Rising to the Occasion

 "I don’t know all the answers but I do my best
       To live up to the rising that won’t let me rest"

Lyrics by: Jason Deere

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, " God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability."

 After a humble prayer and sincere question of which church was true, Joseph Smith, a 14 year old boy in upstate New York made himself available to the Lord and was called to be a prophet in these latter days.  He restored Christ's one and only true church to the earth once again.  I can only imagine that Joseph often asked how he was supposed to do all that the Lord asked of him but he trusted that the Lord would qualify him for the tasks he was called to do.

Like Joseph Smith we all have important things we will have to do in life.  We may not be called as a prophet, we may not have to go through the things Joseph Smith did, but each and everyone one of us will have  to rise to the occasion at one point or another in our lives.

For many, raising children, will require people to rise to the occasion.  I am sure my mom can attest that raising teenagers required a lot of patience and diligence.  Hours of homework, projects, soccer games, and piano practices; I really don't know how my mother did it all.  But she rose to the occasion and I think I turned out alright  :)  

                 

Parenthood, moving to someplace new, starting a new job, going to school, talking to a stranger, being called to be a prophet; whatever the situation, we all will have things in our lives that will require us to rise to the occasion.  The great thing is, that we can do it. 

In the Book of Mormon Nephi gives us the promise that we can do whatever the Lord calls us to do if we will just exercise faith in him.  Nephi says, "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him?  Wherefore, let us be faithful to him." ( 1 Nephi 7:12)

I am so grateful that each day when I get out of my bed that I get to pray to my Heavenly Father and ask for his help to have enough faith to do whatever it is that He asks me to do.  The longer I am out on my mission the more I find having faith gets easier and easier.  Each day I find myself believing and seeing more miracles.  The Lord is helping me rise to the occasion of being the best missionary He knows that I can be.