It’s Time For Ministering To Be Reclaimed (A Poem)
In some parts of the land,
where pastures grow green and sprout dandelions,
or where skyscrapers rise to new heights,
where roads summit hills in the distance,
or where fireflies light up the night,
*
Yes⎯in some parts of the land,
perhaps even in yours,
ministering has wandered into foreign plains,
it’s up to us to welcome it home,
it’s time for ministering to be reclaimed.
Brothers and Sisters, we have a heaven-sent opportunity as an entire church to demonstrate ‘pure religion’…undefiled before God (James 1:27)…However, I warn you, a new name, new flexibility, and fewer reports won’t make an ounce of difference in our service unless we see this as an invitation to care for one another in a bold, new, holier way.
Elder Jeffrey R. HOlland (In 2018, with the announcement of visiting teaching changing to ministering)
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Ministering: Our Call
Our call to minister in the Savior’s way
is lost when we begin to say:
“I’m tired, too busy, my house is a wreck;
I don’t want anyone to come inside.
I’d rather you not come at all;
I’d prefer to be alone and hide.”
*
“I have my family, I don’t need anyone else;
Go find someone else to bug.”
So focused on “me” we tend to forget
that someone else may need a hug.
…when, for the moment, we ourselves are not being stretched on a particular cross, we ought to be at the foot of someone else’s⎯full of empathy and proffering spiritual refreshement.
Neal A. Maxwell, “Endure It Well”, Ensigh, May 1990, 34.
Community and Apprenticeship
“Someone else will hug them,” we say to ourselves,
“They’ll provide dinner, too”,
“As for me and my house, our schedules are full;
We’ve got better things to do.”
*
We forget how much we need each other;
Exaltation cannot be reached alone.
If we are to live with God one day,
we must cheerfully walk each other home.
Our community is different to any other. Our prosperity lies in our own union, cooperation and mutual effort. There is no one independent.
Joseph F. Smith, Letter from Joseph F. Smith to Susa Y. Gates, August 10th, 1888
Sadly, ministering can be done without love,
but that’s not the Savior’s way:
To simply do or give something without sharing our love
is like saying, “Here! Now go away.”
Ministering is like an apprenticeship with the Savior because we are practicing becoming like Him and learning to love and care for others in the way He would…The Saviour’s example is one of individual ministering and love.
J. Anette Dennis, “Ministering As the savior would, liahona, june 2025, 18.
Spiritually Courageous
Ask how they’re feeling, or if they need help,
compliment them and their family, too.
Learn more about the things they love;
support them in all that they do.
*
Attend their concerts, send a card,
handwritten just for them,
celebrate birthdays, host potlucks,
cry when they fall, cheer when they win.
*
Sit with one another at church,
attend the temple together,
ask them how their testimony is doing:
“Is it strong enough to survive stormy weather?”
To minister spiritually can begin with baking cookies or playing a basketball game, but eventually this holier way of ministering requires opening your heart and your faith, taking courage in encouraging the positive growth you are seeing in a friend or in expressing concerns about things you see and feel that are not consistent with discipleship…Let us not be self-righteous, but let us be spiritually courageous in ministering in a holier way, specifically by strengthening the faith of others.
Neil L. andersen, byu campus devotional, april 10, 2018
Celebrate the holidays,
share a phone call now and then,
talk with them at church each week,
ask them how their week has been.
*
Half of the problem? We choose to not minister.
The other half? We’re not willing to be ministered to.
In times like this we ought to ask,
“What would the Savior have us do?”
*
Discover similarities,
become a true and lasting friend
who cares enough to still reach out
even when the ministering assignment has come to an end.
*
Go for a hike, take a class together,
paint pictures with your children in the room,
recommend a book from the library,
connect via Marco Polo or Zoom.
Ministering Poem
Grab your copy of the 4-page poem to share with friends and family for personal, non-commercial use.
$1.50
Stewardship
We have been charged with stewardship,
it’s what the Savior has asked us to do,
as His chosen disciples,
to our covenants, let us be true.
*
We can work with our hands and busy our feet
we can lend a listening ear,
our hearts can be filled with compassion for those
who share sorrows and shed rivers of tears.
When trials come, often what we most want is for someone to listen and be with us. …Sometimes we yearn for someone who will grieve, ache, and weep with us; let us express pain, frustration, sometimes even anger; and acknowledge with us that there are things we do not know. …A father assigned with his teacher-age son as ministering companions explained, ‘Ministering is when we go from being neighbors who bring cookies to trusted friends [and] spiritual first responders’.
Gerrit W. Gong, “All things for our god”, liahona, may 2024, 42, 43.
We can help others to strengthen their faith,
we can offer loving care.
Encouraging self-reliance
is helping others learn to do their share.
*
Ministering is a higher law,
building relationships is its goal,
face-to-face connection is vital
to connect with others, heart and soul.
Ministering is not about checklists; it is about relationships⎯our relationship with others and our relationship with God.
J. Anette Dennis, “Ministering As the savior would, liahona, june 2025, 16.
Relationships
Home is where the heart is,
it’s where relationships are built,
connecting and growing in personal spaces,
is where love can readily be felt.
*
It’s easy to connect online,
to learn your friend is “doing fine”,
but texting is a starting point,
it ought not be the finish line.
[We should] ‘love and minister in such a way that others are drawn to Jesus Christ’ (Dale G. Renlund, “The Powerful, Virtuous Cycle of the Doctrine of Christ”, Liana, May 2024, 83.) 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.
J. Anette Dennis, “Ministering As the savior would, liahona, june 2025, 18.
A girls’ night out, a homemade treat,
a meal delivered on an occasional week,
sincere prayers said for current needs,
babysit, do laundry, wash dishes, pull weeds,
*
Tend to a flower garden,
cut hair, go for a walk,
meet in public for ice cream,
in a place where you can talk.
*
Remind them of activities,
going together can be more fun,
host a tea party on a pretty spring day,
or a picnic out in the sun.
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Reach out, connect, build friendships,
be they small or be they great.
These things take time and effort,
but with God’s help they’ll be first-rate.
*
Use the gifts God’s given you
to bless the lives of others.
Our smallest acts can bless the lives
of women, daughter, mothers.
We, with our talents, are the bishop’s storehouse.
Emily Belle Freeman
Each day, in myriad ways, we each need and can offer ministering love and support in small, simple, powerful, life-changing ways.
Gerrit W. Gong, byu women’s conference devotional, may 4, 2018
Conclusion
Yes⎯in some parts of the land,
perhaps even in yours,
ministering has wandered into foreign plains,
it’s up to us to welcome it home,
it’s time for ministering to be reclaimed.
© Carri Mason
Our church service is one of loving and caring for God’s children and has no beginning or end. We don’t finish ministering, we don’t finish loving, we don’t finish praying, and we don’t finish thinking about those whom God has put in our path.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, mission leadership seminar, june 24, 2018
How will the Lord use your life this year? This month? This day? Is there one thing you can do to make life better for someone else?…God expects us to use our brains and figure out what we can do to make a difference. Find out where He’s working and join His crew.
Barbara Johnson
Ministering Poem
Grab your copy of the 4-page poem to share with friends and family for personal, non-commercial use.
$1.50
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Art Credit: The Little Shepherdess, Johann Baptist Hofner, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johann_Baptist_Hofner_-Die_kleine_Sch%C3%A4ferin(1866).jpg
