Ministering is More than an Occasional Text and Connecting in the Hall at Church

 

Ministering as the Savior Would

By Sister J. Anette Dennis

First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

A ministering sister in New Zealand was led to a unique way to help a sister in her ward. This sister had recently gone through a separation from her husband. The ministering sister was up late with her baby and noticed that this sister seemed active online in the late hours of the night, so she decided to message her. After praying about how she could help, she was inspired to take some time to sleep during the day and set her alarm to wake up late at night to keep this sister company by messaging with her online because this was the time of the day the sister felt sad and lonely and especially missed her husband.

With regular interactions and invitations from both ministering sisters, over time this sister started coming back to church. Her ministering sisters would pick her up and accompany her to meetings and activities. She then had the desire to talk to her bishop about renewing her temple recommend.

The week after receiving her recommend, she and her ministering sisters attended the temple together. Through this time of inspired watchcare, she no longer felt lonely.

These ministering sisters truly became trusted friends and spiritual first responders for this dear sister going through a challenging time in her life. They provided temporal and spiritual relief. But it took time, patience, loving-kindness, and gentle invitations.

By seeking the Lord’s inspiration, this ministering sister was led to a unique way she could help. Ultimately, that inspired ministering led this sister back to the temple and the blessings of a covenant relationship with God.

Ministering with Love

For the efforts of these ministering sisters to be sustainable, however, it took their love of God and the love they had for this sister. We can pray for that love if we don’t feel it at first. Ministering to others only out of a sense of duty won’t be sustainable over the long term, especially if those we are assigned to are resistant at first.

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said that we should “love and minister in such a way that others are drawn to Jesus Christ.” To do that, we need to develop relationships of trust with those we are assigned to. That type of relationship will develop over time. It will take more than just sending an occasional text or connecting in the hall at church....

Because each individual is unique, each will need something different, just as the sister from New Zealand did. As we pray for, spend time with, and sincerely listen to others, we will discover their individual needs and can receive inspiration to know how and when to serve them, both temporally and spiritually....

The Savior’s example is one of individual ministering and love. As we practice ministering as the Savior would, we will be transformed to become more like Him. Ministering will become who we are, not just what we do. Over time, ministering will become a part of us, and we will go about doing good, as the Savior did, with or without an assignment.