Sister Jean B. Bingham, General Relief Society President said in April 2018 conference:
What a wonderful blessing to live in a time of continual revelation from God! As we look forward to and embrace the “restitution of all things,”1 which has and will come through the prophesied events of our time, we are being prepared for the Savior’s Second Coming.2
And what better way to prepare to meet Him than to strive to become like Him through lovingly ministering to one another! As Jesus Christ taught His followers at the beginning of this dispensation, “If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me.”3Our service to others is a demonstration of discipleship and our gratitude and love for God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Sometimes we think we have to do something grand and heroic to “count” as serving our neighbors. Yet simple acts of service can have profound effects on others—as well as on ourselves. What did the Savior do? Through His supernal gifts of the Atonement and Resurrection—which we celebrate on this beautiful Easter Sunday—“none other has had so profound an influence [on] all who have lived and who will yet live upon the earth.”4 But He also smiled at, talked with, walked with, listened to, made time for, encouraged, taught, fed, and forgave. He served family and friends, neighbors and strangers alike, and He invited acquaintances and loved ones to enjoy the rich blessings of His gospel. Those “simple” acts of service and love provide a template for our ministering today.
As you have the privilege to represent the Savior in your ministering efforts, ask yourself, “How can I share the light of the gospel with this individual or family? What is the Spirit inspiring me to do?”
Ministering can be done in a great variety of individualized ways. So what does it look like?
No matter our age, when we consider how to minister most effectively, we ask, “What does she [or he] need?” Coupling that question with a sincere desire to serve, we are then led by the Spirit to do what would lift and strengthen the individual. I have heard countless stories of brothers and sisters who were blessed by a simple gesture of inclusion and welcome at church, a thoughtful email or text message, a personal contact at a difficult time, an invitation to participate in a group activity, or an offer to help with a challenging situation. Single parents, new converts, less-active members, widows and widowers, or struggling youth may need extra attention and priority help from ministering brothers and sisters. Coordination between elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies allows for just the right assignments to be made.
After all is said and done, true ministering is accomplished one by one with love as the motivation. The value and merit and wonder of sincere ministering is that it truly changes lives! When our hearts are open and willing to love and include, encourage and comfort, the power of our ministering will be irresistible. With love as the motivation, miracles will happen, and we will find ways to bring our “missing” sisters and brothers into the all-inclusive embrace of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Savior is our example in everything—not only in what we should do but why we should do it.8 “His life on earth was [an] invitation to us—to raise our sights a little higher, to forget our own problems and [to] reach out to others.”9 As we accept the opportunity to wholeheartedly minister to our sisters and brothers, we are blessed to become more spiritually refined, more in tune with the will of God, and more able to understand His plan to help each one return to Him. We will more readily recognize His blessings and be eager to extend those blessings to others.
~For Sister Bingham’s complete talk click on ‘Ministering as the Savior Does’ or go to the May 2018 Ensign, p. 104.
Reference 9… Russell T. Osguthorpe, “What If Love Were Our Only Motive?” (Brigham Young University devotional, Mar. 8, 2011), 7, speeches.byu.edu.
