Help! Blessings from...

[NeedleinA]

I'm supposed to be preparing my talk for Sunday on "Blessing from Sustaining Church Leaders"... I'm procrastinating and keep responding to threads on here instead. 

Help! What Blessing do you know of or have experienced by "Sustaining Church Leaders"?? I keep trying to write a talk about blessings that come from listening to Church Leaders, but this is asking about blessing from Sustaining them not listening to them.

Thoughts? G-R-E-A-T analogy anyone??? Please, Por favor, Per favore, E' olu'olu! uuugh!

[Vort]

Sustaining my Church leaders has given me the opportunity to stand up and be counted as one unafraid to risk the contempt of the sophisticati and bear the slings and arrows of those mocking from the great and spacious building.

It has also allowed me to be of service to my fellow Saints, as I try to help my leaders build Zion.

[NeedleinA]

Perfect Vort, thank you!

[zil]

IMO, when I raise my hand to sustain the new ward chorister, I'm saying that I will sing the hymns in Sacrament meeting.  When I sustain the RS Pres, I'm saying I will serve when she asks.  When I sustain my visiting teaching supervisor, I'm saying I'll call and report each month.  Etc.  I think sustaining is a lot more than raising your hand.  It's possible there isn't any more for particular callings (except perhaps praying for them; e.g. if I have no children and am not called to primary, how do I sustain the primary president?); but for many callings, there's some active thing you can do to sustain them.

The blessings from this kind of sustaining seem obvious.  "The song of the righteous...", service brings blessings, obedience brings blessings, etc., etc., etc.

[NeedleinA]

42 minutes ago, zil said:

IMO, when I raise my hand to sustain the new ward chorister, I'm saying that I will sing the hymns in Sacrament meeting.  When I sustain the RS Pres, I'm saying I will serve when she asks.  When I sustain my visiting teaching supervisor, I'm saying I'll call and report each month.  Etc.  I think sustaining is a lot more than raising your hand.  It's possible there isn't any more for particular callings (except perhaps praying for them; e.g. if I have no children and am not called to primary, how do I sustain the primary president?); but for many callings, there's some active thing you can do to sustain them.

The blessings from this kind of sustaining seem obvious.  "The song of the righteous...", service brings blessings, obedience brings blessings, etc., etc., etc.

Thank you Zil! Pretend the blessings are not obvious to me for a moment. Can I ask are there specific traceable blessing you have gotten as a direct result of sustaining church leaders?

[zil]

IMO, it doesn't really (usually) work that way.  I can't say that received X as a direct result of Y sustaining-act.  The most specific example I can think of is that last year, our Stake President challenged us to read the scriptures for 30 minutes / day.  I accepted that challenge (which I also consider a form of sustaining my Stake President), and have been blessed with increased spirituality in my life - greater peace, greater understanding and appreciation for the scriptures, things like that.  But I suspect I would have received the same blessings if I had chosen to do it all on my own, without the Stake President ever having made the challenge...  There may be other blessings I'm not (yet) aware of.

I guess my point is that I think blessings like this are like drops in the bucket (or oil lamp, if you want).

Hmm. I'm a terrible singer.  I used to never sing aloud (though the words were in my mind and heart), until I realized the link between raising my hand to the square and singing.  I sing now.  I try to sing quietly, so as not to damage the ears of anyone seated too close to me, but I sing.  And I feel the Spirit more strongly in Sacrament meeting, in particular, which I think is a direct result of making that choice.  I think without that realization of the link between raising my hand to the square and singing, I never would have sung aloud in the meetings.  Again, I think I would receive the same blessings regardless of my motivation, but in this case, my motivation was to sustain, as I was promising to do.

[NeedleinA]

Perfect Zil! See, even despite the X = Y idea, you still can see some results either way

[Vort]

22 minutes ago, zil said:

I can't say that received X as a direct result of Y sustaining-act.  The most specific example I can think of is that last year, our Stake President challenged us to read the scriptures for 30 minutes / day.  I accepted that challenge (which I also consider a form of sustaining my Stake President), and have been blessed with increased spirituality in my life - greater peace, greater understanding and appreciation for the scriptures, things like that.  But I suspect I would have received the same blessings if I had chosen to do it all on my own, without the Stake President ever having made the challenge.

Regarding the bolded part: I agree, you probably would have received the same blessings had you done it on your own. BUT YOU DIDN'T. That is the point. You obeyed your leader's instruction, and as a result you gained the blessing that instruction offered. If that is not being rewarded for obedience and for sustaining your leader, I don't know what is.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Vort

[zil]

9 minutes ago, Vort said:

Regarding the bolded part: I agree, you probably would have received the same blessings had you done it on your own. BUT YOU DIDN'T. That is the point. You obeyed your leader's instruction, and as a result you gained the blessing that instruction offered. If that is not being rewarded for obedience and for sustaining your leader, I don't know what is.

Yes, good point.