This past General Conference weekend was really enjoyable
for me and I especially look forward to re-reading and re-listening to the
talks. One talk in particular stuck out to me because it had a lot of relevance
to my life and even a few of the class discussions that we have had in REL A
250.
President Uchtdorf’s General Priesthood Session talk was
entitled “The Greatest among You”. In his talk he references the nickname given
to James and John, the “Sons of Thunder”.
He says, “You don’t get a nickname like that without an
intriguing backstory. Unfortunately, the scriptures don’t provide much
explanation about the nickname’s origin. However, we do get brief glimpses into
the character of James and John… On one occasion, as the Savior prepared to
make His final journey to Jerusalem, James and John approached Him with a
special request—one perhaps worthy of their nickname. ‘We want you to do for us whatever we ask,’
they said. I can imagine Jesus smiling at them as He responded, ‘What do you
want?’ ‘Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on
thy left hand, in thy glory.’”
President Uchtdorf goes on to explain that this request is
not too dissimilar to us when we seek earthly or temporal power, he goes on to
say, “you can’t get honor in the kingdom of heaven by campaigning for it. Nor
can you ‘power lunch’ your way to eternal glory.”
Christ taught, “whosoever will be great among you, shall be
your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of
all.”
This scripture should apply to all of us in some way. All of
us at some time or another will have the opportunity to work in a leadership
position. That may be at work, school, in a club, or in the church. I believe that
as we seek to fulfill these roles in a spirit of servitude we will be better
off and blessed for exercising humility. I can only imagine how different the
world would be if the world leaders practiced this kind of Servant Leadership.
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