Building the Kingdom in Diapers and Day Jobs

by Autumn Dickson

The Saints have built the Kirtland temple. This week we read about the dedication event, including the revealed prayer from the Lord, and we read about the Lord restoring priesthood keys within the temple. Here is one of the verses from the prayer that was revealed to Joseph Smith.

Doctrine and Covenants 109:9 That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord, that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord, that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hand unto the Most High–

This verse is talking about temple worship. When you come into the temple, your heart should be turned towards the Lord. When you leave the temple, that state of heart should follow you into the world. During temple worship, all of your salutations (or, in other words, your interpersonal communications) should reflect the Lord and His holiness.

There is a lot of power in focusing on Christ in the temple. Temple worship reflects the antiquity of the gospel, and it can feel very different than how we normally worship. When we use every part of the temple to reflect on Christ and look at every symbol through a lens of Christ, the worship experience becomes more meaningful.

However, I want to take this beyond the walls of the temple.

When I was a teenager, I remember attending EFY camps, fireside, Sunday youth classes, and all sorts of youth activities. Oftentimes, we would be invited to spend more time with the Savior. Being the perfectionist that I was, I often took this goal beyond what my leaders had likely intended. I would make goals about reading my scriptures, praying, and doing other spiritual activities that went beyond the bounds of what was balanced or even appropriate.

As an adult, I recall the Spirit whispering a very important truth to me. Spending time with the Savior is not just about going and doing traditionally spiritual things; it’s also about inviting the Savior into the rest of your life. Our incomings, outgoings, and salutations can be in the name of the Lord regardless of whether they are directly about the Lord.

Rather than constantly immersing myself in scripture study, I can take my learning to a new level as I bring Christ into the rest of my life. This has many outcomes, but let’s talk about a couple of them.

The first effect is that it transforms my life.

I can listen to secular music, read my favorite romance novels, go out to dinner with my husband, and hang out with my girl friends with the Savior as my companion. I remember driving to go buy a dress for a Christmas party. The sun was shining, and my Apple Playlist was giving me all of the best songs. The Spirit whispered to me that I should remember Christ, and I did. I thanked Him for moments like that, and it made it all the sweeter. I knew He was happy for me and that He was enjoying my happiness and gratitude.

Eternal life isn’t all work. I don’t know what the Savior does for fun, but I believe that fun is an important part of a healthy and balanced spiritual life. The Savior wants to be included in those moments too.

As a stay-at-home mom, my life can also get a bit repetitive meeting the needs of my kids. Helping the kids with their tasks that I’m trying to teach, making bottles, changing diapers, wiping the counter, picking up things so that I don’t trip over it, and refereeing can take its toll sometimes. The daily tasks can feel so mundane sometimes until you place them in the context of eternity. But then I bring the Savior into it. Eternity isn’t about learning some huge new lesson every few weeks. It’s not about giant, transformational experiences. It’s about daily habits that make us who we are.

When I invite the Savior to walk with me in my experience, it reminds me that I’m building discipleship into the rapidly developing brains of my children. Showing up for them over and over and over and over and over sets the stage for them to understand their Savior. He gives power and purpose to the mundane parts of my life. And though I speak of my personal experience as a stay-at-home mom, these principles extend beyond that. You can find power and purpose in the mundane parts of your life.

So we’re working on letting our incomings, outgoings, and salutations be in the name of the Lord. The first effect is that it transforms our lives. It makes sweet moments sweeter. It fills the mundane parts of life with purpose. And I didn’t talk about it, but it also soothes the hard moments.

The second effect is that it makes your work more powerful.

When you do something in the name of the Lord, it adds power. Acting in His name means that we are standing in for Him as if He were here. We are His representative. We are doing what He would do in our situation. Christ left His carpentry job to be a full-time missionary for 3 years, but that’s not our mission. He made premortal promises, and He fulfilled them. We also made premortal promises, but ours are not the same as His.

You don’t abandon your day job. You transform your day job. It’s “Bring the Savior to work day.” This has a couple of outcomes.

It quickens your ability to do your job. I watch my husband receive revelation all the time in his engineering designs. I pray all the time for his inspiration. The Saints were building the Kirtland temple, and I’m sure they learned a lot of spiritual lessons. They also developed some major construction skills. Maybe that doesn’t seem like an important skill until you realize that the Lord is preparing us to create like He did. Invite Him to join you, and do all things in His name. It can add purpose, and it can make you more capable.

When you do your day job in the name of the Lord, you also find ways to build the kingdom in creative ways. Sometimes we think building the kingdom means we go to church and do our calling, but building the kingdom can happen everywhere around you. Can you imagine how quickly our ability to build the kingdom would collapse if all the farmers left their jobs to be full-time missionaries? Jobs that are not traditionally thought of as spiritual can be done in the name of the Lord, and they can help build the kingdom.

Let all your salutations, incomings, and outgoings be done in the name of the Lord. That doesn’t mean you immediately need to preach to your coworker. It can also mean finding purpose, power, and fulfillment in the work that you are a part of. It doesn’t mean abandoning your day job to knock doors; it means bringing the Savior with you everywhere you go.

I testify that doing so transforms your life and your work. The Savior is the best companion on this unofficial mission we’ve been called to do. He knows the importance of daily tasks and can help us remember how our small contributions matter. He knows how to have fun. He finds great joy in your joy. He can expand your capacities and help you creatively utilize them for good.

 

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

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