Whew - I had to speak in Sacrament meeting today. So glad that is over. I should be good for a year now!
Service
I have been asked to speak
about service. Freely giving service to
others is one of the qualities that I see in many of the people that I have
great respect for. Knowing what to do
for others and readily jumping in to help seems to be a part of who they
are. I wish that was something that was
just of part of who I am, as well. I try
to improve on that, because I do know how important that it is.
Much of the Savior’s ministry consisted of
teaching and helping those around him, one by one. We, too, can contribute by serving others,
one by one, through small, simple acts of love.
In Luke 22:27 Jesus
said, “I am among you as he that serveth”. His life is full of examples of serving. As
true followers of Jesus, we also must serve others.
Service is
helping others who need assistance. Christ-like service grows out of genuine
love for the Savior and of love and concern for those whom he gives us
opportunities and direction to help. Love is more than a feeling; when we love
others, we want to help them.
All of us must
be willing to serve, no matter what our income, age, condition of health, or
social position. The Savior taught us this when he said in Matthew 20: 26-27, “Whosoever
will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief
among you, let him be your servant.”
One of my favorite
experiences in early Church history shows service in action and I’d like to
share that incident with you. It is related in the teller’s own words found in
a personal diary:
“One of my children came in and said that Brother
Newton Hall’s folks were out of bread, Had none that day. I put our flour in sack to send to Brother
Hall’s. Just then Brother Hall came in.
Says I “Brother Hall, how are you out for flour.”
“Brother Millett, we have none.”
“Well, Brother Hall, there is some in that sack. I
have divided and was going to send it to you.
Your children told mine you were out.”
Brother Hall began to cry. Said he had tried others. Could not get any.
Went to the cedars and prayed to the Lord and the Lord told him to go to Joseph
Millett.
“Well Brother Hall, you needn’t bring any of this
back if the Lord sent you for it. You don’t owe me for it.”
His journal continued, “You can’t tell how good it
made me feel to know that the Lord knew that there was such a person as Joseph
Millett.”
The Lord does know each of
us. Do you think for a moment that He
who notes the sparrow’s fall would not be mindful of our needs and our service.
It is through
the service of men and women and boys and girls that God’s work is done. The
people of the Church need each other’s strength, support, and leadership. In
Doctrine and Covenants 81:5 we read about how important it is to ‘succor the
weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.’ So often our acts of service consist of
simple encouragement or of giving mundane help with mundane tasks—but what
glorious consequences can flow from mundane acts and from small but deliberate
deeds.
In D&C
35:14 the Lord said, speaking of His servants, ‘Their arm shall be my arm.’
Have you thought about this? Elder Marion D. Hanks commented on this by saying,
“To me this is one of the most sacred and significant and personal commissions
I can read about in the holy records or elsewhere. The Lord says this arm of
mine is His arm. This mind, this tongue, these hands, these feet, this
purse—these are the only tools He has to work with so far as I am concerned. …
So far as you are concerned, your arm, your resources, your intelligence, your
tongue, your energy, are the only tools the Lord has to work with” (Service, Brigham Young University
Speeches of the Year [Provo, 15 Oct. 1958], p. 3).
Throughout our
lives all of us depend on others for help. When we were infants, our parents
fed, clothed, and cared for us. Without this care we would have died. When we
grew up, other people taught us skills and attitudes. Many of us have needed
nursing care during illness or money in a financial crisis. Some of us ask God
to bless suffering people and then do nothing for them. We must remember that
God works through us.
When we help
one another, we serve God. King Benjamin, a great king in Book of Mormon times,
taught his people this principle by the way he lived. He served them all his
life, earning his own living instead of being supported by the people. In an
inspired sermon he explained why he loved service, saying:
“When ye are
in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. …
“And if I,
whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to
serve one another?” (Mosiah
2:17-18).
President
Spencer W. Kimball: “If you were to select just two or three individuals in
your life who have been most influential, what specifically did they do that
was most helpful to you at critical or important times in your life? On
reflecting for a few moments, you are apt to conclude that such a person really
cared for you, that he or she took time for you, that he or she taught you
something you needed to know.
Reflect now
upon your performance, as I do on my own, as to whether or not we now embody in
our own ministry those same basic attributes. It is less likely in stirring
through one’s memories that someone will be remembered because that individual
was particularly influential because of a technique. Most often someone has
served and helped us by giving us love and understanding, by taking time to
assist us, and by showing us the way through the light of his own example. I
cannot stress enough, therefore, the importance of our doing these same things
for those who now depend upon us, just as we have depended upon others to serve
us in the past” (“There Is Purpose in Life,” p. 5).
The latter-day
prophets have shown by example how to serve unselfishly as tools of the Lord.
Joseph Smith
Mercy R.
Thompson, a woman who knew the Prophet Joseph, wrote: “I can never forget the
tender sympathy and brotherly kindness he ever showed toward me and my
fatherless child. When riding with him and his wife Emma in their carriage I
have known him to alight and gather prairie flowers for my little girl”
(“Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” Juvenile Instructor, 1 July 1892, p. 399).
George Albert Smith
“On a train
between Salt Lake City and San Francisco, President [George Albert] Smith met a
[man] from Napa, California.” The two men enjoyed a pleasant conversation and,
after parting, began to correspond.
“Some time
later President Smith realized that he was not hearing from his friend, John
Delaney.” On inquiring, President Smith learned that Mr. Delaney was in the
hospital. “President Smith sent messages of cheer and encouragement and
suggested that … Mr. Delaney … might enjoy listening to the Tabernacle Choir
broadcast each Sunday morning.” Mr. Delaney did listen, and his spirits were
lifted. He wrote to thank President Smith and mentioned that “he hoped sometime
he could hear the choir sing one of his favorite selections, ‘The Lord’s
Prayer.’ … To his surprise and great pleasure he heard the choir sing it the
very next Sunday morning. Imagine Mr. Delaney’s delight when he heard the great
Tabernacle organ ringing out the introduction” of the hymn his friend had taken
the time to arrange. (See Edith Smith Elliott, “The Joy of Serving Humanity,” Instructor, Nov. 1966, p. 427.)
Joseph Fielding Smith
When Joseph
Fielding Smith was thirty-four years old, he was called as a member of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As an Apostle, he traveled throughout the world
and was known by members everywhere. But his wife gave a more personal view of
this great man:
“The man I
know is a kind, loving husband and father whose greatest ambition in life is to
make his family happy, entirely forgetful of self in his efforts to do this. He
is the man that lulls to sleep the fretful child, who tells bedtime stories to
the little ones, who is never too tired or too busy to sit up late at night or
to get up early in the morning to help the older children solve perplexing
school problems. When illness comes the man I know watches tenderly over the
afflicted one and waits upon him” (Ethel Smith, quoted in Bryant S. Hinckley,
“Joseph Fielding Smith,” Improvement Era,
June 1932, p. 459).
President
Spencer W. Kimball once advised, “It is by serving that we learn how to serve.
When we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our deeds
assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. When we
concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with
ourselves! In the midst of the miracle of serving, there is the promise of
Jesus, that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves!
“Not only do
we ‘find’ ourselves in terms of acknowledging guidance in our lives but, the
more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to
our soul. We become more significant individuals as we serve others. We become
more substantive as we serve others—indeed, it is easier to find ourselves
because there is more of us to find.
President Thomas S. Monson said: “I believe the Savior
is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is
little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually
shrivel up and … lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service
to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives.”
Serving
not only helps others, but has many benefits to the one is performing the
service itself. Elder Carlos H Amado of
the quarum of the seventy, taught many of these.
Service makes us strong in our faith and useful in His kingdom.
Service gives us purpose and courage in life. It brings us closer to God and
helps us refine our divine nature. It teaches us to love and understand our
fellowmen, and it helps us forget about our personal desires, eliminating
selfishness, pride, and ingratitude. It teaches us to think of the needs of
others, which allows us to develop the virtues that the Savior possesses.
Kindness, love, patience, understanding, and unity will increase as we
serve, while intolerance, jealousy, envy, greed, and selfishness decrease or disappear.
The more we give of ourselves, the more our capacity to serve, understand, and
love will grow.
Those who serve will always seek to please God and live in harmony
with Him. They will be full of peace; they will have a cheerful countenance and
a spirit of kindness.
Those who serve will strive to ennoble, build, and lift their
fellowmen; therefore, they will find the good in others, and they will not find
reason or have time to become offended. They develop the virtue of praying for
those who criticize. They don’t expect recognition or reward. They possess the
love of Christ.
Those who serve will always be willing to share what they possess and
what they know at all times, in all places, and with all people.
Those who serve even in adversity will maintain a living hope of a
better future. They will continue to be firm in the midst of a crisis because
their hope is in Christ.
Those who serve will accept their assignments with humility,
recognizing their limitations but convinced that two people can do all things
they propose to do as long as one of the two people is God.
Those who serve will have greater understanding of the personality and
attributes of God.
Those who serve with devotion, even when things don’t turn out the way
they would like, are not easily discouraged, fatigued, or frustrated because
the promise of peace of mind and the companionship of the Holy Spirit will
never abandon them.
Jesus
commanded us to love and serve everyone. There are many opportunities to serve
(see Mosiah 4:15-19).
We can serve
members of our families. Husbands and wives should be aware of each other’s
needs. Parents should serve their children not only by feeding and clothing
them but also by teaching and by playing and working with them. Children can
serve by helping with household chores and by helping brothers and sisters.
A husband can
care for a sick baby when his wife needs rest. A wife can prepare a favorite
dish for her husband. A mother and father may sacrifice to send a child on a
mission. An older boy may comfort a little sister who is afraid of the dark or
help her learn to read. Our prophets have told us that a family is the most
important unit in society. We must serve our families well (see Mosiah 4:14-15).
We have many
opportunities to serve our neighbors, our friends, and even strangers. If a
neighbor is having difficulty harvesting crops before a storm, we can help. If
a mother is ill, we can watch her children or help with the housework. If a
young man is falling away from the Church, we can lead him back. If a child is
ridiculed, we can befriend him and persuade others to be kind. We do not need
to know the people we serve, nor do we need to be fond of them. We should look
for ways to serve as many of our Heavenly Father’s children as we can.
Virginia
Jensen, former 1st counselor of the General Relief Society
Presidency has stated, “Every one of us has something to give, something to
share, and someone to serve. “
President
Thomas S Monson said that each of us should ask ourselves daily, “Have I done
any good in the world today?” Take a
survey at dinnertime or before nightly prayers.
Service is the
gospel of Jesus Christ in action, for service blesses both the giver and the
receiver.
Sister
Chieko Okazaki, former counselor in General RS Presidency, says this about
service: “Service is the signature . . . of the Savior.
. . . In nothing do we resemble the Savior more than in serving
others” (Chieko Okazaki, Aloha! [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book
Company, 1995], pp. 84–85).
Brothers and
Sisters, we all know that the Savior provided the perfect example of service.
Jesus loves all of us more than we can understand. When he was on earth he
served the poor, the ignorant, the sinner, the despised. He taught the gospel
to all who would listen, fed crowds of hungry people who came to hear him,
healed the sick, and raised the dead.
He is our God
and Savior and Lord of the universe, yet he did many humble acts of service.
Just before his crucifixion he met with his disciples. After teaching them, he
took a basin of water and a towel and washed their feet (see John 13:4-10). In those days washing a visitor’s
feet was a sign of honor and was usually done by a servant. Jesus did it as an
example of love and service. When we willingly serve others in the spirit of
love, we become more like Christ.
Sister Ardeth Kapp,
formerly YW President, related a story that touches my heart.
A few years ago, as it
was nearing Christmas, I found myself confronted with a very full schedule. The
streets were crowded, my calendar was crowded, and my mind was crowded. There
was so much to do and so little time. An invitation to give a brief Christmas
message to the residents of a nursing home nearby was one activity I could
check off rather quickly and then hurriedly move to the next appointment.
As I rushed past the
receptionist at the door of the nursing home, I was ushered into a large room
where I suddenly stopped. Life was moving at a different pace here, if it was
moving at all. There were wheelchairs, bent shoulders, gray hair, tired eyes,
and the impression of so little going on. I reviewed quickly in my mind the
message I had planned to share and hoped that it would fit and lift some heart,
or at least be appropriate for this occasion. It was warm in the room but, in
spite of this fact, many of the elderly had knitted shawls draped over rounded
shoulders and woolly slippers covering tired feet.
Following my message, one
of the visitors, a granddaughter of one of the elderly, asked if I would have
time to visit with her grandmother in her own private room for even a few
moments. She made the comment, “She thinks she knows you,” indicating perhaps
that her grandmother’s mind might also be tired. I agreed that I could take a
few moments, and I followed behind as the younger woman helped this elderly
sister down the narrow hall back to her room. This dear lady reached her
bedside, then shuffled haltingly as she turned around, let go of her
granddaughter, and dropped onto the side of her bed. She then raised her head
so that I could look into her face. My eyes caught hers. “Sister Myrtle
Dudley,” I said, “you were my Primary teacher.”
The wrinkles on her face
formed a smile as she pulled on her granddaughter’s jacket and said, “See, I
told you she would know me.”
I continued, “I remember
when you used to lead the singing. You wore that wine-colored dress with the
big sleeves that waved back and forth as you taught us the songs.”
Again she pulled on her
granddaughter’s jacket. “I told you she would know me.”
“Yes,” I said, “and you
made carrot juice for my mother when she was sick.”
The she asked, “Did you
come all the way from Canada just to see me?”
“Oh, Sister Dudley,” I
said, “I have come a long way. It has been over forty years.” She then reached
out her arms and drew me close to her. I felt like a child once again, back in
Primary, in the arms of my teacher who loved me.
Then she whispered in my
ear, “I knew you would know me.”
There in the arms of my
Primary teacher the world stood still for a moment. The busy streets were
forgotten. The crowded calendar was no longer pressing on my mind. The spirit
of Christmas filled my soul. A small miracle was taking place, not because of
what I brought but because of what I had received.
After a time, I
reluctantly and thoughtfully left the presence of my Primary teacher and walked
slowly back to my car. I sat there pondering while the snowflakes of the season
fell gently on the windshield that was piling high with snow. It was the season
of celebration for the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. It was he
who asked us to love one another and to serve one another. He said to each of
us, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye
have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).
“Yes,” I thought, “I knew
her because she had served me, and she knew me because she had served me.” And
then the vision cleared before my eyes like windshield wipers removing the
snow. We will know him when we serve him, and he will know us when we serve
him. This question filed my mind: “Can I one day say with the same conviction
with which Sister Dudley spoke, ‘I told you he would know me’?”
What if I hadn’t taken
time to do what mattered most, when in the press of the moment it seemed to
matter least? I don’t do those things enough, but when I do I know it is in the
Lord’s service that we qualify best to be called his disciples.
Let us keep ever in mind
an anticipation of that glorious day when we will be with our Father again.
President George Q. Cannon helps us envision that event with these words:
We existed with Him in
the family relationship as His children . . .
. . . when we see our
Father in heaven we shall know Him; and the recollection that we were once with
Him and that He was our Father will come back to us, and we will fall upon His
neck, and He will fall upon us, and we will kiss each other. We will know our
Mother, also. [Gospel
Truth, pp. 1, 3]
As you devote yourself to
serving others, you will draw closer to Heavenly Father. Your heart will be
filled with love. You will learn that service and sacrifice are ways to
overcome selfishness. You will enjoy happiness that comes only from giving
service to God and others. Your capacities will increase, and you will be an
instrument in God’s hands to bless the lives of His children.
I’d like to
close with a poem that David O. McKay quoted
Supposing
today were your last day on earth,
The last mile
of the journey you’ve trod;
After all of
your struggles, how much are you worth,
How much can
you take home to God?
Don’t count as
possessions your silver and gold,
Tomorrow you
leave these behind,
And
all that is yours to have and to hold
Is the service
you’ve given mankind.
(Anonymous, as
quoted by David O. McKay, Treasures of
Life [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1962], pp. 395-96.)
May we find at
the end of our days here on Earth that we have listened to the whisperings of
the Spirit every day of our lives, that we were the helping hands of our Father
and that He knows us and that we know Him.
