Waiting to be Asked

As I read President Uchtdorf's talk, Learn from Alma and Amulek, a few parts of his message struck a chord with me. One of them was the part where he encouraged church leaders to be like Alma and find their Amuleks. President Uchtdorf explained that we all need help, no matter how capable we are,  and that there are many people who are willing to serve and help, "but they are reluctant to begin. Often they wait to be asked."

That was the situation my paladin character, Hector, found himself in when some tough customers were acting increasingly menacingly toward his friend. He wanted to step in and help, but he didn't want to butt in. So, instead, he waited for his friend to ask for his help, but he never did. Hector did very little in that role-playing session, and I'm afraid that many of us make the same mistake.

Too often, we see someone who could use help, or we see an opportunity to serve, but we don't really feel up to it, or we don't feel like it's our place to sign up, pipe in, or help out. We're willing to help, if others want our help, but just to be sure they want our help, we wait for them to ask.

But the interesting thing is that we already are being asked to help, just not by those who need the help. And because those requests are quiet and subtle, we tend to find them easy to overlook. Most of us wouldn't turn down a calling or refuse a request for help, but perhaps we don't realize that the Holy Spirit frequently calls to us and asks us to help others, just as God has asked us, in a general sense, to help all mankind. We don't need to wait for others to ask us to help them; God already did.

Even knowing that, we may be reluctant. Perhaps we should ask God to give us the confidence and courage to volunteer for the work God has asked us to do. Or perhaps we should ask God to inspire others to ask for our help so we'll know they want it. Either way, God can help us overcome our apprehensions and roll up our sleeves. Many of us are willing to help labor in the vineyard. Perhaps we and the world would be better off if we stopped just waiting to be asked.