The Closet, the Family, and the Candle
As I've been pondering the subject of missionary work (which I have good reason to do), or more specifically, the salvation of souls, I have asked myself how we prioritize our activities, or in what way we can frame the sacred privilege and responsibility to share the gospel that will help us to better understand it.
There are many answers to that question.
The one I'd like to address today has to do with recognizing three arenas in which the Spirit of the Lord prompts us to act, or in which we must act to be faithful to the divine call. I think I am right in saying that attending only to any one or two of these things would represent a failure to live the spirit of the gospel. I will refer to these three arenas as the closet, the family, and the candle.
The Closet
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.
(Matthew 6:6)
The closet represents individual salvation. In the closet, we pour out our souls unto God, who created, and therefore knows and loves, our souls. We are taught repeatedly in the scriptures concerning the importance of securing our own place in the kingdom of God. Indeed, our ultimate salvation depends upon how well we attend to individual concerns. Personal worthiness, a personal relationship with the Savior, and personal accountability are hallmarks of gospel living and form the inward reaching foundation for all our subsequent outreach. As the Savior implied, we can hardly strengthen our brethren until we are converted ourselves.
The Family
We often hear that the work we do within the walls of our own homes will be the most important and least replaceable of our lives. As salvation is an individual matter, so goes the saying, exaltation is a family matter. And we want exaltation. I remember repeated instruction that in the day of judgment, the most important questions we will have to face will be concerning how we acted in our stewardship towards our family. In other words, how well did we care for those of Heavenly Father's children who were directly entrusted to our care - tied to us through blood and sealed to us (hopefully) by the authority of God and the Holy Spirit of Promise? The importance of this stewardship is understandable.
The Candle
In case you haven't guessed, the candle is a reference to the Savior's statement, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). This represents our duty to extend our influence for good to the entire human family, rather than hiding under a bushel. I thought about using other metaphors for this arena, but I return to the candle because it focuses on the giving of the light rather than the receiving of it. We truly shine brightest when we are outwardly concerned, but the important thing is to be alight regardless of how small the space or how deep the darkness.
Action in the third arena is most obviously associated with missionary work, but the others are relevant, too. How, for example, can a candle shine if it is not taken from its box in the closet and lit? Should our public lives only be exemplary, and not our family lives? Should we promote gospel living with strangers, but not with those of our own home, including ourselves?
I don't think I need to say anthything more about this. I only think that we would do well to remember that, while the actions requried by the closet, the family, and the candle are different, they are all essential and all interrelated.
There are many answers to that question.
The one I'd like to address today has to do with recognizing three arenas in which the Spirit of the Lord prompts us to act, or in which we must act to be faithful to the divine call. I think I am right in saying that attending only to any one or two of these things would represent a failure to live the spirit of the gospel. I will refer to these three arenas as the closet, the family, and the candle.
The Closet
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.
(Matthew 6:6)
The closet represents individual salvation. In the closet, we pour out our souls unto God, who created, and therefore knows and loves, our souls. We are taught repeatedly in the scriptures concerning the importance of securing our own place in the kingdom of God. Indeed, our ultimate salvation depends upon how well we attend to individual concerns. Personal worthiness, a personal relationship with the Savior, and personal accountability are hallmarks of gospel living and form the inward reaching foundation for all our subsequent outreach. As the Savior implied, we can hardly strengthen our brethren until we are converted ourselves.
The Family
We often hear that the work we do within the walls of our own homes will be the most important and least replaceable of our lives. As salvation is an individual matter, so goes the saying, exaltation is a family matter. And we want exaltation. I remember repeated instruction that in the day of judgment, the most important questions we will have to face will be concerning how we acted in our stewardship towards our family. In other words, how well did we care for those of Heavenly Father's children who were directly entrusted to our care - tied to us through blood and sealed to us (hopefully) by the authority of God and the Holy Spirit of Promise? The importance of this stewardship is understandable.
The Candle
In case you haven't guessed, the candle is a reference to the Savior's statement, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). This represents our duty to extend our influence for good to the entire human family, rather than hiding under a bushel. I thought about using other metaphors for this arena, but I return to the candle because it focuses on the giving of the light rather than the receiving of it. We truly shine brightest when we are outwardly concerned, but the important thing is to be alight regardless of how small the space or how deep the darkness.
Action in the third arena is most obviously associated with missionary work, but the others are relevant, too. How, for example, can a candle shine if it is not taken from its box in the closet and lit? Should our public lives only be exemplary, and not our family lives? Should we promote gospel living with strangers, but not with those of our own home, including ourselves?
I don't think I need to say anthything more about this. I only think that we would do well to remember that, while the actions requried by the closet, the family, and the candle are different, they are all essential and all interrelated.
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