The Sustaining of Church Officers

This entry is part of my general conference application series.

The Sustaining of Church Officers, by Presented by President Henry B. Eyring
First Counselor in the First Presidency


This afternoon, I was reading the Ensign, and I was impressed by two short articles on a single page, "When Is the Time to Serve?"by Elder Hales, and "Issuing and Accepting Callings" by Elder Walker (link to both articles).

I liked Elder Hales' thesis:

For every one of you the question will come in life, ‘When is the time to serve?’ The best answer I can give you is, ‘When you are asked.’

I likewise liked the points that Elder Walker made:

We serve willingly. We do not volunteer. We are called.

Callings and releases don’t always come to us when we would prefer. We need to trust in the Lord’s timetable.

For perhaps the first time that I can remember, I recognized many of the names of those who were released in the sustaining of church officers. I've long loved raising my hand to sustain those currently serving as church leaders and those newly called. I have also dutifully raised my hand in thanks for many hours (and years) of heartfelt service in releasings. It was an interesting change to feel that I knew many of the people that were released, having made personal connections with them through their words and service over the years.

Interestingly, this is connected to the last talk I reviewed; I knew these men by their love, and because of their examples, I am a better disciple of Christ.