Duty

[Vort]

I slept and dreamt life was joy.
I woke and saw life was duty.
I acted, and behold! Duty was joy.

-Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore

(This is the version President Monson quoted at the Priesthood Session of the last General Conference. Other versions use "service" instead of "duty". Don't know which is the original, or if it was a translated non-English quote that could be rendered equally well either way.)

Any testimonials? For myself, I have found my happiest and most self-satisfied times have come in performance of my duty to family, friends, and God. My happiness increases in proportion to how well I learn and perform my duties.

[rameumptom]

My wife and I were released last week from an ecclesiastical mission to our spanish branch. Two years of many hours each week helping them was tough. But on release, we both were filled with joy for the opportunity to serve.

[annewandering]

Duty = service = love. Good. Duty = anger = frustration = no charity. Not good and no way to be doing anything. :)

[bytor2112]

"Duty, then is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more; you should never wish to do less." -Robert E. Lee

[Sicily510]

To think of duties in a carnal understanding is to be reminded that I am a single mother, the monetary system, the injustice, and the chaos of my environment.

To think of duties in a spiritual understanding of Jesus Christ is hope, inspiration, and the constant yearning to do more good for others.

[Dove]

I had an associate many years ago who taught me that life is a "want to." I really believed in this because at times I felt I was treated like a service project/duty by other people....Whose hearts weren't into it and efforts seemed to be more for some unforeseen reward/fear of punishment then just sincerely loving me in that moment...."to serve" and to "do things out of a sense of duty" I tend to view as 4 letter words now....

I really appreciate what Annewandering wrote. If and when I serve/fulfill my duty to our Heavenly Father, I want to do it simply because it is so worth it to do...To love others just because they are so worth loving. To do my visiting teaching/nursery calling because it's all about truly loving others. To me, this means sincerity and being open to the joy that can be found there.

I remember the short time I served in nursery with much fondness. I love the children there. I also remember visiting teaching fondly and the friends I found when I consistently fulfilled that calling. In the end, doing these things surely enriched my life and gave me comforting memories of good and positive experiences.

Dove

[mtman318]

I have certainly found a positive correlation between joy and caring for others, which I suppose is our ultimate duty.

Boy, wasn't that an emotional way of putting it, ha!

I think the times I have cared more for/about others (either God, people, animals, etc; especially God) than for myself have been the most joyful times for me.

[Magen_Avot]

IMO a sense of duty may motivate some while others are discouraged by feeling like they "have to" do it. I believe living the Gospel of Christ AND seeking to inch our way closer to Him will develop a deep enough love for Him that we do it all out of love, not duty.

There is a sliding scale between the two statements, its not just one or the other:

Love = service = peace = joy

Duty = "pet" project