Magnify

Jacob 1:7 Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest...

19 And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility

To Jacob, teaching the word of God was more than an assignment from his brother—it was an “errand from the Lord,” so he labored diligently to “magnify [his] office” (Jacob 1:17, 19). President Gordon B. Hinckley taught that we magnify our callings “as we serve with diligence, as we teach with faith and testimony, as we lift and strengthen and build convictions of righteousness in those whose lives we touch” (“Magnify Your Calling,” Ensign, May 1989, 47). Think about your own “[errands] from the Lord” as you read Jacob 1:6–8, 15–19 and 2:1–11.

I studied these verses and topic in Come Follow Me the other day. With church on pause, and our homes being the place of worship, I have had ample time to ponder. I was called on "an errand of the Lord" to be the primary president of my ward. I feel a sense of responsibility for the kids in my care and stewardship. I will not be seeing these kids for some time, perhaps only a month or two, and most of my primary responsibilities are on pause also.

So, how can I minister to these kids if I cannot see them and meet with them? How can I possibly magnify my calling in this capacity?

Every Wednesday I set an hour aside to visit with children, maybe they've had a birthday, or maybe they've just been in my thoughts, but every Wednesday I go on visits. I either hand out a birthday card and candy, or if it isn't a birthday visit, I hand write a note on the back of a picture of Jesus and I give them that. Yesterday I had the thought of handwriting a note to every single child in my primary on the back of a picture of Jesus, that's 80 kids. I strapped on my roller blades and placed a note on each child's door as I roller-bladed around the neighborhood. So far, I am already about 1/3 of the way done. I don't know if it will mean much to the kids, but at least they'll know that I care about them and I am thinking of them. I tried really hard to make each note very personal. I feel like this was an answer to my prayer about how to both magnify my calling at this time, and also how to minister.

It is my prayer that as I put forth my greatest effort to serve in this calling, the Lord will make up for what I lack and perhaps great things will happen in our primary. I hope and pray that each child will know that they are a child of a loving God who knows them and loves them. That perhaps they will see my personal note and think of Christ, and think that if their primary president loves them and knows them, then surely He must also.