Among the Residue of Men

For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.

And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.

For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.

And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.

And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.
--Moroni 7: 28-32

I am happy to say that I am among the "residue of men." What does this mean, exactly? If we look closer at Moroni's words, he gives us the answer. The first aspect we should note is that miracles have not ceased, and as such angels do not cease to "minister unto the children of men." We already know from 2 Nephi 32:3 that "angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ." This is in accordance with with the next verses above, which state that angels are subject unto Christ to speak His words, foremost being to declare repentance unto the inhabitants of the earth (as an aside, is that not what Christ would do if He were physically on the earth today?). These angels oversee the fulfilling of covenants, as well as appearing unto the Lord's "chosen vessels," that they may bear testimony of Him.

Who are these chosen vessels? I believe it is apparent that they are the ones we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators: the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I feel safe adding anyone who declares repentance with the entire globe under his stewardship, and thus include all General Authorities under the blanket of "chosen vessels." I am grateful for them, because it is through them that I may better gain faith in Christ. The word "residue" in the scriptures by my surmising can best be interpreted as "the rest." Just as the Costanza family in NBC's Seinfeld had a "festivus for the restovus," we too should be joyous and glad that Heavenly Father has included us as well in his Plan. We read in Alma 26: 37:

Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

We should all be happy to "lift where we stand." We should not try to do too much, and likewise should not try to do too little. President Dieter f. Uchtdorf, in his talk by the same name, said the following to the priesthood brethren of the Church, which I believe may be applied universally:

...we too easily and too often get caught up in seeking the honors of men rather than serving the Lord with all our might, mind, and strength.

Brethren, when we stand before the Lord to be judged, will He look upon the positions we have held in the world or even in the Church? Do you suppose that titles we have had other than “husband,” “father,” or “priesthood holder” will mean much to Him? Do you think He will care how packed our schedule was or how many important meetings we attended? Do you suppose that our success in filling our days with appointments will serve as an excuse for failure to spend time with our wife and family?

The Lord judges so very differently from the way we do. He is pleased with the noble servant, not with the self-serving noble.

Those who are humble in this life will wear crowns of glory in the next.

As the "residue of men," let us seek after those "crowns of glory" that we will wear in the next life, and not seek after those which are but temporal. Let us know when we have reached our limit, but let us also be "diligent, that thereby [we] may win the prize (see Mosiah 4:27). I know that as we do this, being "anxiously engaged in a good cause (see D & C 58:27)" we will give place for the Spirit in our hearts, and we will be continually counted among the Residue of Men.

Have a Great Week!!