In the final chapter of Nephi’s writing, 2 Nephi 33, Nephi points out that writing is actually not his best skill. (He was more of a speaker than a writer.) Considering how much he wrote, one could ask, “Why did he do it?” Didn’t he have enough other things to do? Shouldn’t he have left the writing for someone else?

The simple answer to the question of why he did it is because it needed to be done. The history and prophecies needed to be recorded. Writing may not have been his gift. It may not have been his favorite thing to do, but he was able to do it, and it needed to be done. So he did it. Seeing Nephi’s dedication to doing what had to be done, God blessed his work. As Nephi puts it, “the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong” (2 Nephi 33:4).

Similar choices face us today.

For example, if you’re responsible for managing a household or caring for children, then you know there are many tasks that are neither glamorous nor fun. Yet you do them. Why? Because they need to be done. You could choose to do other things. You could wait for someone else to do them — good luck with that. But, in the end, you do them because they need to be done.

Similar opportunities exist in the church.

One day, a new sister in our branch noticed that the trash in the bathrooms was sometimes forgotten and left until the next week. She made it her personal job at the end of every Sunday meeting to go around and empty every trash pail in the building. Now, I think we can all agree that this sister was not called into the church to empty our trash pails. She misses out on some opportunities for fellowship while she is doing this. Surely, there are other people who could do this. Yet, she does it religiously every Sunday. Why? Because it needs to be done.

It even happens with ministerial duties.

If you’ve ever been a presiding elder, then you’ve probably experienced occasions when you hold out the oil bottle during an anointing and nobody steps forward to take it. You could stand there for 20 minutes waiting. You could try to push the bottle into someone’s hand. Instead, you tip the bottle over the person’s head and pray. Why? Because it needs to be done. The person sitting there needs prayer, and although someone else could do it, it’s not happening, so you do it because it needs to be done.

Jesus Christ came to earth for primarily one purpose — to die on the cross to pay for our sins. Yet, when the time came, the human side of Jesus asked God whether there was any other way to accomplish this. With no other option forthcoming, He went ahead and allowed Himself to be crucified. Why? Because it needed to be done. Imagine if Jesus would’ve walked away, saying He had something else He preferred doing or that someone else should do this instead. Thankfully for all of us, He went ahead and did what needed to be done.

So, when an opportunity to do something for the Lord — for the church, for other people — arises, don’t let your first thought be that you’d rather be doing something else or someone else can do this. If it’s something you can do, especially if nobody else is doing it, do it — even if the only reason is that it just needs to be done.

Writer’s Note

This is the last chapter of 2 Nephi. In case you missed any of the 33 blog articles from 2 Nephi, they are listed and linked below for your reference. Since reader feedback has been favorable regarding this series, I’m planning to continue on to the Book of Jacob, beginning in 2 weeks (February 8). As always, we welcome reader feedback.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.