Is it Worth It?

Every Sunday as I'm getting myself and my children ready to attend church I turn on the radio to hear "Soft Sunday Sounds" from FM 100.3 in Salt Lake City. Every so often the listeners are treated to a Glenn Rawson story. I LOVE these. In the hustle and bustle they are a calm in the storm. And so very often they speak absolute truth to my soul.

So often in the LDS faith members of the congregation are called to serve in various auxiliaries. There are many positions to fill, from teaching the children in primary (18months to 12 year olds), organizing and carrying out ward dinners and activities, being a scout master or even singing in the choir. All of these (and MANY more) positions require sacrifice. They all take time, talents, and yes, sometimes even money.

Many a Sabbath Day has arrived and I've felt frazzled and overwhelmed to say the least. The kids have been fighting and the time edges closer and closer for us to leave to arrive at church on time. A lot goes into waking up early, dressing, feeding, grooming and arriving to church prepared, and ready to learn (and teach). Some days I wonder if it's worth it. (especially when I've asked the rowdy kid in primary nicely 100 times to please quiet down and listen to the lesson being taught). Somehow though, the effort I put into preparing my lesson and serving in my position is rewarded with blessings on me and my family. So, in the hustle and bustle of Sunday morning, I would like to say, It is worth it.

128 - Is It Worth It?

• Glenn Rawson

If you are like me, sometime today your faith in God is going to ask you to attend a meeting. And if you don’t go, you’ll feel guilty. It’s going to ask you to sacrifice in the form of your time, your effort, and maybe even your money. Now I ask, is it worth it? I mean, all of the effort that you expend to keep the commandments, love God, serve others, save yourselves, your families, and all the world with you, is it really – is it really worth it?

It is.

Emphatically and absolutely, it is!

May I share the experience of one man’s small taste of heaven? In one of those dreams of the night that is more vivid and real than reality itself, he found himself in a holy and sacred place. He described his experience this way:

“I was led into a room where I was informed I was to meet someone. As I entered the room, I saw, seated on a raised platform, the most glorious being I have ever conceived of, and was taken forward to be introduced to Him. As I approached, He smiled, called my name, and stretched out His hands toward me. If I live to be a million years old, I shall never forget that smile. He put His arms around me and kissed me, as He took me into His bosom, and He blessed me until my whole being was thrilled. As He finished I fell at His feet, and there saw the marks of the nails; and as I kissed them, with deep joy swelling through my whole being, I felt that I was in heaven indeed. The feeling that came to my heart then was: Oh! If I could live worthy, though it would require fourscore years, so that in the end when I have finished I could go into His presence and receive the feeling that I then had in His presence, I would give everything that I am or ever hope to be!”

Now, I want you to know that someday every living soul of the human family will stand before the Savior and give an accounting of their [his] life. Our experience may be like this man, if we choose. Those who have in faith ‘endured’ – and I use that word deliberately – ‘endured’ the trials and opposition of mortality, and yes, even the meetings, will experience a joy, a peace, and a love that passes all understanding. Whatever it takes, it will be worth it!

Melvin J. Ballard --- Crusader for Righteousness [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966], pp. 65-66. (M. Russell Ballard, in Conference Report, Apr. 1992, 107; or Ensign, May 1992, 76