This week’s BYU-Idaho Devotional speaker promised students that if they fulfill their callings, they will grow closer to Christ.
Curtis Henrie is the director of online research and evaluation at BYU-Idaho. He called his talk, “Called to Serve.”
He currently serves as a counselor in a BYU-Idaho Young Single Adult ward bishopric. He has had the opportunity to extend several callings to students each semester. He says his heart is “filled with gratitude for those who accept and magnify their callings.” Their service is truly a blessing to him and the other members of the ward.
Henrie used fictitious people to represent various ways members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might feel when they are given a calling.
First, he spoke about “Tim,” who wishes he could just go to church, listen to the lessons and talks and go home for a nap. He doesn’t think a calling is important for him to have and does not realize what church service will do for him.
God’s plan for us is to receive a fulness of joy, Henrie taught. We obtain this joy by following Jesus Christ and being changed through His atonement. Accepting and magnifying a calling is a key part of following Jesus Christ.
“To all the Tims out there: we need you. We are less without you. Accepting and magnifying a call to serve will change our lives as well as yours,” he said.
Henrie then talked about “Maria,” who thinks she has “more to offer than what she could do with the calling being extended to her.” Henrie advised that no matter what your calling is, you need to seek to understand how your service contributes to Heavenly Father’s work of salvation. We can all make a significant impact on the eternal progress of others in any calling we receive.
In an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio, Henrie said he’s seen many blessings as he’s fulfilled his various callings.
“Callings help me to get outside of myself and start thinking about other people, and they just invite me to strengthen my relationship with God because almost every calling has brought some kind of challenge to overcome and I think it’s in turning to God that we find success, we gain greater abilities, we increase our faith,” he said.
The final example Henrie spoke about in his devotional address was “Sophie.” She feels overwhelmed by her calling and wonders how she will have the time or abilities to fulfill it.
Henrie recalled throughout his life when he felt overwhelmed by his callings.
“If we are unsure about our ability to serve, it helps to counsel with the Lord. He knows us and our situations better than we know ourselves,” he said.
Henrie closed his address by promising BYU-Idaho students that the if we approach our callings with the right mindset and give of our hearts, our efforts will bring us closer to Jesus Christ, help us experience more of His power in our lives, and help us be more like Him.