Vol. 4 No. 8 - August 1957

"Inertia"

The Roman Empire was once considered the greatest in the world. However, this condition did not give it an eternal guarantee that it would remain the greatest. When the very principles that were employed to achieve this greatness were laid aside, they brought about its downfall. Selfishness, lust, greed, moral degeneration and the loss of loyalty and integrity of purpose crept in slowly until the great empire was finally destroyed.
Many times in our missionary testimony meetings we have heard promises and pledges from those present that they were going back to their branches with greater dedication of purpose. From the reports that have come in and are coming in, there appears to be an obvious moral inertia among many of the missionaries which prevents them from rising above their present state of indifference to fulfill the pledge which has fallen so many times from their lips. The Lord said to the Prophet Joseph, "in vain do they worship me, giving only lip service!"
Of what vale are your words? If you promise to do something and then fail to do it, you are guilty of lying and slothfulness, both of which God has warned us against. How often have you promised yourself that you were going to follow a schedule after you have enthusiastically made a new one? -- and then due to inertia never make the change? How often have you testified in a testimony meeting that you have been the happiest when you have been working the hardest, doing that which you have been set apart to do? Are we so immature that we have to be constantly prodded to do the thing which brings us such great joy?
How can you teach honesty when you are daily being dishonest with the Lord? How can you expect to preach a strong doctrine when you are not fulfilling your obligations to Him? You rob yourselves of spiritual strength when you do those things which are against the counsels of your leaders. To accept a mission assignment is to accept the most trusted assignment that the Lord bestows upon His children. Literally speaking, we are His ambassadors sent out to portray the excellencies of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, both through example and by word. Brother Henry D. Moyle expressed the thought that our calling is equally as important as that of an Apostle -- that we are assistants to the Apostles. We are engaged in the spiritual affairs of the Church. Thus we should keep slothfulness far from us.
Those in our ranks who spend long hours recalling and relating experiences in the Armed Services, to the flattering of their personal ego and the amusement of the missionaries, are not in anyway enlarging their own spiritual growth. If from those experiences they have grown in wisdom, as many of them have, then they will apply that wisdom humbly in promoting greater interest in the principles of the Gospel. They will use their maturity to prevent lengthy "gab fests" by encouraging their fellow missionary companions to use that time in study or in proselyting.
Are you guilty of inertia? If you are, then the above words apply first to you. If you are not, we caution you to avoid this state of being. Inertia is simply the tendency to remain in the state one is in, without attempting to make any change.

Sincerely your brother,
Asael T. Soren