2 Nephi 26:29-30He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.
Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.
I've been thinking lately about how hungry I am to be heard and how my interest to hear others has diminished in the last year or so. I'm not sure when this started, but I suspect it's related to my move to Madison. I left my family and friends who I had spent many years building relationships with and came to a place where I need to start fresh. In this situation, there just aren't as many ready listeners as there used to be--at least not listeners who I know are sincerely interested.
I have become tired from all the social niceties of asking people about themselves and hungry for someone to ask about my thoughts and my life. Somehow that has slowly morphed into a desire to "set myself up for a light unto the world" to "get gain and praise of the world," or at least, it's in the same spirit of these attitudes.
I searched for this scripture because I know that I have needed to work on charity lately, but as I write about it, it's easier for me to see where the problem lies. I am going to be praying for a more sincere love for my fellow man.
2 comments:
I hate that! When people don't listen it actually makes me feel like "I'm too awesome to talk to you", and then I become a non listener. Tell me Cam, tell Me about all your thoughts and your life
I have been reading Henry Eyring's book "To Draw Closer to God" (Jill loves this book so I decided I better read it).
His first 3 chapters are on listening, specifically how to listen to God. Interestingly, he suggests that we can hear what God has to say to us through the words of people around us.
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