About two months ago, I was called as an Elders Quorum teacher. Having taught before, my "tried-and-true" method usually involved coasting until Saturday, skimming the talk, and throwing together a slide deck at the last minute. However, the presidency threw me a curveball during our orientation meeting. Instead of the usual "good luck" pat on the back, the counselor, Hunter, laid out a specific, detailed plan for success that included deep study, intentional coordination with the other teacher, and strict stake guidelines. I left that meeting stunned and frankly a bit skeptical about whether all this extra homework was actually necessary.
Despite my apprehension, I decided to trust the process. For the first week, I immersed myself in the talk, cross-referencing scriptures and feeling a genuine love for the material grow. I coordinated with the other teacher, whose excitement matched mine and who offered insights I never would have found on my own. By the time I sat down to outline my lesson a week in advance—a personal record—I found myself revising and refining until the final plan looked nothing like my first draft. By Saturday morning, I had a simple slide deck ready, not as a crutch to read from, but as a compliment to a lesson I actually knew inside and out.
The real payoff came the next day in church. As I sat through Sacrament meeting, it felt like the speakers had peeked at my notes; they were teaching principles that perfectly aligned with my prepared lesson. For the first time, I wasn't sweating over slides or worrying about filling time. Instead, I felt like the windows of heaven were opening to aid me. I realized I had never felt this prepared, excited, or spiritually connected to a teaching assignment before.
I share this story because, frankly, I didn’t know what it meant to magnify a calling until that experience. I learned that magnifying is much more than just hitting the minimum requirements and bringing a bag of donuts to distract from a lack of preparation. I learned that it means taking ownership of the outcome, seeing the people you serve through the Savior’s eyes, and preparing honestly. As cheesy as it sounds, simply doing your best allows the Lord to bless your efforts; He opens doors that may have felt locked for decades.
Importantly, this principle doesn’t end at the chapel doors. In my short time here at the Office of IT, I’ve realized that the same rules apply to our professional lives. Magnifying your job isn't just about clocking in and doing the bare minimum. It means taking ownership of results, considering the people who benefit from our work, and preparing thoughtfully to give our best effort every day.
Consider how many mundane tasks we do at work on a day-to-day basis. The stand ups we attend, the documentation we create, even the time cards we submit. Consider how your thoughts towards these tasks might change if you desire to magnify your work. Asking questions like “How can I bring more energy to the meetings I attend?” or “Could I add a little humor or insight to the report that I’m writing?” or even “How can I make this process smoother and more efficient?” is a key to magnifying. Simply put, taking initiative to create positive change, no matter how small, can be a way for God to magnify your efforts from Monday to Friday and on Sunday.
I invite you to consider how you can magnify your work just as you would a church calling. Really, everything we do should reflect our desire to glorify God—even our spreadsheets, our emails, and our mandatory meetings. My invitation is to make our 9-to-5 a testament to our faith, not just a way to pay the bills. I promise God will bless us in ways we didn’t know were possible.