Stewardship

Volume Three—Chapter Fifteen

#STEWARDSHIP

#Are Stewardship and Covenant the Same?

There is certainly a close relationship. Covenant and stewardship and are both built on the concepts of possession and obligation.1 Both the “covenanter” and steward possess something and are expected to be responsible for the wise and righteous use of that thing. In the case of a covenant, the covenanter possesses the Lord’s solemn promise of certain blessings. The obligation thus belongs to the covenanter. It is to fulfill his part of the two-way promise. He has entered into a solemn agreement with the Lord to do so. With stewardship, the steward is given or otherwise possess some entity, material or non-material. He is committed to utilize and expand upon it in a productive righteous way. With stewardship, the Lord does not actually require us to enter, at least in this life, into a formal and solemn covenantal agreement. Whether or not we entered into formal covenants with him to fulfill our stewardships prior to coming into mortality, we simply do not know.

Stewardship is based on the understanding that all things belong to the Lord. We are allowed to possess or control them through his mercy and goodness. We may receive a stewardship from him in the form of blessings, material possessions, time, opportunities, or talents. Stewardship means that all things to which a person has access are given to him as a sacred trust from the Lord. They must be used wisely for the Lord’s purposes. In particular, they must be used in the service of others.

In all these things, we act as trustees for the Lord. We do not have personal, permanent ownership or privilege. We are obliged and will be held accountable for our actions as a righteous trustee. For some types of stewardship, this accountability will be made first to church leaders. They are our file leaders here on earth. Ultimately stewards are accountable to and will be judged by the Lord (Luke 16:2; 19:17).

The principle of “of him unto whom much is given much is required” is applicable in this stewardship relationship (D&C 82:3; cf. Luke 12:48). As we account for our stewardships with the Lord, we must bear in mind that he knows our hearts, intentions, and talents perfectly. There is no room here for deception, dissembling, or pretense. The faithful, diligent, and wise steward is rewarded. The unjust or slothful steward gains little, and may even lose what he has (D&C 1:31-33; 82:7).

#Some Notable Examples of Stewardships

It seems worthwhile to mention some notable stewardships in which each of us shares. This list is not intended to be comprehensive. Stewardships include the innumerable blessings in any form that come from the Lord.

1. Church callings. Every calling in the Church is a temporary stewardship. We are each obliged to carry out that calling with diligence, humility, prayerfulness, and a yearning for success. We must regard each calling as important; sacrifice our time; seek to utilize our talents in the service of others; and seek to bear one another’s burdens. This is referred to in the Church as “magnifying” our calling.

As a member of a church unit (ward, branch, stake, district) each called member must magnify his calling in the service of others. He will thereby build a spirit of service, a sense of community, and a cohesive love in that unit.

2. The “Spirit of Christ” or the “light of Christ.” The Spirit of Christ is that small spiritual entitlement given to each person at birth. It is that subtle degree of responsiveness to the Spirit of God with which every person comes into the earth.2 For this free gift, each of us will be ultimately held responsible. For some disadvantaged souls without access to organized teachings about the Lord and his gospel, this Spirit of Christ may be one of the most important stewardships for which he is ultimately accountable to the Lord. It is the most important source of the subtle belief or hope— the “whispered testimony”—available to every mortal.3

3. Our “talents.” Each individual brings into this world an array of abilities earned by diligent effort in the premortal world. As we cross into mortality, the veil blunts our memory of these abilities. Until we discern them and begin to re-define and re-develop them, they lie dormant as untapped “talents” or “gifts.” Though we earned these by our obedience to law in the premortal sphere, it is said our talents are “given us” of the Lord (Matthew 25:14-30). The Lord substantially added value to these gifts when we originally earned them in a premortal setting. He was allowed this merciful generosity only because of his atoning sacrifice. By virtue of his atonement, he mercifully blessed us with far more abilities—far greater spiritual gifts—than we actually deserved by our own merit. He has allowed us access to them here even though we passed through the veil of forgetfulness when we were born into mortality. Each of us is allowed a potential remembrance of our abilities if we will carefully search for them. Once we discover them, we must be willing to re-develop them here on earth. For these reasons, it is appropriate for us to say that our talents or gifts were, indeed, given us of the Lord. It is appropriate to consider them as part of our stewardship obligation.

The Spirit of the Lord is willing, anxious, and able to reveal to the individual his talents if he will but make it a matter of earnest seeking and prayer. He will be drawn to them. The areas in which his “talents” lie will become uniquely attractive and appealing to him. These dormant gifts will be of no use to him or others unless he brings them out into the light and works assiduously to develop, improve, and polish them. A secular philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, though he may have lacked knowledge of the premortal experience, knew of this important truth and provided us with insight concerning it:

Each man has his own vocation. The talent is the call. There is

one direction in which all space is open to him. He has faculties silently inviting him thither to endless exertion. He is like a ship in a river; he runs against obstructions on every side but one; on that side all obstruction is taken away, and he sweeps serenely over a deepening channel into an infinite sea. . . . He inclines to do something which is easy to him and good when it is done, but which no other man can do. He has no rival. For the more truly he consults his own powers, the more difference will his work exhibit from the work of another (“Spiritual

Laws,” The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson).

4. In the early years following the restoration of the Church in 1830, the concept of stewardship had a specific meaning. A stewardship consisted of those materials taken from the bishop’s storehouse and given to a man and his family by the bishop. With this stewardship the man would work and provide for his family and contribute the excess of his production back to the storehouse. He had the obligation of regularly accounting to the bishop for his stewardship and his use of it.

Our obligation, then, is to become increasingly aware and enlarge upon our “stewardships.” Then we must put them to use in serving our fellow men and contributing uniquely to the kingdom of God on earth.

See a discussion of the Lord’s commanding us to enter into covenants with him in volume 2, chapter 3, Covenants and Covenant Making.

2 For a more complete discussion of the Spirit of light of Christ, see “The Spirit or Light of Christ” in volume 2, chapter 5, The Holy Ghost.

3 See the discussion on whispered testimonies in “Belief or Hope” in volume 1, chapter 10, Deliberate Faith and Revealed Faith.