Are You Feeling Like a Sloth in a Poppy Field? WAKE UP!

It is hard to deny, sloths are adorable. Their faces are cute, and admit it, when you see a video of a sloth crossing the road, or climbing a tree, it is hard not to watch in frustrated fascination. According to PBS Nature, “Three-toed sloths are some of the slowest and seemingly laziest creatures in the world. Instead of evolving to eat more, they evolved to do less…their entire lifestyle is about expending as little energy as possible.”

“One day in South America we had the interesting experience of seeing in a hot jungle area a small brownish gray animal hanging upside down in a tree. It had rather long front paws and short back legs. Its movements were so slow that it was hard to know whether it was alive or dead. We were told that it was a sloth. I was intrigued because reference to the sloth appears in scripture. The Lord used it with disdain, referring to those who were slow to act.”

“Welfare Service Begins With You”, A Theodore Tuttle

We have been repeatedly invited, by the Lord, his prophets, and local leaders to join in the work of preparing the world for the Lord’s return.

“Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent you—that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come; And also that you might be honored in laying the foundation, and in bearing record of the land upon which the Zion of God shall stand; …For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good, they shall in nowise lose their reward.”

Doctrine and Covenants 58:6-7, 26-28

Satan is aware of us individually. He knows us, our abilities, and the covenants we have made. While nothing will stop the Lord’s work, he wants to make sure there are as few of us as possible at the Lord’s wedding feast. Like the Wicked Witch of the West trying to stop Dorothy, it was as easy as her falling asleep in a poppy field. We all have our “poppy fields”. It could be TV, social media, or any other number of distractions. What keeps us from being “anxiously engaged in a good cause”?

“And now my beauties, something with poison in it I think, with poison in it, but attractive to the eye and soothing to the smell . . . poppies, poppies, poppies will put them to sleep.”

The Wicked Witch of the West, The Wizard of Oz (movie, released 1939)

“So yes, let us do all we can to relieve suffering and sorrow now, and let us devote ourselves more diligently to the preparations needed for the day when pain and evil are ended altogether, when “Christ [shall] reign personally upon the earth; and … the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. … First, and crucial for the Lord’s return, is the presence on the earth of a people prepared to receive Him at His coming. He has stated that those who remain upon the earth in that day, “from the least [to] the greatest, … shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing this new song, saying: The Lord hath brought again Zion. … The Lord hath gathered all things in one. The Lord hath brought down Zion from above. The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath.”

Preparing for the Lord’s Return
By Elder D. Todd Christofferson

The Lord trusts us to “do many things of [our] own free will“. We are well past the time where we only act if we are called upon to do so. Prior to coming to this earth, we were given lessons and prepared for this time. The Lord is increasingly providing us with tools to become spiritually self-reliant. To name a few we have been given; Ministering in a higher and holier way, Home Centered Church, Just Serve and multiple ways to donate excess funds above and beyond tithing. Like our missionaries who used their creativity and talents to serve from their apartments during the pandemic, we too can be creative in our approach. Poppy fields are enticing, and sloths are cute, but they are a poor substitute for the Lord’s promises.

This week examine what you need to stop doing and what you need to start doing to, “be anxiously engaged in a good cause.”