Servant of All

To my son,

                In this week’s Come, Follow Me lesson we read about two of the apostles who came to the Savior asking for some special privileges. They requested, “Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.” The other ten apostles were upset that these two were trying to get the top position among them. Jesus responded to them all with these words: “Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:37,41-45). In the world those who are the “greatest” are those who get positions of power and influence over others. It is those who are rich and who govern a lot of people and who have the most popularity. But that’s not where greatness comes in the gospel: if we want to be great, then we must humble ourselves and be the servant of all. Jesus Himself is the perfect example of this: He came as the Son of God to the earth and yet humbly served and blessed and loved all those around him, ultimately giving His life in that perfect and humble sacrifice. If we want to be great in the eyes of God, then we must forget ourselves and humbly serve those around us.

                Your mother is one who is a great example to you of following the Savior’s invitation to serve others. When she graduated from high school she moved to northern Idaho and spent her first year out of school volunteering in an elementary school through an organization called AmeriCorps. She had little money and barely had enough for herself to eat, living on scanty meals of rice and canned chicken and green beans much of the time. Most young adults her age then were fixated only on finding ways to have fun for themselves, but she chose to serve children instead of focusing on herself. With that sacrifice she was able to get a scholarship for school, but eventually she and I were married and she chose to put that goal aside of getting her bachelor’s degree and have children of her own instead. Your sister and you soon came, and ever since then she has put almost all her energy into taking care of you and your siblings. She chose to sacrifice and set aside some of her dreams for a much later date. From the perpetual sickness of being pregnant, to the terrible pains of delivery, to the sleepless nights taking care of little babies, to the endless cleaning and cooking and consoling of children, to the stress of dealing with sibling rivalry and tantrums and fighting, motherhood is one long endless sacrifice. Your mother has spent countless hours praying for and worrying about and struggling with the difficulties of helping you and your siblings to be happy and learn to follow the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that on this Mother’s Day you will take the time to really reflect on the sacrifices that your mother has made for you and find ways to express your gratitude for her continual sacrifices on your behalf. She has chosen to be a “minister” and a “servant of all” as Jesus taught, and I hope that you will always seek to follow her example of selfless service!  

 

Love,

Dad