Creating a Sisterhood through Ministering
May we show our gratitude and love for God by ministering with
love to our eternal sisters and brothers.
- Sister Jean B. Bingham
Sister Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society General President said in her April 2018 Conference Address, "What a better way to prepare to meet Him than to strive to become like Him thought loving ministering to one another! As Jesus Christ taught His followers at the beginning of this dispensation, 'If thou loves me thou shalt serve me.' Our service to others is a demonstration of discipleship and our gratitude and love for God and his Son, Jesus Christ."
As we learned from our Relief Society President, Helen Kerwin, and Bishop Green, we will be paired in "ministering partners" to better serve our sisters and to enrich our lives by creating vital bonds of sisterhood within the Relief Society. These ministering partnership with not only better serve the sister we are assigned to minister, but will also allow for more opportunities to fellowship each other and grow closer. Members of the Relief Society Presidency will be meeting with each of you this month to conduct a "ministering interview" to gain information regarding the sisters you are assigned to, and to get your preferences for future assignments and possible ministering partners. Per Bishop Green, and Brother Benning, husbands and wives can possibly be partnered to minister as well as mothers and daughter. Please pray about what would work best for you, and be led by the spirit in moving forward.
As Sister Bingham suggested in her Conference Talk, "Ministering" looks like:
- Going for a walk with your sister
- Getting together for a "Game Night"
- Offering service or serving together
- Visiting in Person or talking on the phone, or texting
- Delivering a Birthday Card
- Sharing a scripture or conference talk that would be meaningful to that sister
- It looks like becoming part of someone's life and caring about her
We must be led by the spirit to meet the needs of our sisters, and consider, "What does she need now?" Coupling this question with a sincere desire to serve, we are then led by the spirit to do what would lift and strengthen the sister. True ministering is accomplished one by one with love as motivation. The value and merit and wonder of sincere ministering is that it truly changes lives. When our hearts are open and willing to love and include, encourage and comfort, the power of our ministering will be irresistible. With love as the motivation, miracles will happen and we will find ways to bring our "missing" sisters into the all inclusive embrace of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Savior is our example in everything, not only in what we should do but why we should do it. "His life on earth was an invitation to us to raise our sights a little higher, to forget our own problems and to reach out to others." As we accept the opportunity to wholeheartedly minister to our sisters and brothers, we are blessed to become more spiritually refined, more in tune with the will of God, and more able to understand His plan to help each one return to Him. We will more readily recognize His blessings and be eager to extend those blessings to others.
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