“This Marvelous Work,” New Era, Jan. 2015, 17
This Marvelous Work
When you hear the word embark, what do you think of? A ship setting sail? Joining a great cause? The beginning of a journey?
When you “embark in the service of God,” you’re joining the greatest journey ever. You’re helping God hasten His work, and it’s a great, joyful, and marvelous experience.
Don’t just take our word for it. Last year in a small town in Utah, young men in a teachers quorum visited the youth activities website (lds.org/youth/activities) to find ideas for an activity. One in particular caught their attention: “Seven Days of Service.”
These young men decided to do something even bigger: they would provide service each day for an entire week to anyone in the ward who requested it. When 19 families signed up, the young men were a little surprised and perhaps even a little overwhelmed. How would they be able to do so much service in such a short time? But they had made a commitment, so they decided to serve all of the families.
In just one week, they gave over 250 hours of combined service, doing such projects as moving a huge pile of rocks, digging a sandbox, cleaning out gutters, and stacking wood. And it changed the young men too. (See a video at lds.org/go/serviceNE1.)
They felt awed by the strength they felt and the blessings they received. They described feeling united as a quorum and receiving divine help to do homework and other responsibilities. Now, when their ward needs service, the teachers quorum responds enthusiastically. They didn’t just serve for a week—they try to serve every day.
Serving and building the kingdom of God truly is a marvelous work. It brought joy to these young men, and it will bring joy to you as you lift others and see their lives changed by pure and honest efforts. As the Young Women general presidency notes on page 16, it is a privilege to serve God.
Embark right now in your service to God “with all your heart, might, mind and strength” (D&C 4:2). We want to know about your service experiences! Make videos and take pictures of your service, upload them onto social media sites, share them with your family and friends, and email them to newera@ldschurch.org. You can also tell others about them on the youth activities site. Please invite others to join you in this marvelous work, and let’s see how much we can change the world.