Devote thyself in service

It's possible to be called to things because of your family. I've never really thought of this before. In D&C 23:3, God tells Hyrum he is called to the work because of his family.

It seems there are a lot of callings in the Church that men are called to that require a lot of sacrifice on their wives' (and families') part. I'm not saying this is wrong. I'm just stating what I see to be fact. There's a reason that both husband and wife are called to talk to the stake president when a calling in elders' quorum or the bishopric is going to be extended. The women must be willing to support their husbands.

As a teenager, my stake split. I very distinctly remember the calling/sustaining of our new stake president because he was the father of one of my close friends. The general authority who spoke said some things that I thought were very interesting. He said that there were other men who God considered calling as stake president and in the presidency, but they weren't called because of their wives. He then went on to speak briefly of the qualities of the wives that allowed their husbands to be called to such time-consuming positions.

I told myself then and there that I wanted to be that kind of wife. I didn't want to be one who might unsuspectingly hold my husband back from doing what God asks of Him, and therefore of me.

Section 24 has a few nuggets that I really liked and coincidentally go right along with all this. V. 7 tells us to devote all our service to Zion, which covenant to do. There are many things that I do daily which seemingly have nothing to do with serving Zion, but I may just need to change my perspective. Instead of dragging my feet about cleaning my house, I should think, "Having a clean house invites the Spirit. It creates a better environment for me to teach my children the gospel." Instead of playing with my kids just because it's fun, I can also think, "This builds our relationship and will make it easier for them to talk to me in the future."

In v. 8 God tells Joseph (and us) to be patient in our afflictions, for we'll have many. But we should endure, and God will be there with us. In other variations of this scripture, we are told to endure, and God will exalt us on high. But I liked that this scripture says that God is there with us. Both are comforting promises for different reasons. It's just nice to remember that God is there for us.

What did you learn from these sections? I also read sections 21 and 22, but nothing in particular stood out to me. Did you read them and learn something new?