While thinking on discovering your purpose in life, I happened by chance to come across a speech given on the subject from a religious point of view. I am a deeply religious person myself and always love to share my beliefs with others. The purpose of me sharing this video, however, is solely motivated by what you can learn about finding and clarifying your purpose in life.
This is a video of a speech given at my alma mater, Brigham Young University. Mr Thompson gave this address on June 1, 2010. This gentleman uses his religion to explain calling in life. Callings are similar to your purpose. He speaks of callings as your vocation or your work, but allows for a much wider application.
Mr. Thompson explains the ancient roots of the idea of having a calling in life (one that relates to one’s work). He illustrates a gospel foundation for the concept of a life’s calling (hint: there sure is one). He explains that God gave us all talents, skills, and experiences to serve (to serve Him through serving our fellow mankind).
He, Mr. Thompson, then shares with us 5 Heresies:
- You might have a calling if your are lucky, or you might not
- THE TRUTH: YOU DO HAVE A CALLING – YOU JUST NEED TO DETECT IT
- You have to find your one true calling in order to be fulfilled
- THE TRUTH: YOUR CALLING MAY TAKE MANY FORMS
- When you find your calling work will be bliss
- THE TRUTH: CALLINGS REQUIRE WORK – BLISS AND BLISTERS ARE A PART OF THE MANIFESTATION OF YOUR CALLING
- When you find your calling, the world will take notice
- THE TRUTH: YOU ARE FULFILLED WHETHER YOU SERVE IN SILENCE OR PUBLIC
- Meaningfulness in life is to be found in your work
- THE TRUTH: MEANINGFULNESS COMES FROM PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL WORK
What Is Your Calling in Life? by Jeffery A. Thompson
My notes from this video:
Introduction
- Introduction
- His calling in life brings him immense joy
- What is your calling in life
- How you will find it out
- Not easy
- Great anxiety
- Wanted to care passionately about his work
- Felt adrift
- Somehow he missed the path that he needed to take and would not be able get back on it
- In hindsight
- those threads in life that seemed out of place now help him in his calling, they now provide structure to his calling in life
- All things work together for good
- Objective
- Think about (or discover) your calling in life without anxiety – no need for anxious feelings
- Definition
- Explore what “calling in life” means
- Does “calling in life” fit in the restored gospel
- Calling in life (your life’s work) = work
- Ancient and Religious roots of the Idea of “Life’s Calling”
- mixed ideas anciently about, “work”
- Greeks and monks had limiting beliefs about work
- Luther – Work is how we participate in God’s providence to God’s children
- How to find your calling – do whatever your station in life dictated (any service to mankind)
- Kalvin – God endows each of us with particular talents and gifts
- Use these gifts and talents from God – discover them – use them in the service of your fellow men
- “God endows each of us with talents and gifts. It is our calling to discover them and to use them in the service of His children.”
- We must seek out ways to use them in service to our fellow men
- “For as God bestows any ability or gift upon any of us, he binds us to such as have need of us and as we are able to help” John Calvin -Sermons of John Calvin
- [Ben’s interpretation = like the parable of the talents, God gives us gifts for the purpose of serving Him by way of serving our fellow men. He is linking us to those who need our service. We will be accountable how we use our talents and gifts.]
- Idea of a Life Calling – Professional Work
- Roots are religious, but this is forgotten
- This drift from the religious roots, leads to false beliefs and harasses
- These are the things that lead to anxiety –
- Appealing to the restored doctrine to clear up these harasses
5 Heresies About Life’s Callings:
- 1. You might have a calling if your are lucky, or you might not
- “…be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.” Jesus Christ – D&C58:27-28
- You have a calling in life – the power is in you
- How do you know what your calling is
- This comes easy to some – for others it is agonizing
- THE TRUTH: YOU DO HAVE A CALLING – YOU JUST NEED TO DETECT IT
- 2. You have to find your one true calling in order to be fulfilled
- Reminds us of “one-true-love” idea
- “For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.” D&C 46:11-12 [Ben: This scripture specifically talks about Spiritual Gifts, but relates to other talents and gifts as well]
- Gifts are infinite in number and variety
- Delve deeply into your gifts, and what you enjoy and think about a career path
- Gifts and talents have marketable value
- They are also mobile
- Seek to develop and share your gifts
- You will be led eventually to a place where your gifts are values and perfectly suited for you to serve
- When you cannot control the economic and social environment for finding a job
- Challenging to find the right job
- We may be tempted to feel like a victim or feel despair
- You may need to take a job you feel is below your potential
- Focus on sharing your gifts where you can
- Work hard to qualify for the opportunity when it arises
- Use your gifts to put your own unique stamp on what you contribute
- Or suffer joblessness for a time (devastating long-term impact on confidence, health, happiness)
- Having a sense of calling = inoculation to the vicissitudes of the market
- Know yourself
- Know what your gifts are
- Define yourself by your gifts not by your lack of a job
- If the world at present is not willing to pay you for what you can do, donate your gifts to worthy causes (like charities)
- These gifts will become more valuable until people will pay you for them
- Having a sense of calling = inoculation to the vicissitudes of the market
- [Ben: Going from calling to career is a process]
- THE TRUTH: YOUR CALLING MAY TAKE MANY FORMS
- 3. When you find your calling work will be bliss
- Media: build a career that it is exciting and intensely fulfilling
- Reality: it is a distortion of the concept of work to suggest that it will ALWAYS be fun
- Examples:
- Zookeepers – passionate of what they do. Find satisfaction in what they do.
- Calling for these people
- Satisfaction and Sacrifice
- Pain and burdens and sacrifice were not threats, but part of the satisfaction
- Work was meaningful because of the trials and burdens
- Assuming the meaningfulness comes with assuming the burdens, too
- Hero myths – Follow your bliss
- Campbel, “Follow your blisters, not follow your bliss”
- You must be willing to do work with
- The mundane, sacrifice,
- Don’t expect deep meaning without paying the price
- THE TRUTH: CALLINGS REQUIRE WORK – BLISS AND BLISTERS ARE A PART OF THE MANIFESTATION OF YOUR CALLING
- Media: build a career that it is exciting and intensely fulfilling
- 4. When you find your calling, the world will take notice
- The world may not loudly applaud your calling in life
- The custodian (often thought of in a lowly way) can be fulfilling
- Look for example of mobility in so-called menial occupations
- Many inspiring examples of those who serve in quiet ways
- If your life’s calling (occupation) is not glamours
- John Calvin – “No task will be so sordid and base… that it will not shine and be reckoned very precious in God’s sight.”
- Egalitarian spirit of work – even priests and kings no better than the common laborer — every man working according to his own strength Alma 1:26
- Heresy: work is not only meaningful when it it gives you fame or prestige
- THE TRUTH: YOU ARE FULFILLED WHETHER YOU SERVE IN SILENCE OR PUBLIC
- The world may not loudly applaud your calling in life
- 5. Meaningfulness in life is to be found in your work
- This is insidious because it is almost true
- Many people identify themselves, primarily, by their professions (occupations)
- Warning: Meaningful work may distract you from the weightier matters of eternal life
- In the eternal scheme of things, our fulfilling jobs may just seem to us as playthings
- Meaningfulness (purpose) can come from work, but that is not the only source
- This way of looking at it misses the point because it focuses on the SELF
- EXAMPLE: This is like a master artists who creates great and inspiring work and then hoards them in her closet where only she can enjoy them. There is a much more excellent way…
- The real purpose of a life’s calling is to serve
- We can indeed find meaningfulness in work (self-serving)
- True meaningfulness comes from service (serves all – where all can be profited thereby)
- From Mundane to Meaningful
- Doing laundry ->serving God; tidying clutter -> building the kingdom…
- It is about serving God directly or serving Him through serving His Children
- Eye single to God and trying to serve your family
- You can feel as much purpose in DOING YOUR SPECIAL WORK as the most glamorous-seeming work does
- Doing laundry ->serving God; tidying clutter -> building the kingdom…
- State of your Heart is as important as the work that you do
- Who are you serving
- Yourself (example of money changer seeking to ingratiate himself)
- God and fellowman (example of merchant seeking to give value to world)
- Be cautious of who you serve
- See work as another extension as a commandment to be anxiously engaged in a good work
- When we lose ourselves, we find ourselves
- This is part of taking care of number one
- When you FOCUS YOUR WORK ON BLESSING OTHERS, you will be extraordinary at what you do
- Who are you serving
- THE TRUTH: MEANINGFULNESS COMES FROM PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL WORK
Conclusion
- Work to serve
- Enter to learn, go forth to serve
- Conclusion
- Heavenly Father is intimately involved in the doors that open for us and in the circumstances that lead us to the places where we should be, the places where we have power in us to serve
- Your unseen navigator will lead you to your life’s calling
- As with other questions, Jesus Christ will help us learn
- What our life’s calling is
- Grace of Christ will guide us to our calling and enable us to excel in them
- “Pray over our flocks..”
- This will help us expel anxiety
- Heavenly Father is intimately involved in the doors that open for us and in the circumstances that lead us to the places where we should be, the places where we have power in us to serve
.
View Contents
4 Comments
Leave your reply.