18 Liahona By Richard Neitzel Holzapfel Area Seventy, Area TO ALL

s part of our efforts to minister in a holier and higher How can Elder way, Church leaders have begun to talk about Uchtdorf’s call member missionary work as ministering to all, to minister in A“regardless of whether their names appear on your minis- tering sister or brother list.” 1 This more excellent way is a natural and mindset change—an enhanced approach that can change normal ways everything about how and why we minister to others. change shar- Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve ing the gospel Apostles observed: “In whatever ways seem natural and normal to you, share with people why Jesus Christ and for you? His Church are important to you. Invite them to ‘come and see.’ Then encourage them to come and help. There are numerous opportunities for people to help in our Church. “Pray not only for the missionaries to find the elect. Pray daily with all your heart that you will find those who will come and see, come and help, and come and stay.” 2

IMAGES FROM GETTY Ministering is about becoming more dedicated and

December 2020 19 converted disciples of Jesus Christ who have the same heart and compassion as the Savior. The Lord has invited us to progress to ministering to others in nat- ural and normal ways out of love. It is not about doing ministering. It is about becoming a minister like Jesus Christ.

Learning to Minister to the (Assigned) One We are still learning to become ministering brothers and sisters. A change like this can take time, and we will most likely make mistakes. In my mind, one of those mistakes is to dismiss ministering assignments as merely “fake” or “forced” friendship—in a way not normal or natural. But the Lord gives Ministering to all us specific assignments as ministering requires a willing brothers and sisters. In this way, He heart and eyes to see ensures that no one is left out. those around us—the When natural disasters strike in the , the Red Cross and National people the Lord has Guard organizations mobilize their vol- put in our paths. unteers and assign them to specific areas to get maximum coverage. Receiving an assignment makes the volunteers’ gift of time and love no less voluntary. No one who has experienced a disaster in his or her life seems to question these assign- ments. The beneficiaries are grateful that someone has come to help! Like volunteers with the National Guard or Red Cross, when we become disciples of Jesus Christ through making sacred covenants, we volunteer to be

20 Liahona mobilized in performing specific are filled with compassion towards you” assignments to help others. (3 Nephi 17:5–6; emphasis added).3 These assignments provide us Even though He had planned to go some- opportunities to learn and grow where, the Savior had eyes to see and a heart in our abilities to minister, often that feels, so He stopped to minister to the through our failures. But soon, people: ministering will become “second “Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring nature” to us—just as we have them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or learned to walk, talk, ride a bike, blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are play a musical instrument, or learn withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in a sport. any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my What Is Ministering to All in bowels are filled with mercy” (3 Nephi 17:7). “Natural and Normal Ways”? Knowing the Savior as we do, for Him to Our individual ministering take time to heal the sick before His next assignments prepare us to “min- appointment was a natural thing. For us, ister to all” in normal and natural ministering to all in normal and natural ways ways. Ministering to all requires a willing heart might include simply inviting someone to do and eyes to see those around us—the people something you’re already planning to do or the Lord has put in our paths. “Ministering” at go with you to an event that you were already that point can be as simple as inviting them— planning to attend. in natural and normal ways—to “come and If you’re taking a self-reliance course, invite see” or to “come and help.” your neighbor to come along. If you’re going to The Savior provided the example. When a activity, invite your co-worker to go with Jesus appeared to the people at the in you. If you’re already having family scripture Bountiful, He told them, “But now I go unto study or home evening, invite your friend to the Father, and also to show myself unto the join you. That’s what “come and see” means. It lost tribes of Israel” (3 Nephi 17:4). doesn’t require us to add a single activity to our Like us, the Savior had somewhere to go. busy schedules. And in times when visiting in The story continued: person isn’t possible, ministering can be done “And it came to pass that when Jesus had through a text message, email, or phone call. thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, Trusted to Minister and did look steadfastly upon him as if they When President M. Russell Ballard set me would ask him to tarry a little longer with them. apart as the new president of the Provo Utah “And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels YSA First Stake, he provided a simple and

December 2020 21 specific assignment: “Go visit your leaders missing for some time reappear and members in their homes and apartments!” as they talked. That was it; he gave no other training or It was obvious that J. B. was assignments. interested in him and in his ques- Coordinating our efforts with our bishops, tions and concerns. The young we started on Tuesday, two days after our stake man opened himself up because conference. As we ministered in our stake, J. B. showed compassion. My we made mistakes, missed opportunities, and counselor’s “bowels were filled” often thought, “I could have said that better” with love, and he had a desire to or “I wish we had asked a better question.” understand this young man with- University President out judging him. J. B. asked if we observed that “failing could visit him once he settled into is a critical component of our eternal his new apartment. The young progress—our quest for perfection. And man nodded, mobile numbers because of the Atonement we can—if we were exchanged, and a promise to respond to failures in the right way—be follow up with him was made. blessed with a new kind of learning that Before we left, we asked if allows our failures to become part of the there was anything we could do perfecting process.” 4 to help. He said, “Stopping to This was our experience as we learned to say hello was one of the most minister to the leaders and members of the important things you could have done for me stake and to others we met. As we continued today.” Later that evening, I thought to myself, ministering, the Lord began to put more and “If J. B. and I had not been out ministering, more people in our path. we may never have met this young man.” On one occasion, one of my counselors, It seems the Lord knew that we would be J. B. Haws, and I were walking between ministering that evening, so He placed this apartment complexes when we met a young young man in our path—trusting we would see man in the parking lot. We stopped to say him and minister to him. hello and found out that he was moving out When we desire to minister to all as we go of our stake. We talked for a moment and about our daily lives, the Lord will place peo- discovered that he was a returned missionary ple in our paths because He trusts us that we facing questions about his faith. My counselor will look up from our mobile phones, take a is a master teacher who connects with people moment to smile at a stranger, or ask a ques- easily. Answering questions like these was tion from someone we have met in the market natural and normal for J. B. I could see in this or wherever we find ourselves at school, work, young man’s eye a light that may have been or church.

22 Liahona The Amazing Results of Ministering Looking back on the Savior’s example in 3 Nephi, I discovered an important principle about ministering. As you will remember: “It came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him. “And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears” (3 Nephi 17:9–10; emphasis added). Notice that those ministering brothers and sisters When we desire to who helped bring those they knew and loved closer to minister to all as we Jesus Christ also found themselves at the Savior’s feet, go about our daily bowing, worshipping, and kissing and bathing His feet lives, the Lord will with their tears. As we minister to all, we will see Christ healing place people in our emotional, spiritual, and physical wounds. And as we paths because He invite others to “come and see” and “come and help” in trusts us. natural and normal ways, we will find our own wounds being healed too. ◼ NOTES 1. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Missionary Work: Sharing What Is in Your Heart,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 16. 2. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Missionary Work: Sharing What Is in Your Heart,” 17. 3. See also how Jesus Christ ministered to the widow of Nain in the same manner in Luke 7:11–16. 4. Kevin J Worthen, “Successfully Failing: Pursuing Our Quest for Perfection” ( devotional, Jan. 6, 2015), 3, speeches.byu.edu.

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