Sister Lupe Piena, director of International Student Services, invited students and faculty to be “in” the world but not “of” the world, at a weekly devotional on November 16.
“My talk today is not to burden us with the evils of the world, but rather to remind us of the great blessings we have to look forward to. These blessings associated with literal gathering of Israel and the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is what I believe we have an opportunity to become participants in—if we choose to do so. This is what I refer to as our ‘Individual stewardship in the Miracle of Millennial Healing,’” said Sister Piena as she introduced her talk.
She went on to share the story of Annie, from the Broadway play “Annie.” She shared how Annie was an orphan during the Great Depression and truly believed that her parents would come back for her. She had so much optimism.
“We need Annie’s optimism in real life; especially with regard to what the old and modern prophets have testified will happen in the last days. Things will get worse before they get better. Hence, in order to be guided through such turbulent times, we need to make sure we have the right perspective,” said Sister Piena.
She quoted fourth Nephi which reads, “…there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there were no envying, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murder, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.”
“This is the condition we must work to achieve by having the blessings of the temples in our midst. How do we do this? By committing to live up to our divinely appointed stewardship. This is what I refer to as our ‘individual stewardship,’” said Sister Piena.
She shared ways in which we can live up to our “individual stewardship.” They are:
1. Engage in purposeful preparation
2.Cultivate those cultural values that are in harmony with the gospel of Jesus
Christ
3. Live worthy of the Holy Ghost to know where the Lord needs you to be for His
work and purposes, and
4. Work with faith unceasingly.
She concluded, “To live worthy of the Holy Ghost requires that our personal choices consistently reflect our desire to be obedient to God and His commandments. If we will do this, we will be in tune to know God’s will for us individually. It is important to remember that God’s purposes are always bigger than ourselves, and it requires great faith to follow the promptings of the Spirit when we cannot always see His full purposes.”
To view a full version of Sister Piena's talk, click here.
Photo by Monique Saenz.