One Sunday as the bishop surveyed the congregation from the stand at the beginning of sacrament meeting, he became unsettled when he noticed that Sister Mensing was not in her usual place.  The meeting was already under way, but the bishop was so bothered by the faithful widow’s absence that he arose and went to his office to call her.  There was no answer.

Becoming alarmed, and without informing his counselors, he left the ninety and nine, and went in search of the missing one.  He knocked at her apartment door.  There was no answer.  Finding the apartment manager, he explained his concerns, and together they unlocked the widow’s door.  They found her unconscious on the bathroom floor.  The ambulance was called, help arrived, and the bishop was soon quietly slipping back into his seat at church before sacrament meeting had ended.  He was gratified the next week, to also see Sister Mensing in her accustomed seat.

Three vital principles were at play in this story.  The first principle was that of a church member being faithful to his assigned calling, and of being willing to be inconvenienced in order to carry out his priesthood assignment.  The second principle was that of his being worthy to have the Spirit speak to him, and that he was able and willing to hear.  The third principle was his quick response to the Spirit’s directive.

How many chances to serve have we missed by telling ourselves that we’ll do it later, that we just don’t have time right now?  How many choice experiences have we missed by putting something off until it’s too late to do?  How many people have not been helped because of our procrastination, or because we simply haven’t heard when the Spirit called?

The bishop had a motto that he tried to live by, and that we might do well to adopt:  “If not me, who?  If not now, when?”

There was one very good reason that Joseph was chosen to be the guardian of the baby Jesus and His mother.  He lived by this motto.  When Mary told him that she was expecting a child before they were married, he “was minded to put her away privily.”  (Matt. 1:19).  But “the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream” and said, “Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife:  for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:  for he shall save his people from their sins.”  (vs. 20, 21).  “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife.”  (v. 24).

That’s impressive.  As soon as he got up in the morning, he did as he had been bidden.  Even more impressive was his reaction the next time the angel appeared to him.  The wise men had just been to see the Christ child.  Theirs was the final, necessary witness to his birth following the witnesses of the shepherds, the angel, the heavenly choir, and the venerable Simeon and Anna.  “The angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word:  for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

“When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt.”  (Matt. 2:13, 14).  Joseph didn’t even wait for dawn before doing what he’d been told to do.

“If not me, who?  If not now, when?”  Jesus couldn’t have had a better guardian.

Do the families to whom you’re assigned have such a visiting or home teacher?

A touching story was told by President Hinckley of a five- or six-year-old boy who was instructed to pay his tithing, but was not told how to do it.  He took one-tenth of his small savings, “went to the only room in the house with a lock on the door—the bathroom—and there knelt by the bathtub.  Holding the three or four coins in my upturned hands,” he said, “I asked the Lord to accept them.  (I was certain He would appear and take them from me.)  I pleaded with the Lord for some time, but (nothing happened.  Why would He not accept my tithing?).  As I rose from my knees, I felt so unworthy that I could not tell anyone what had happened….

“A few days later at Primary, the teacher said she felt impressed to talk about something that was not in the lesson.  I sat amazed as she then taught us how to pay tithing (to the bishop, the Lord’s servant).  But what I learned was far more important than how to pay tithing.  I learned that the Lord had heard and answered my prayer, that He loved me, and that I was important to Him.  In later years I came to appreciate still another lesson my Primary teacher had taught me that day—to teach as prompted by the Spirit.

“So tender was the memory of that occasion that for more than thirty years I could not share it.  Even today, after sixty years, I still find it difficult to tell about it without tears coming to my eyes.  The pity is that a wonderful Primary teacher never knew that through her, the Lord spoke to a small boy.”  (Gordon B. Hinckley in general conference, April 2003).

That teacher was faithful to her assigned calling, heard the Spirit, and acted quickly.

Two American servicemen had just attended a Church conference in Japan and came away feeling very touched and inspired.  One found himself wishing that a sister who he home taught, and her non-member husband, had been there to hear the messages.  Since they hadn’t been, he determined to take the messages to the couple himself.  His friend agreed to accompany him, even though the visit would involve a long, late-evening bus trip.  The two glowing young men were warmly received and listened to.  The Spirit that accompanied them fresh from the conference was apparent to the part-member couple.  Because of a transfer in duty stations, it was the last time the young serviceman saw the couple; but several weeks later he received a letter thanking him for the surprise visit, and announcing the baptism of the man.

The serviceman was faithful to his calling, heard the Spirit, and acted quickly.

A boy was turning 13 years old.  He was an only child, a non-member, and stuck in a family that consisted of an uncaring father and a proverbial wicked stepmother.  He loved school because there he was accepted.  He was a good student, and a good boy.  At home he was confined to his room, and given two cans of tomato soup every three days, and an occasional can of tuna.  When allowed out of the house, he went across town to an LDS home filled with love and with a family of boys younger than he.  The busy mother of seven in that home worried over her family’s less-fortunate visitor.  She determined to show him how much people cared for him by throwing a surprise birthday party.  The timing was inconvenient because the boy’s birthday was just five days before Christmas.  There was her family’s Christmas to prepare for, but she knew there would be neither a birthday nor a Christmas for the boy unless she did something.  The wicked stepmother was out of town, and the father gave permission.  The school gym was decorated, treats in abundance were prepared, three dozen people came, gifts were given, and a 13-year-old boy was shown that he was loved.  “I always wished I could have a birthday party,” he said afterward.

A young mother found herself left alone with the responsibility to care for her large family of children.  Her extended family maintained her while she struggled to finish her education.  Her ward family admired her diligence and upbeat attitude, and wished they could help, too.  Christmas was coming.  Each time she went to the mailbox she found another anonymous letter containing money.  Over $1000 came in all.  Many large boxes of food, too heavy to lift, appeared on her doorstep and in her car.

Many people hear the Spirit and act quickly even when they have no assigned calling.  They ask themselves, “If not me, who?  If not now, when?”

Opportunities to bless lives are all about us.  The Savior spent His life blessing others.  He’d like us to do the same.  If we’re alert to the whisperings of the Spirit, the Lord will be our partner to see that the needs of our Father’s children are met.  No other feeling can equal that which we feel when, with the Spirit as our guide, we come to the rescue of another.