“Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.” (D&C 64:33). In this section of the Doctrine & Covenants, the Lord singles out seven of His servants - Joseph Smith Jr, Ezra Booth, Isaac Morley, Edward Partridge, Sidney Gilbert, Frederick G Williams, Newel K Whitney. At the time of this writing, some of these men were called out by the Lord as having sinned. Some were not. Some were recognized for having already been forgiven. Some were not. Some were called upon to make sacrifices and sell their farms. Some were commanded to not sell their property. Some were commanded to get out of debt. Some were commanded to remain in debt and serve the Lord and His people anyway. All of them were commanded to confess their sins and repent, forgive one another, to offer sacrifices and pay their tithing, to labor while it is called today, and to be not weary in well-doing. The weariness of which the Lord speaks has little to do with how much energy we have or how hard we work. The Lord is not commanding us to ignore our physical, emotional or mental limitations. “And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.” (Mosiah 4:27). Part of making sure that we are not weary in well-doing is to make sure that we are doing all things in order and not letting ourselves get burnt out by sacrificing our own personal health and well-being in the name of “well-doing.” Part of the well that we must be doing is to ourselves. But beyond the exhaustion that comes from hard work, there is a more insidious form of weariness that can rob all of our strength and willpower and make us weary in well-doing. This weariness comes from allowing ourselves to be drawn out of the now and to worry about the future or the past, to waste our energy figuring out if what we are doing is harder or easier, more or less important or prestigious, more exciting or more boring than what everyone else is doing. There is a term in psychology called “flow state". Also known as being “in the zone”, flow state is characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. When we allow ourselves to be drawn into a task, to “labor while it is called today” (D&C 64:25), then we will not be weary in well-doing. We will place our trust in the Lord that the particular patch of His vineyard to which He has called us to labor is precisely matched up with our talents, skills, abilities and energy levels. We will not feel overwhelmed or out of our depth, and we will also not feel bored or frustrated that we are being underutilized or degraded by working in a task that is beneath us. And above all, we will not waste one precious erg of energy comparing our work with anyone else’s. Lot’s wife grew weary in well-doing and turned to look back. Aaron grew weary in well-doing and made the golden calf. Jonah grew weary in well-doing and fled from Nineveh. Naaman nearly grew weary in well-doing and almost refused to bathe in the river Jordan. We may be called to serve in the nursery and be tempted to feel that we ought to be in the bishopric. And we may be called to serve in the bishopric and feel that we ought to be int he nursery. We may have a loved one that is going through cancer and know someone whose loved one is going through an addiction and feel like things would be so much easier if we swapped places. And they may feel the same. Comparisons and hypotheticals and regrets and vain imaginings pull us out of the flow state and prevent us from laboring while it is called today and they will make us weary in well-doing. Sometimes God may forgive us before we feel that we have been punished severely enough. Let us accept His forgiveness and be not weary in well-doing. Sometimes God may not forgive us even though we feel that we have suffered more than enough, and certainly more than others who have had similar sins. Let us accept His wisdom and be not weary in well-doing. All we are ever doing is laying the foundation of a great work. We may think that the corner of the foundation is more prestigious or desirable than the center, or maybe the center is better than the edge. But the fact of the matter is, no one ever sees any part of the foundation once the building is complete. It is unnoticed, perhaps even unappreciated, but absolutely vital. We do not need to weary ourselves worrying about our part of the foundation, whether others will like it or hate it, whether we’re doing our fair share or not. In the grand scheme of things, our part will be a small and simple one, but it is by the small and simple things that we do that great things are brought to pass.
