Let Him Be Your Minister

In the most recent general conference, Sister Kristin Yee spoke about ministering. She said this: “We are not called to or released from ministering. It is part of fulfilling the covenants we made at baptism and in the temple. We covenanted to take upon us the Savior’s name—becoming as He is as we sacrifice and consecrate our lives to Him. When we minister as He would, we begin to think, feel, and love as He would.” In her notes to the talk, she referenced these words from the Church handbook: “Ministering brothers and sisters are not called, sustained, or set apart. Their service is part of the covenant they made at baptism (see Mosiah 18:8–11).” In many other opportunities to serve in the Church that has a start date and eventually an end date, we receive specific help for that calling in the form of a setting apart with hands laid on our heads. While we do not receive a setting apart with each ministering assignment, we did get hands laid on our heads once to help us with this assignment too: we received the Gift of the Holy Ghost when we made the covenant of baptism. The Lord made this promise about the Holy Ghost, “Go your way whithersoever I will, and it shall be given you by the Comforter what you shall do and whither you shall go” (Doctrine and Covenants 31:11). Surely that applies to ministering as well, whether that ministering is done formally or informally.

It was a sad day recently in our ward when a For Sale sign went up at the house of a retired couple in our ward. They are moving closer to family, as they should, but they will long be missed here and remembered for the ministering they have done to just about everyone in our neighborhood. Though they have never been formally assigned to watch over my family, they have showed up on our porch dozens and dozens of times with homemade goodies and notes for us. When someone in our family did anything noteworthy, like singing a song in sacrament meeting, there they were on our doorstep afterwards with another plate of gluten-free brownies (which my children always ate with great fervor). And often they showed up with no special reason at all, other than the fact that he was trying out a new gluten-free muffin recipe on us. They have had us over to their home for many family nights and always took special interest in our children in particular. And we were in no way unique: they were known for delivering muffins and good cheer and love all over the neighborhood. I jokingly mentioned to someone else who also knows them that muffin delivery needs to be in the contract for whoever buys their house, but they wisely responded that no, it is up to us to do that. And though I’m confident I can never be as serviceable as this couple, indeed I can do better to love and minister to others around me. The Savior said this: “But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister” (Matthew 20:26). By that definition, this makes our ministering couple great indeed, and they will be sorely missed by hundreds of people in our community.

Sister Yee gave us this powerful invitation: “If you want to feel grounded, gain a sense of divine belonging, and make a real difference in the world, I invite you to follow the Savior and minister in His name. Never was the need greater than now for souls to be lifted, strengthened, and healed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. ‘So many of us desperately need to feel of His love.’ As His disciples, you and I have the covenant blessing and responsibility to bring the Savior’s love and relief to all of God’s children. When we offer His love and belonging to others, we will find it ourselves. The Savior promised, ‘Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.’” I’m grateful for so many who have been examples to me of losing themselves for the work of the Savior.