Ministering
Ministering is a wonderful way we can participate in the Lord’s work—but what is ministering and how do we do it?
We are ministering every time we help any of God’s children to feel His love. We are ministering when we lift, strengthen, and listen. Although our Savior Jesus Christ may not be here physically, His love is shown and felt through us when we serve the way He would.
This can look different to many people depending on the needs of those we minister to. Here are three ways we can minister to others:
- Pray for them and for inspiration on how to serve them.
- Be a genuine friend.
- Keep it simple.
Pray to Know How to Bless Those We Serve
First, we can pray for those we minister to. Through prayer, we develop genuine love for them. We can ask them how we can best serve them, and we can also ask our Father in Heaven, who knows them perfectly.
As we pray in faith and with the intent to act, He will tell us how we can serve them. God will place opportunities in our path for us to bless them and be there for them. They will feel your love for them as you seek ways to personally bless their lives.
Ammon Prayed for Help by Jerry Thompson
In the Book of Mormon, the missionary Alma invited his brethren to remember this about the people they served: “They are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his” (Alma 26:7).
The Lord knows His sheep, and He is watching over them. We will feel a portion of God’s love for His children and be in tune with how He wishes to bless them as we pray for them by name and by need.
Show Genuine Care
We can also minister by becoming a friend to those who stand in need and showing those to whom we minister that we care.
Wilford Woodruff taught us, as members of Jesus Christ’s restored Church, our divine duty to share the light and love of Jesus Christ with everyone. In an epistle to the Saints on October 12, 1887, President Woodruff exhorted:
The great labor which devolves upon us, as members of the Church, is to build up Zion. God has founded Zion, and we should seek to extend its benefits and blessings until all mankind. It should be our constant care.”[1]
Ministering Can Feel Uncomfortable
Sometimes our efforts may feel awkward. We may even feel like they go unnoticed or unwanted. God sees every step we take in showing love to those around us, and He will magnify our efforts. His love is all-encompassing; it can be felt in even the hardest of hearts through our continuous effort to show that love.
President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) spoke about love and service in his talk “Love—the Essence of the Gospel.” He said:
We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey. . .. May we begin now, this very day, to express love to all of God’s children, whether they be our family members, our friends, mere acquaintances, or total strangers. As we arise each morning, let us determine to respond with love and kindness to whatever might come our way.”[2]
As we serve God’s children, our love for them will grow.
We may not see immediate results, but we must remember that our call to minister is not about reward or praise. Rather, it is about helping all of God’s children to feel loved, to know that they belong. We never know their life circumstances or what is weighing on their heart. A little kindness and genuine care will go a long way.
Keep It Simple
Sister Jean B. Bingham said,
Sometimes we think we have to do something grand and heroic to ‘count’ as serving our neighbors. Yet simple acts of service can have profound effects on others—as well as on ourselves.”[3]
More often than not, love is felt through small gestures like asking someone how they are or letting them know you love them. Ministering isn’t meant to be complicated, and it doesn’t need to be on a grand scale.
People want to feel listened to, needed, and loved. No one wants to feel as though they are simply a task to be checked off. We can put forth the effort to be the kind of friend that they need.
Follow the Savior’s Example
We can do this by following the Savior’s example of service. He got to know the people with whom He interacted one by one. He saw the individuals He served as people to love, not as only an opportunity to teach or show forth His power.
One example of genuine friendship and service is when Jesus Christ washed the feet of His disciples:
Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that He was come from God . . . He riseth from supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that He poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded” (John 13:3–5).
With all the Savior’s power, He could have performed the mightiest of miracles that day. Instead, He descended below their level and washed their feet.
We can serve as Jesus did, too, with no thought of reward. Ministering to the one was enough for Jesus Christ, and it can be enough for us, too.
As I Have Loved You by Eva Koleva Timothy
We Can Represent the Savior
God is eager to bless all of His children, and we can be instruments in His hands to do so. Let us labor side by side with Him!
A modern-day Apostle of the Lord shared similar counsel. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said,
May we labor side by side with the Lord of the vineyard, giving the God and Father of us all a helping hand with His staggering task of answering prayers, providing comfort, drying tears, and strengthening feeble knees.”[4]
I invite us all to go to the Lord with our ministering concerns. Let us ask Him for guidance in how we can improve our ministering efforts to be aligned with the Savior.
Aubrey Barzee is a Public Relations Intern for the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation. She is from Kansas City, Missouri, and currently studies at Brigham Young University. Aubrey is majoring in Exercise and Wellness and studying in the Seminary and Institute teaching program. She had the opportunity as a missionary to come to know Jesus Christ better and serve the people in the Oregon Portland Mission, which she recently returned from.
Aubrey has loved being a part of this project, where she can share her love of the Savior and His restored gospel. She loves learning about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is inspired by the journals and life of the prophet Wilford Woodruff.
- Epistle to the Church, October 12, 1887, p. 2, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/epistle/1887-10-12. ↑
- Thomas S. Monson, “Love—the Essence of the Gospel,” April 2014 general conference, ChurchofJesusChrist.org. ↑
- Jean B. Bingham, “Ministering as the Savior Does,” April 2018 general conference, ChurchofJesusChrist.org. ↑
- Jeffrey R. Holland, “Be With and Strengthen Them,” April 2018 general conference, ChurchofJesusChrist.org. ↑
