On Receiving

In the LDS Church, there is usually an emphasis on giving and serving. Which I think is absolutely wonderful, given that I need to be constantly reminded to resist selfish thought patterns, attitudes, and behavior. However, I have misapplied this counsel at times in my life. I have misconstrued it to mean that asking for help is a sign of weakness--that I am only a good person if I continually serve without ever asking to be served. This idea that good LDS people only give and never receive is so off the mark!!

Recently in my scripture study I have been impressed by how the act of receiving is a gospel principle. This idea was mentioned by my IAS teacher last term, and yesterday I looked into it more in my scripture study. I looked up the word "receive" in the Index, and I found that there is almost a column and a half of references for the concept! That is quite a lot. Listen to how many phrases there are in the scriptures and our gospel vocabulary that include the word "receive":

Receive the priesthood
Receive a priesthood blessing
Receive God's counsel
Receive personal revelation
Receive promptings of the Holy Ghost
Receive forgiveness for one's sins
Receive one's endowment
Receive other gospel ordinances
Receive the gift of the Holy Ghost
Receive the sacrament
Receive God's word
Receive Christ's love into your heart
Receive light
Receive God's image in your countenance
Receive salvation
Receive God's servants
Receive the Lord
Receive the Father
Receive the Father's kingdom
Receive all that the Father hath

That is a lot of phrases using just one word! And there are probably more that I missed. Clearly, the Lord wants us to receive all the good gifts He has to offer us. He wants us to accept help from Him. He has even told us, "For unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have." (2 Nephi 28:30). Receiving is an integral part of the gospel, because we can't make it on our own. We cannot gain salvation on our own. We need the Lord's help. We need His saving grace! We need the saving power of the atonement.

A directive from God to man that is found all over the scriptures is "Ask, and ye shall receive." It seems to me that most of us in the Church accept this readily and don't have any qualms in listing off to Heavenly Father in our prayers all the things we want and need. So why then, if we are so comfortable with asking God for help, do so many of us struggle in asking each other for help?

I believe that just as we need God's saving grace, we also need each other. We have been told that we can not be saved or made perfect without our dead (see D & C 128:15 & 18), and I believe that likewise we can not be saved or made perfect without each other. We should ask each other for help. Really, in order for there to be service in Zion, there has to be people who need to be served!

As I reflect on the people I've known in my life, those who stand out as my best friends are those who I went to and said, "Hey, I'm having a hard time, can you lend me a hand?" It was those people I felt the greatest bond with. And I believe it was in those moments in which my friends and I shared mutual insecurities, pain, fears, and struggles that those bonds were formed. Of course there were other times of shared joy and triumph that strengthened our relationship as well, but without the times of shared struggle, I don't think we would have drawn as close to one another. My closest friendships are the products of the applied principle of asking and receiving.

I have a long way to go when it comes to this principle! I need to work on being more humble so it's easier for me to ask for help. I also need to work on internalizing the belief that receiving is not the opposite of service, but rather it is complementary to it. I'm sure it pleases Heavenly Father when His children engage in reciprocal relationships in which there is both giving and receiving. In this way we help each other return to Him.