information about Moses's calling. He was actually commanded to call upon the Lord. And when he did so, he was about to behold the glory of the Lord. Prayer is key in holding a calling. As we kneel before the Lord and ask for direction, He will direct us.