A Keeper of Sheepers...

My Old Testament study this week has revolved around the stories of Abel, Cain, and Enoch. A scripture I found in Moses 5:17 struck me differently this time as a good self-introspection question: Are you a righteous "Keeper of Sheepers" or a carnal "Killer Tiller?" I apologize for the cheesy rhyming, but once you understand the context, you'll realize that this is a very pertinent question!

Moses 5:17-

"Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground." 

We all know the extreme differences between these two brothers, as well as the resulting, eternal consequences of their choices, and I find it fascinating that their life professions were symbolic of their personalities.... And because I want what Abel got, I'm thinking maybe I should switch from daytime therapist to night time sheep keeper! 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Although there may seem to be distinct similarities in The Adam's family professions when compared to my very own maternal grandparents' resume, I would like to make note that I intend to keep family peace by focusing on the spiritual symbolism of Cain and Abel's pursuits rather than their actual farming preferences. 

This story caused me to ponder the meaning of the word "worship." We use that word all the time... But what does it really mean? Well we worship through scripture study, church and temple attendance, serving in our callings... So here's what I came up with...

Worship is: Admiring, giving praise to, spending time with, learning about, loving, thinking about, respecting, talking to, listening to, motivated by, trusting in, focusing on....

So set that aside momentarily and ask yourself the following:

What or who do you just absolutely love? 

With whom or what do you spend the majority of your time?

Who or what do you spend most of your free moments thinking about?

When you have a problem or an excitement, who do you tell first? Who do you go to for advice and comfort? 

Well then... That or she or he is what you worship. Now I'm not saying you can't have relationships or interests or collections or simple thoughts.... But is God your first priority and your best friend? Is He really who you worship?

During his mortal life, Christ said, "If you love me, feed my sheep." Well how do we do that? We follow The example of The True Shepherd, the Lamb of God who gave up his life for His friends. As we strive to follow Him by obeying our covenants through appropriate sacrifice, by serving Heavenly Father's children, and by making heavenly pursuits our top priority, we begin to be "sheep keepers." A sheep keeper's pay day comes in the form of a fruitful mortal experience (Moses 7:17), the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and the eternal salvation of our souls (Moses 6:52). Compare that with the wages earned by killer tillers... Little worthwhile worldy yield, a vain existence (Moses 5:37), and nothing to look forward to in the eternities to come. 

So which job offer are you going to take? (2 Nephi 2:27-29).