Alma Chapter 29

29:1-2 - "...O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!"
I imagine that Alma wishes this partly because that's what made such a difference in his life!  He had been called to repentance by an angel.  This is probably why I would like to teach like a General Authority, program like Steven Hansen, compose like my father, Hans Zimmer, and other fantastic composers, play the piano like William Joseph and John Schmidt, etc.
These things have made such a difference in my life, and I would love to share with others this same difference.  Some times that is the Lord's will as well, but sometimes not.
We need to follow the Spirit to be effective instruments in His hands.


29:1-9 - "...yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy..."
This is another form of faith.  We desire to make a difference, but we show our faith by being content with where we have been placed.
We are supposed to help where we are planted.


29:9 - "...O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God...I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me..."
We all have a work and glory - just as the Lord has His work and glory.
His work is to bring to pass the immortality of man.
His glory is to bring to pass the eternal life of man (Moses 1:39).
His work is completed.  He accomplished this through the resurrection.  However, his glory continues.  We are a part of that.
Our work is to keep the commandments (D&C 11:20).
Our glory is to be instruments in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance (Alma 29:9).
And this is our joy.
Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy (2 Nephi 2:25).  Men are that they might (or exist in order to) have joy.
We gain joy through the salvation of souls (D&C 18:10, 15-16).
This is how Jesus Christ accomplishes his glory.  We all work together to gain eternal life, and pure joy!

Elder L. Tom Perry talked about our responsibility as missionaries and church members in the November 2007 Ensign, Pg. 46-49, teaching us how to be more effective missionaries by raising the bar on our own personal preparation.
"Once you reach those minimum standards, shouldn't you try to keep raising the bar?  I ask you the same question I asked my son many years ago: 'If you don't raise the bar, how will you ever know your potential?'...The greatest generation of missionaries will not reach its full potential unless it keeps raising the bar."
We need to keep raising the bar - even if we fail - because it stretches us and makes us better instruments in God's hands.