{"id":9597,"date":"2009-09-10T18:21:34","date_gmt":"2009-09-10T23:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=9597"},"modified":"2009-09-10T18:21:34","modified_gmt":"2009-09-10T23:21:34","slug":"rhetoric-of-usefulness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2009\/09\/rhetoric-of-usefulness\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhetoric of Usefulness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cUsefulness\u201d was a coveted characteristic of the late-1800s LDS woman. In Woman\u2019s Exponent <\/em>eulogistic poetry\u2014a very typical Victorian woman\u2019s style and theme\u2014 Mormon women poets consistently praised other women for being \u201cuseful.\u201d I know, I know: what a compliment. But Eliza R. Snow explained why LDS people should try to be useful in a statement in the Woman\u2019s Exponent<\/em>: \u201cWhat is true greatness? In human character, usefulness constitutes greatness. . . . In the estimation of holy intelligences, the most useful character or person is the greatest.\u201d<\/p>\n

That must have been a great comfort to pioneer Mormons diligently working away at their pioneer tasks and the daily duties of feeding, tending, and raising a family. Household and farm chores became the makings of godhood.<\/p>\n

It seems to me that we\u2014much more unconsciously\u2014have maintained the \u201cuseful\u201d traditions of our fathers and mothers. Here\u2019s a smattering of examples:<\/p>\n

\u201dA Message Concerning Preparation for Relief Measures\u201d (1933) quoted in the 2003 Ensign suggests that the LDS leaders persuade members to stay out of debt and be frugal because \u201cby no other course will our people place themselves in that position of helpful usefulness to the world which the Lord intends we shall take.\u201d The same article reminds members of Acts 20:35: \u201cIt is more blessed to give than to receive.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cPut Your Shoulder to the Wheel\u201d encourages saints to be \u201cwilling\u201d and \u201cwear the worker\u2019s seal\u201d as they \u201cput their shoulder to the wheel\u201d and \u201cpush along.\u201d Other verses glorify those with \u201chelping hands\u201d and those who \u201cdon\u2019t stand idly looking on.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The hymn \u201cMore Holiness Give Me\u201d explicitly equates being \u201cmore fit for the kingdom\u201d and \u201cmore, Savior, like thee\u201d with being \u201cmore used.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Numerous scripture references speak about being \u201cinstruments in the hands of God,\u201d or, in other words, being useful to God through missionary work or in some other way\u2014and numerous talks by General Authorities quote those scriptures and expound on those ideas.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At times I have found the idea of usefulness to be very motivating. I was a shy child. At some point in time, I realized that God needed me (I\u2019m not generalizing here; shyness is not a sin) to be more open, more able to speak in public, and more able to handle social situations. I am more useful to him if I am less withdrawn and introverted. The idea of being useful to God in the building of his kingdom has motivated me to learn skills, acquire knowledge, and alter parts of my personality so I will be a suitable instrument in His hands.<\/p>\n

However, I am now questioning the usefulness of \u201cusefulness.\u201d I acquired some permanent health problems a few years ago. Now that I feel dramatically less useful than I used to, I\u2019m wondering how helpful the rhetoric of usefulness is. On good days, I think, \u201cWell, I\u2019m being used to my capacity, and God knew this would be my capacity. It\u2019s not a very great capacity, but I do what I can.\u201d On bad days, I think, \u201cSure, I\u2019m useful. I\u2019m useful for everyone else to practice their charitable instincts on,\u201d which is a rather depressing thought to one raised with an ethic of hard work. I sit while others decide whether to serve me. It stings.<\/p>\n

This is a bit more than the old \u201cwe can all give help and sometimes we need to accept help\u201d type of comment. Trust me, I can accept a casserole when my baby is born as well as anyone. The question is one of when needing help is your permanent condition. What if\u2014for the rest of this mortal life\u2014you will be taking rather than giving? Who can help but remember that it is more blessed to give? How \u201cuseful\u201d to her family and the kingdom of God is a disabled mother? Or a disabled child? Or a mentally handicapped person? The questions are abhorrent because they equate the value of life with utility. But doesn\u2019t the rhetoric of usefulness set us up to do just that?<\/p>\n

I realize that all of us are more or less useful to God. We are all less obedient, faithful, or willing than we could be. So, yes, in a sense all of us are handicapped; we are not as useful to God in the building of His kingdom as a perfect person would be. Yet obedience, faithfulness, or willingness are generally within a person\u2019s capacity to control; physical, mental, and emotional issues may be stunningly less so. Is a person excused from the rhetoric of usefulness if he or she is mentally, emotionally, or physically disabled? Can I opt out of singing, \u201cMore used would I be \/ more Savior like thee\u201d?<\/p>\n

Is it really more Christ-like to be more useful?<\/p>\n

My husband\u2019s mission president was once teaching us about obedience. He said, \u201cIf God wants you to sit there and twiddle your thumbs, you do it.\u201d For years, I\u2019ve (ironically) found that saying to be a rousing call to action; I like to work hard doing whatever God wants me to do. Now that I am less useful, I hate the idea of twiddling my thumbs for God; I find that it is much easier said than done. Even on days when I can\u2019t do much else.<\/p>\n

Synonyms for \u201cUseful\u201d\u2014helpful, practical, functional, of use, constructive, positive, valuable, handy<\/p>\n

Synonyms for \u201cUseless\u201d\u2014ineffective, hopeless, of no use, a waste of time, futile, ineffectual, inadequate, worthless<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cUsefulness\u201d was a coveted characteristic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corn"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9598,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9597\/revisions\/9598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}