Nehemiah

I believe that sometimes in the scriptures there are heroes of whom we do not often mention. They are incredible examples of obedience to the Lord. One of those examples is Nehemiah. Who is this man? He was the cupbearer to the King. This was a man who held a high trusted position in court. Yet his heart was with those in Jerusalem. He received word of the struggles that his fellow believers had in Jerusalem. Nehemiah 1:4-11 reads,  "
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.

We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer."

He was asked of the King what he desired and he answered that he wanted to help those who were in Jerusalem. He was given permission to go to Jerusalem and be governor. Could you imagine leaving everything so that you could go and serve your fellow brothers and sisters? He instituted reforms that were blessings to his people. He protected them and served them. He was chosen of the Lord to perform the task of helping his fellow brothers. He was given a passion to help those in Jerusalem and he acted on those passions. Is that not an example of sacrifice and service?

I believe that the Lord has a plan for each of us that is about helping all of our fellow brothers and sisters. He gives us passions to help others. We need to act on those passions and bless the lives of those around us. We can work miracles as we go about on His errand.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/nehemiah-inspecting-jerusalem-walls-barrett-450683?lang=eng