Teancum's Impossible Task

Alma 52:16-17 

And it came to pass that Teancum had received orders to make an attack upon the city of Mulek, and retake it if it were possible.

And it came to pass that Teancum made preparations to make an attack upon the city of Mulek, and march forth with his army against the Lamanites; but he saw that it was impossible that he could overpower them while they were in their fortifications; therefore he abandoned his designs and returned again to the city Bountiful, to wait for the coming of Moroni, that he might receive strength to his army.

Teancum had been given a difficult task, a task that, by one estimation, was impossible for him to accomplish at that time. Yet, he eventually accomplished this task, with the aid of Moroni and his army.

I wonder how often we're given tasks like that. There are many commandments. By some counts, there are hundreds, including the commandment to "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). By some estimations, it is not possible for us to keep all the commandments perfectly all at once. With our finite time and energy, with our limited wisdom and will-power, with our merely mortal capabilities, there are some limits to what we can and can't do.

So, what can we do when we're given a task that we can't accomplish or when we're given more tasks than we can handle? At those times, it might be wise to follow Teancum's example. Teancum did all he could do, learned that it wasn't enough, and waited for the help he knew was coming.

Similarly, God expects us to do all that we can do, but He doesn't necessarily expect us to work miracles. That's His job. Our job is to do everything we can and wait for assistance from the Lord. Sometimes, that assistance comes as we are accomplishing the task, giving us strength to handle it. Sometimes, that assistance comes after repeated, failed attempts, as a reward for our diligence and perseverance. And sometimes, that assistance comes much later than we would like.

If we are ever given a task that's impossible for us to accomplish on our own, we should do all we reasonably can, and when that's not enough, we need to exercise patience and wait for assistance from the Lord.