Your Mission in Life

From February 25, 2006

What is your mission in life? Don’t we all, at some point, feel that we must have been put here on this earth, at this very time, for some particular purpose? I can’t tell you how many times I have asked myself, “What is my calling? What was I meant to do? What if I spend all this time and energy working for something that doesn’t turn out to be what I thought? How do I know if I am on the right path?”

These are all perfectly valid thoughts, yet, many times the “direction” of our lives is given to us bit by bit, and often goes unrecognized because we do not consider our current situation as a step in that “direction”. We may become disheartened or give up because it is taking too long, or requires too much effort. When the going gets tough, we tend to second-guess ourselves and what we are doing. Yet, it may be those “unwanted” experiences that are actually part of the way—guiding us toward that mission in life.

John H. Groberg said “Often people say, ‘I am confused. I don’t know what to do.’ And so they end up treading water and not doing anything, not making any real progress—and that, in and of itself, is a great sin. We should not do things wrong—but for heaven’s sake, we should do something!”

“Start moving in some direction. …If you feel negative about everything, start in the area about which you feel least negative. In other words, do not just sit and wait for a big revelation. Do not wait for a change, or a transfer, or a move, or a different situation. Start where you are, now.”

Groberg emphasizes that God knows we need the growth, and that “he generally does not point and say ‘Open that door and go twelve yards in that direction; then turn right and go two miles…’ But if it is wrong, he will let us know—we will fee it for sure…. So rather than saying ‘I will not move until I have this burning in my heart,’ let us turn it around and say ‘I will move unless I feel it is wrong; and if it is wrong, then I will not do it.’ By eliminating all of these wrong courses, very quickly you will find yourself going in the direction that you ought to be going, and then you can receive the assurance: ‘Yes, I am going in the right direction. I am doing what my Father in Heaven wants me to do because I am not doing the things he does not want me to do.’”

Does God have a mission in store for you? Yes, each of us has a distinct purpose for being here at this place in time. If you are worried that time is passing you by and you still have not found your mission, it may be that your purpose is currently under construction, and you just haven’t recognized some of the signs. As Groberg said, “All people do have a mission and can perform it, no matter where they are or under what circumstances they may live.”

…So I say: stay the course, and push onward.