Serving God by Serving One Another
Our God is a God of service.
His work and his glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal
life of us, His children. Our Savior
lived a perfect life of service. We are
called to engage in the same work. We
are called to serve and assist one another in obtaining immortality and eternal
life as well as joy in this life.
The mutual theme for 2015 is counsel on how we should serve
God. It is found in Doctrine &
Covenants 4:2 it states:
“Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that
ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand
blameless before God at the last day.”
President Hinckley taught that “Of all people, we must surely
realize that there can be no true worship of Him who is the Christ without
giving of ourselves.” And on another
occasion he said:
“We have some of our own who cry out in pain and suffering
and loneliness and fear. Ours is a great
and solemn duty to reach out and help them, to lift them, to feed them if they
are hungry, to nurture their spirits if they thirst for truth and
righteousness.”
In what manner are we to serve God? With “all [our] heart, might, mind and
strength.”
How do we serve God?
As King Benjamin taught, we serve God by serving one another. He said:
“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn
wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings
ye are only in the service of your God.”
We are to serve God by serving one another “with all [our]
heart, might, mind and strength.” And
for how long are we supposed to serve with this level of effort? Alma teaches us in Mosiah 18 that we are:
“…to serve him until you are dead as to the natural body.”
All of you look alive still.
I think everyone in this room is breathing and capable of some type of
service. A few days after her surgery,
Sister Joyce Reese sent me a message to complete one of her assignments from
the hospital. It was an assignment that
she could have passed on to anyone of us.
Instead she chose to give service while she was in pain.
Whom should we serve?
When should we serve? Where
should we serve?
We should serve in the family, in the ward, in the temple,
and in the community. We should serve
when we are aware of a need. We should
serve when we are prompted. We should
serve when assigned. We should provide
service wisely and where and how it is needed.
Our acts of service may be large or small, but they can all
be meaningful and consequential.
Brothers and Sisters we must also be willing to accept
service. Sometimes it will be needed,
sometimes it won’t. By accepting it we
will be blessed and allow blessings to be granted to others.
Please permit me to share some personal examples of service. As I share I ask you to please listen with
the Spirit that you might learn whom, when, and where you should serve. I encourage, that when the prompting comes,
that you write it down so you can act on it.
Many of you in this ward have been the recipients of service
from Kelly Webb, sometimes when you needed it and sometimes just because he was
ready to provide it. He has fixed leaks,
replaced sprinkler systems, laid sod, provided blessings, packed and unpacked
trailers and vehicles for Girls Camp and Boy Scout Camp. He puts up tables. He takes tables down. When in doubt, Kelly helps. Kelly gives the Lord his best. He helps because he is a faithful disciple of
Jesus Christ and honors the priesthood he holds. Kelly Webb is an example that each of us
should follow in how we give service.
I also think of Shelley Davis. She is always quick to provide a thank you
not for service, a thank you note that is accompanied by a delicious
treat. Two years ago, after Clara was
born, Sister Davis brought over an amazing meal. I told Rochelle that it made me consider
having a seventh child so we could have another one of her meals.
On my mission we were expected to provide one or two hours of
service each week. Typically we taught
English, but occasionally we found other ways to serve. We helped a member move a piano down the
stairs and up the stairs from the ninth floor in one building to the ninth
floor in a different building. We made
sandwiches for the homeless and beggars.
We repaired library books and cleaned up schoolyards. Once my companion and I spent over an hour
pushing car after car out of the snow in the courtyard of an apartment. On another occasion we set down our backpacks
to help a young husband and wife move bags of potatoes from vehicle to a
cellar. I think they were afraid we were
going to walk away with a bag or two. I
loved the challenge of finding and doing meaningful acts of service each week. Each of us should be actively engaged in looking
for opportunities to serve.
Children are a blessing.
A large part of the blessing comes from the challenge of raising
children. Personally, I don’t mind
feeding children, but it can be overwhelming when you realize they want to eat
three times a day, every day. I’m amazed
at the service that occurs in our homes.
As a young boy I watched for two years as my mother cared unceasingly
for my disabled baby brother. We knew he
would never speak. We knew he probably
would never be able to walk or take care of himself in any significant
way. My mother, who was not raised in a
gentle and loving home, exhibited angelic love and patience. Her best reward was when my brother would
smile at her. He was taken home to his
Heavenly Father shortly before his second birthday. I’m grateful for the service provided by my mother. I’m also grateful for the service that my
brother Steven so freely gave to our family.
His short life brought my mother fully into the gospel. The home is the greatest laboratory for
growth through loving service.
Children and youth, think of the service your parents provide
for you each day. What do you do for
parents and brothers and sisters? How
can you provide meaningful service in your homes? First, you can obey and respect your
parents. Second, you can be kind to your
brothers and sisters and work hard to help them be happy. Are you doing what Jesus wants you to do in
the home?
Brothers and sisters, I am so grateful for those of you who
act as the Spirit prompts you. Twice in
this last year my life has been blessed in miraculous ways by your acts of
thoughtful kindness. One day, in the
midst of some personal struggle with feelings of anger, I received a text from
one of you expressing gratitude for something.
Recently I expressed my desire to my Heavenly Father to be able to speak
with someone regarding some personal frustrations. That evening a good brother in our ward, who
had just completed a priesthood assignment sat in my office to report on his
work. As he completed the report he
asked the very questions that I had told Heavenly Father I needed to
discuss. The Lord will act through us if
we are prepared, listening, and willing to act.
During a Youth Conference when I was a young man in
Pensacola, Florida we planned a service project at the home of an elderly
sister in our ward. This wonderful and
kind sister had a yard in need of serious work.
Over thirty youth descended on it with rakes, shovels, clippers, and
garbage bags. During our two hours
there, the entire neighborhood gathered around to watch. You see, this sister was black and she lived
in a predominantly black neighborhood.
Her neighbors were shocked at the site of thirty white youth working in
a run down yard in a run down neighborhood.
As the crowd grew larger, some of us became a bit worried as we looked
around. I remember standing there as
this old lady moved quickly from her front porch to the fence. She yelled at her neighbors,
“Why aren’t any of you over here helping? All of you telling me I shouldn’t be going to
this church because of the color of my skin.
They know what it means to follow Jesus.
You should be helping.”
Turning around she looked at us and said, “I love all of you
so much.” Our service has the potential
to impact the lives of many people in a very positive way.
God gives each of us challenges, some of which seem
unbearable without the help of others.
My father-in-law, Rauhn, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when
my wife was a junior in high school.
During the months of treatment and uncertainty the other family members
stepped up to work on the small farm. My
wife and her brother took care of the lambing during the cold winter and
spring. At one of his lowest points,
Rauhn received much needed help from an inspired bishop. A barn sat at the back of the property with a
roof but no walls. Despite protests the
bishop arranged for the purchase of the material required to wall in the barn. He organized other loving and willing ward
members and neighbors to join in the project.
Unable to help, barely able to care about the important things in his
life, Rauhn watched as these good men put up the walls. Today a red barn, visible from town, stands
on the property. Inscribed on the walls
inside the barn are the names of those good men. That act of service provided the spiritual
and emotional lift that Rauhn needed to bring back a sense of purpose and
strength to his life. I’m grateful he is
with us today to teach and love my children.
As those men drive by that red barn they are able to remember the joy
that comes from meaningful service.
Service provided at the right time and in the right way has
the potential to not only change lives but to save lives. It has the potential to bring spiritual,
emotional, and physical healing.
An amazing amount of service is provided in the Whitney Ranch
Ward. I am awed at the wonderful things
you do for one another, both in your families and in the ward. We serve in the temple and we serve in our
communities. Each of us can do better.
We must avoid the human desire to withhold our help when we
assume that someone’s need is a result of their own poor decisions. In the last General Conference, Elder Jeffrey
R. Holland shared the following:
“Perhaps some have
created their own difficulties, but don’t the rest of us do exactly the same
thing? Isn’t that why this compassionate
ruler asks, ‘Are we not all beggars?’
Don’t we all cry out for help and hope and answers to prayers? Don’t we all beg for forgiveness for mistakes
we have made and troubles we have caused?
Don’t we all implore that grace will compensate for our weaknesses, that
mercy will triumph over justice at least in our case? Little wonder that King Benjamin says we obtain a remission of our sins by
pleading to God, who compassionately responds, but we retain a remission of our sins by compassionately responding to the
poor who plead to us.”
Christ like service is so important for those in need and it
is essential to our own salvation and eternal progression. Our goal is to become like our Savior Jesus
Christ. His entire purpose is to serve,
save, and exalt others. That must become
the focus of our existence if we want to become like him.
Please look for and act on opportunities to serve. Listen to the promptings of the Holy
Ghost. Respond to priesthood assignments
to serve. Please pay your fast
offerings, being as generous as you can be when possible. Please go forward today with the intent to
provide greater and more consistent service.
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