Let's talk about two words today.
Passive and Active.
These two words sum up what it means to be human. In fact, it's so important that it's one of the first things taught in the Book of Mormon (one of my faith's books of Scripture).
"And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon." - 2 Nephi 2:14
Things to act : Active
Things to be acted upon: Passive.
And we get the choice of who we get to be.
(Brace yourselves, a mission story is coming)
Flashback to my LDS Mission in Argentina . I was serving in a small suburb of Buenos Aires where gossip and drama among members of the congregation had driven a once large congregation to about 20 people. It was all we could do as missionaries to keep everyone together, let alone find people willing to listen to our message. Every day we would face constant rejection from those outside the faith, and desperation and anger from those inside. Every day I got more and more anxious and depressed as nothing seemed to be happening.
Flash forward to 2015: I had just graduated from college. I was a smart young millennial with big dreams and a fancy pants degree ready to get a big-boy job and change the world. Then life happened. I couldn't get a job outside fast food, had debt looming over my head, and had almost no friends. Every day I got more and more anxious as nothing seemed to be happening.
Can you see the common thread running through these two stories? In both cases I had allowed my depression and anxiety to be determined by the circumstances around me. In other words: I was being acted upon.
I was being passive.
(note: I am not referring to the real and actual condition known as depression, which can be very serious. Many people are affected by this daily and their struggle is real.)
In Argentina, I had the fortunate advantage of having a great Mission President who helped me realize that I had crossed the line into passivity.
In 2015, I got a kick in the pants from some great family and friends.
The message was clear. I needed to begin acting for myself. I stopped going through the motions (prayer, scripture study, etc.) and began to act of my own accord. In Argentina I began more earnest fasting and scripture study, and last year I began to
Ironically, in many ways my circumstances remained the same. In Argentina, I was still facing rejection and a distraught congregation and last year I remained in my fast food job and was still in debt.
It was me who had changed. Elder David A. Bednar taught " As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed. ("In the Strength of the Lord", BYU, 2001). I was a witness to that in these two occasions. I was eventually transferred out of the Buenos Aires suburb (and into a job with way more responsibility- the Lord has a sense of humor sometimes) and as of this week I was able to acquire new work and begin to pay my debts and make new friends.
You see, I had been begging someone to change my circumstances, but they wouldn't change until I did.
And change is the essence of religion: to change us from creatures who are passive to creatures who are active.
Pure religion calls us to be "doers of the word, and not hearers only". In this way, pure religion requires us to act, and makes us free agents.
And those are the people who make a difference in the world.
Passive and Active.
These two words sum up what it means to be human. In fact, it's so important that it's one of the first things taught in the Book of Mormon (one of my faith's books of Scripture).
"And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon." - 2 Nephi 2:14
Things to act : Active
Things to be acted upon: Passive.
And we get the choice of who we get to be.
(Brace yourselves, a mission story is coming)
Flashback to my LDS Mission in Argentina . I was serving in a small suburb of Buenos Aires where gossip and drama among members of the congregation had driven a once large congregation to about 20 people. It was all we could do as missionaries to keep everyone together, let alone find people willing to listen to our message. Every day we would face constant rejection from those outside the faith, and desperation and anger from those inside. Every day I got more and more anxious and depressed as nothing seemed to be happening.
Flash forward to 2015: I had just graduated from college. I was a smart young millennial with big dreams and a fancy pants degree ready to get a big-boy job and change the world. Then life happened. I couldn't get a job outside fast food, had debt looming over my head, and had almost no friends. Every day I got more and more anxious as nothing seemed to be happening.
Can you see the common thread running through these two stories? In both cases I had allowed my depression and anxiety to be determined by the circumstances around me. In other words: I was being acted upon.
I was being passive.
(note: I am not referring to the real and actual condition known as depression, which can be very serious. Many people are affected by this daily and their struggle is real.)
In Argentina, I had the fortunate advantage of having a great Mission President who helped me realize that I had crossed the line into passivity.
In 2015, I got a kick in the pants from some great family and friends.
The message was clear. I needed to begin acting for myself. I stopped going through the motions (prayer, scripture study, etc.) and began to act of my own accord. In Argentina I began more earnest fasting and scripture study, and last year I began to
Ironically, in many ways my circumstances remained the same. In Argentina, I was still facing rejection and a distraught congregation and last year I remained in my fast food job and was still in debt.
It was me who had changed. Elder David A. Bednar taught " As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed. ("In the Strength of the Lord", BYU, 2001). I was a witness to that in these two occasions. I was eventually transferred out of the Buenos Aires suburb (and into a job with way more responsibility- the Lord has a sense of humor sometimes) and as of this week I was able to acquire new work and begin to pay my debts and make new friends.
You see, I had been begging someone to change my circumstances, but they wouldn't change until I did.
And change is the essence of religion: to change us from creatures who are passive to creatures who are active.
Pure religion calls us to be "doers of the word, and not hearers only". In this way, pure religion requires us to act, and makes us free agents.
And those are the people who make a difference in the world.