“Mormonad,” New Era,
Aug. 1997, 19
Photography by John Luke
Play Your Part
Got an assignment? Follow through. Other people are counting on you. (See
D&C 107:99–100.)
Gospel topic: responsibility
From Lesson M3L41
“There is a thought from Confucius that touches upon the point of many
personal and public problems. ‘A man who lacks reliability is utterly
useless,’ he said. In this there is much of what is wrong with the
relationships of man to man—not being reliable, not being able to count on
people to perform their part, to do what they say they will do when it needs
to be done. And so disappointments and disillusionment occur from day to
day. Someone says he’ll have something ready at a certain time, and it just
isn’t ready. Someone borrows and says he’ll pay back or bring it back at a
certain time, and it just isn’t paid back or brought back. Someone signs a
contract and agrees to perform certain services, and just doesn’t do it. The
list could be endlessly lengthened. Often there are unavoidable reasons, but
sometimes it is lack of reliability—and in some situations this could become
not only frustrating but frightening. All this could perhaps be compared to
a parachute that opens only part of the time, or to brakes on a car that
can’t be counted on consistently. … Suppose we couldn’t count on the
promises of God. Suppose the astronauts in orbit couldn’t count on the
calculations that others have made, or couldn’t count on the universe being
run reliably. Suppose we couldn’t count on the tides, or the sun, or the
seasons. It isn’t the hit-and-miss performance that makes life possible, but
the degree of reliability, dependability, honesty, consistency that can be
counted on. ‘A man who lacks reliability is utterly useless’ ” (Richard L.
Evans, “Reliable Once in a While,” Ensign, Oct. 1971, p. 9).
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