I spoke in church today. I'm good for about 6-12 months now. After the meeting was over, a lady in the ward said to me, "As I watched the men pass the sacrament, the thought came to me, "and a child shall lead them."
Sam was the only Young Man passing the sacrament today since all the other YM were at Scout Camp. The line up of men went from tallest to shortest, Sam being the shortest and the tallest is a kid who is serving a service mission in our ward and he's at least 6'5" or taller. As they walked down the aisle, Sam was in the lead and as this lady said, "I was so humbled to be here today to see that."
So sweet. And true.
Here's my talk from today:
My talk is entitled: How we can keep the Savior’s commandment to “feed my sheep” by bearing one another’s burdens, mourning with those that mourn, and comforting those that stand in need of comfort. I will take many quotes from a talk given by Elder Ulisses Soares in the October 2005 General Conference.
In John 21: 15-17 it says: So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Why did the Savior tell Peter the same thing three times? It must have been of utmost importance to the Lord that the 12, as well as all of us, to take care of those around us. Elder Soares said, “As we study the scriptures, we notice that the Savior ministered to people according to their specific needs.”
*Raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead
*Praying and blessing the Nephite children, one by one
*The woman with an issue of blood
Elder Soares continued: “Jesus showed patience and love to all who came to Him seeking relief for their physical, emotional, or spiritual illnesses and who felt discouraged and downtrodden.
To follow the Savior’s example, each one of us must look around and reach out to the sheep who are facing the same circumstances and lift them up and encourage them to proceed on the journey towards eternal life.
This need today is as great as or perhaps even greater than when the Savior walked on this earth. As shepherds we must understand that we should nurture each one of our sheep to bring them to Christ, which is the purpose of all we do in this Church.”
When we are baptized, no matter if we are 8 or 88, we chose to make a covenant with God. Mosiah 18: 8-9 says: “…and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort,”
How can we, as disciples of Christ, do these things?
How can we help bear one another’s burden?
Often times we are so involved with what is going on in our own lives that we forget that so many of our brothers and sisters are dealing with burdens that are hard to bear. Are we in tune with the spirit enough to hear His whisperings? Are we making that phone call that we feel we should? Are we doing our VT and HT? Are we paying attention to the little things? Are we checking in with our neighbors?
“Have I done any good in the world today Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad, or made someone feel glad?
If not I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today, because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?
What have you done today?
How can we mourn with those who mourn? There is so much sadness and loss in the world today. Whether someone has lost a loved one to death, a divorce in the family, illness or disability, loss of job and security, people around us need to know that they are loved. Do you make yourself available? Do you know when to talk or when to listen? When we first found out Sam was very sick, a sister in our ward told me that she spent the day in the temple praying for us. We felt the love and concern of the members of our ward and family as prayers were offered, fasting took place, meals were brought in and blessings given. We truly had many people mourn with us.
How do we comfort those that need comfort?
“The need today is as great as or perhaps even greater than when the Savior walked on this earth.” We are asked to pay our tithes and offerings to help those in our ward and church-wide. We are asked to do our Home & Visiting teaching so that we are available to those families that we have stewardship over. We are asked to serve one another. Again quoting Elder Soares, “Christ Himself ministered to people, lifting the heavy laden, giving hope to the disheartened, and seeking after the ones who were lost. He showed people how much He loved and understood them and how precious they were. He acknowledged their divine nature and eternal value. Even when calling people to repentance, He condemned the sin without condemning the sinner.”
In his first epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul emphasized the need of expressing this true love to each sheep of the Lord’s flock:
“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.
“Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
“Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
“Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. …
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 6
As we follow the Savior’s example and teachings, we can assist people to fulfill their earthly mission and return to live with our Heavenly Father.”
What are you doing to show charity to others? Are you serving when you are asked or do you turn down an opportunity because you are too busy or don’t have the time? Do you ignore the whisperings of the spirit? Do you say to yourself, “someone else will do it”?
There are so many opportunities for service within our own homes, ward & community. I’ve tried to teach my children about service by doing a monthly service project, Service Sunday. We choose a simple project to do and plan and prepare for it. Some of the things we’ve done are treats & valentines to a nursing home, cookies to the fire department, deliver meals to homebound people, visit the grave of a fallen soldier, make treats for the Bishop’s family. These are simple things to do but make an impact on those you serve. Many people are in need of comfort and we need to be aware of those around us. People are watching us and we need to lead by example.
Read poem (click here)
As members of the church, we are also called to serve in the ward. We are given callings to help us serve & to learn things but what we also have to remember this, as stated by Elder Soares: “The gospel of Jesus Christ is about people, not programs. Sometimes, in the haste of fulfilling our Church responsibilities, we spend too much time concentrating on programs, instead of focusing on people, and end up taking their real needs for granted. When things like that happen, we lose the perspective of our callings, neglect people, and prevent them from reaching their divine potential to gain eternal life.”
Do we sometimes forget who were serving while we’re serving? My brother once said, “Sometimes we focus on the administering instead of the ministering.”
President Thomas S. Monson said: “We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness. … We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.”
Time passes. Circumstances change. Conditions vary. Unaltered is the divine command to succor the weak and lift up the hands which hang down and strengthen the feeble knees. Each of us has the charge to be not a doubter but a doer; not a leaner but a lifter. But our complacency tree has many branches, and each spring more buds come into bloom. Often we live side by side but do not communicate heart to heart. There are those within the sphere of our own influence who, with outstretched hands, cry out: “Is there no balm in Gilead?” Each of us must answer.”
It is my hope & prayer that we will each answer “yes” to the Savior’s command to “feed my sheep”.
In the name….
